Samoan born Anapela Polata’ivao is from the villages of Vailoa and Vaiusu in Upolu and Fagae’e in Savai’i. Since graduating from Toi Whakaari in 2000 both her partner Vela Manusaute and Polata’ivao created the South Auckland theatre collective Kila Kokonut Krew which garnered them a New Generation Arts Laureate after producing the landmark Pasefika musical The Factory – A Pacific Musical. She gained international acclaim for her performance in the short film Night Shift (2012) and won Best Actress in the 2018 Wellington Theatre Awards for her role in Tusiata Avia’s Wild Dogs Under My Skirt.
Polata’ivao made history as the first Samoan woman to have directed a show off-Broadway when Wild Dogs Under My Skirt made its New York debut and was subsequently named the winner of the Fringe Encore Series at the SoHo Playhouse. Polata’ivao won Best Director in the Wellington Theatre awards 2024 for Avia’s The Savage Coloniser.
Anapela is also the lead in the NZ feature film box-office hit, Tinā by Miki Magasiva.
Black Faggot is her directorial debut for The Court Theatre. She is supported by her collaboration partner Vela Manusaute on this project.
Court Shows
- 2025 - Black Faggot - Director