Dawn Raids

Samoan-born Oscar Kightley is known to New Zealand audiences as an actor, comedian, writer, journalist, and radio announcer. He is also a playwright. His award-winning play ‘Dawn Raids’ makes its Wellington debut at The Opera House in October. Join Sione and his band, the Noble Hawaiian Sabretooth Tigers. They will welcome you to the Paradise Honeypot Club where everything is beautiful — until it isn’t. 

‘Dawn Raids’ is an unmissable piece of homegrown theatre. Presented on a big stage, the cast and crew bring a significant piece of history to life. The play gripped Auckland audiences in 2022 with its mix of searing-hot anger, wit, and warmth. 

During the 1970s, Pacific people were subjected to dawn raids. At the time, they were framed as a crackdown to seek out alleged illegal overstayers from the Pacific Islands. The play dances a fine line between education, entertainment, and dealing with injustice from the country’s recent past. In a 2020 column for Theatreview Fiona Collins said it was “beautifully executed, funny, poignant, historically epic theatre.”