Enter The Jandal Info

Part stand-up comedy show, part mocumentary, Enter the Jandal tells the disastrous story of James Nokise, Samoa’s biggest celebrity since The Rock, struggling to spread his name across the globe. Bolstered by dreams of fame, fortune and a lavish lifestyle akin to his idols on Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, James decides the first stop on his world domination tour will be New Zealand. But his dreams quickly turn to disappointment as multiple failures to land leading television and film roles force this big-time island star to take on two-bit parts and live stage performances.

Enter the Jandal is the latest 1 hour offering from James Nokise, recently returned from a three month tour of the UK, and nominee for the 2005 ODDFELLOWS Billy T James Award. With the aid of film projectors and filmed sequences by Auckland director Dave Mitchell, the show cleverly pieces together stand up comedy, film clips and a thumping sound score by Dawn Raid. Enter the Jandal WILL be one of the highlights of this year’s ODDFELLOWS New Zealand International Comedy Festival.

“He struck up a great relationship with the audience and had a fairly

wide range of material which kept us all entertained ****.”Fourthone.com

Enter the Jandal

The fall and fall and continuous fall of half-Samoan movie legend, James Nokise…

Auckland

Classic Studio

First Floor, 321 Queen Street

11th – 14th May

7.15pm

Adults $16 Concession / Groups 10+ $14

Bookings (09) 309 9241

Wellington

BATS Theatre

1 Kent Terrace

17th – 21st May

8pm

Adults $15 Concession / Groups 10+ $12

Bookings (04) 802 4175

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Photography – for James Nokise

The one and only Half – Samoan / Half – British, multi award show watching phenomenon that is JAMES NOKISE!

Born in June 1982 at Hamilton Hospital, Nokise’s father quickly realized his mistake and moved the family to Lower Hutt. Upon realizing he’d goofed again, Nokise senior attempted to move the family to the Pacific Island’s. However, James’ mother – a small woman from Essex, England – disagreed and the two parents divorced. James stayed with his mother but continued to visit his father in the Pacific. It was in the Pacific that his performing talents began to be appreciated and he eventually moved there in the mid nineties.

Before venturing into comedy, Nokise enjoyed a vast career in film. With hits such as Sin Village, Raiders of the Lost Fobs, Live and Let Colonize, and Scary Movie 2, Nokise conquered the lucrative Samoan Box Office. However a combination of ego, and an incredibly huge member, led to a disastrous move back to New Zealand. Here he found his profile to be somewhat less than he imagined and, after several embarrassing false starts, developed an addiction to Jenny Craig meals and Moon Dancing. The resulting loss of weight and skin colour led to rumours of skin bleaching, and bulimia. The opportunities began to dry up and many thought him washed up. A bad haircut and a desperate attempt to find religion all but ended his career.

Time Passed

A couple of years later, James Nokise stepped on stage, called himself the Dirty Islander, and changed the way Pacific Islanders were seen in comedy. The fact he was a skinny, pale, half-caste, with a chip on his shoulder and a slightly British accent, probably didn’t help public acceptance. However, as the laughs kept coming, so did the gigs, and James soon found himself performing all over the country. His particular take on New Zealand’s Racial Mentality brought him to the attention of comedians such as Ben Hurley and Eteuate Ete, and he soon found himself as part of the Laughing With Samoans tour, as well as opening for the soon-to-be ODDFELLOWS Billy T James Award Winner in his debut show.

In 2005 James Nokise has become the first Samoan to be nominated for the ODDFELLOWS Billy T James Comedy Award. He also enrolled at Victoria University to further his education. He is currently studying Horror Film. He has also begun writing his first novel, Towel Rack, which he hopes to publish in time for Christmas.

James currently lives in Lower Hutt with his mother and her cat. His father now lives in Fiji, despite being unable to speak Fijian, Indian, or English particularly well.

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