Aqua Nullius: Toe Fai! And Talaucaka

A Powerful Pasifika Futurism Double Bill Touring Aotearoa and Australia in 2026 

Studio Kiin presents Aqua Nullius: Toe Fai! and Talaucaka, two interconnected theatre works by Tokelauan, Uvean and Fijian storyteller Emele Ugavule, touring to Te Whanganui-a-Tara (Wellington) and Boorloo (Perth) in 2026. 

Blending speculative sci-fi with Indigenous Oceanic storytelling, Toe Fai! and Talaucaka are set decades apart yet linked through the journey of Kalala — a British Museum tour guide turned data annotator navigating memory, artificial intelligence, ancestry, ecological collapse and colonial power. Together, these works challenge dominant historical narratives and imagine alternative futures rooted in Indigenous Pacific knowledge systems. 

Presented as part of the speculative sci-fi Aqua Nullius series, the productions fuse choreography, oratory, tri-lingual dialogue and song (English, Gagana Tokelau and Vosa vakaViti), the works integrate traditional Pacific practices with contemporary theatre-making, creating a multisensory and embodied performance experience. 

ABOUT STUDIO KIIN 

Founded in 2021, Studio Kiin is an Indigenous-led creative studio and collective working across Australia, Aotearoa and the Pacific region. The company centres story sovereignty, kinship and healing in its creative practice, cultivating work that speaks urgently to our time. 

“Stirring something deep within our Indigenous spirit, striking the very core of who we are… your message is what our generation urgently need.” 

– Tokelau in Tech 

www.studiokiin.com @studiokiin_ 

2026 SEASON DATES 

Circa Theatre, Te Whanganui-a-Tara (Wellington, Aotearoa) 

2 – 16 May 2026 

Tickets: https://www.circa.co.nz/package/talaucaka-toe-fai/ 

The Blue Room Theatre, Boorloo (Perth, Australia) 

4 – 22 August 2026 

Tickets: https://blueroom.org.au/events/aqua-nullius-toe-fai-and-talaucaka/

ABOUT THE ARTIST 

Emele Ugavule is a graduate of WAAPA, NIDA and Toi Whakaari: NZ Drama School. Her work spans collaborations with Belvoir ST Theatre, Griffin Theatre Company, Arts House Melbourne, Sydney Opera House, Oceania Centre for Arts, Culture and Pacific Studies, Netflix, Mad Ones Films and Sony Australia. She currently serves as Kaitātaki Whakaari (Acting Lecturer) at Toi Whakaari. 

Her creative practice centres Indigenous Oceanic storytelling, exploring temporality, memory, kinship, technology and knowledge transmission. 

Website: www.emeleugavule.com 

CAST & CREATIVE TEAM 

Writer & Director – Emele Ugavule 

Co-Director & Actor – Kasaya Manulevu 

Actors – Selina Alesana Alefosio, Tamia Filipo, Maurea Varea-Perez 

AV Designer – Reuben Nicolas 

Sound Designer – Ephraim Frame 

Lighting Designer & Production Manager – Alexander Dickson 

Set Designer – Grace O’Brien 

Aqua Nullius: Toe Fai! and Talaucaka is a stirring, urgent theatrical experience — a call to remember, to resist and to reimagine futures beyond colonial timelines. 

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