Demonization of Women in Storytelling

Aitu Fafine: A Play by Victoria Kneubuhl

Photo by Kyle Johnson on Unsplash

I realize that art, entertainment, and books that I consume become more meaningful if I write about them. Most of the time, when I watch plays, I have mixed feelings.

With difficult books, you can go back and reread; with streaming, you can rewind. But with live theatre, you have to go with the flow. Get what you can out of it while you can, but just stick with it.

That’s how I felt with Aitu Fafine, by Victoria Kneubuhl at Kumu Kahua Theatre.

Because it is about a famous person, Robert Louis Stevenson, there is already a draw, even if you’re not a fan of his work, you recognize that he is a literary giant of his time.

That he spent his final years traveling throughout the “South Seas” and settling in Samoa, makes him especially endearing to us, in Hawaii. But this is in no way a biography, but more about storytelling, and the impact that this art can have on an audience and how it can change how you perceive the world.

Granted, perception is subjective. So my interpretation is also a reflection of my perception. The “bogey” (spooky?) stories that were told to him as a child are told in such a way, with incredible masks and dramatic expression, that you can not help but be moved. And…