Inspired by Tusiata Avia's namesake poem which delves into the poet's sometimes quite painful lived experience of being at the intersection of New Zealand and Samoan culture, Wild Dogs Under My Skirt has been transformed by director Anapela Polata'ivao into a play with all-female cast of six formidable Pasifika actresses. Polata'ivao's direction of the play earned her Best Director in the 2016 Auckland Theatre Awards.
Wild Dogs Under My Skirt fuses together the rhythm and raw energy of lyrical performance poetry and oral traditions, to create a theatrical piece where the sum is greater than the parts. It is both a celebration and examination of what it means to be a Samoan woman living in New Zealand, taken from a very personal and nuanced perspective.