Fiji Traveller speaks to Emma Ragg-Newland, the writer and director behind the exciting and timely new homegrown theatrical production High Functioning.
Fiji Traveller: What is High Functioning?
Emma: High Functioning is an original Fijian musical theatre work about the ways people cope when life becomes overwhelming.
It follows a group of friends whose weekends are built around parties, laughter and the appearance that everything is under control, but underneath they’re each navigating anxiety, addiction, burnout, family pressure, and questions of identity.
FT: What’s different about this show?
We don’t tell those stories through dialogue alone. Comedy, music, and contemporary dance all become part of the storytelling, allowing audiences to experience what the characters are feeling rather than simply hearing about it.
It’s funny, energetic and entertaining, but it also invites us to recognise the very human ways we all try to keep functioning when life gets difficult.
FT: Why is the subject matter important here and now?
Emma: We’re living through a time where there’s enormous pressure to always appear capable. Whether it’s work, family, social media or financial stress, many people have become very good at projecting that everything is fine while quietly carrying much heavier burdens.
Here in Fiji we’re also having more conversations about addiction, mental health and harmful coping behaviours, but we often focus on the outcome rather than asking what brought someone there in the first place.
High Functioning is interested in those quieter moments – the stress, grief, loneliness and pressure that can slowly shape unhealthy patterns.
The play asks us to look beyond the behaviour to the person underneath, and to consider how we can create communities where people don’t have to hide their struggles until they’re in crisis.
FT: Why is it important to you?
As a writer, I’m interested in the gap between how people present themselves and what they’re actually experiencing.
Some of the most important moments in life happen internally, and theatre has this wonderful ability to make invisible emotional experiences visible through music, movement and performance.
It’s also important to me because Fiji has extraordinary performers, dancers and musicians, and I think our audiences deserve to see more original work that reflects contemporary Fijian life.
If we want a strong performing arts sector, we have to keep creating stories that belong to us.
FT: Who’s in it, and where would we know them from?
The cast brings together performers from across Suva’s performing arts community, including many audiences will recognise from the 2023 production of Mamma Mia!, alongside artists from MATA Dance Crew and familiar faces from the film Bati and the TV series Suva City.
One of the joys of this project has been bringing together artists with backgrounds in theatre, dance and music to create something that simply couldn’t exist without all those disciplines working together.
FT: Vinaka vakalevu, Emma! We’re super excited for the show! When and where can we catch it?
Emma: The show will be held at the USP Pacific Australia Performance Space (Black Box Theatre) on July 10th and 11th.
You can get your tickets to High Functioning here https://buytickets.at/highfunctioning
