Waitaki Boys' High School pupils Kafa Katoa and Daniel Halaholo star in the play, Through My Father's Eyes, which explores the bigotry and dawn raids that Pasifika families endured in the early years of their arrival from the Pacific nations to New Zealand.
No Limits! co-founder and ARA Institute of Canterbury Pacific liaison officer Sela Faletolu-Fasi said the show connected first-generation New Zealand Pasifika with the stories of those who came before them.
"They worked really hard and this generation was their motivation when they got here. It wasn't great. It wasn't the land of milk and honey they thought it would be.''
The story is based around a father and son.
"It's a very raw emotional in-your-face show. It's so real. There is no sugar coating.''
Kafa and Daniel are both 17, of Tongan heritage and first-generation New Zealanders.
Kafa said having the chance to perform in the production meant a lot to him.
"It's really relatable to our family. It's a show about what an entire generation went through. It's still relevant.''
Many children and teenagers took for granted what they had access to and had little understanding of what older members of their family had gone through, he said.
"I think it will just make them think about our struggle when they see us around. They'll think about how hard it was back then. I just think it will change the way they think."
The production of Through my Father's Eyes will play at Christ-church's Nasda Theatre on April 28 and April 30, with two shows on each night, starting at 6pm and 7.30pm.
It will play at the St Kevin's College auditorium on April 29, starting at 7pm.
