Thursday, 17 December, 2020 - 11:22
Norman Tofilau, Head Student at Fraser High School, Hamilton, has his sights set on Broadway. To help him get there, he’s studying a Bachelor of Music and Performing Arts at Wintec next year.
If you had met Norman in 2017, you might not have believed him if he told you he would be Head Student in a few years, and that he wanted to be a performer.
Coming to New Zealand as a teenager from Savai i, SÄmoa, and going straight into high school, Norman knew nobody except his uncle, and spoke very little English. He struggled to adjust during that initial time in New Zealand.
What s on TV: Monday, December 14 to Sunday, December 20
We’re sorry, this service is currently unavailable. Please try again later.
Dismiss
What s on TV: Monday, December 14 to Sunday, December 20
By Craig Mathieson and Ben Pobjie
December 12, 2020 7.30pm
Normal text size
ABC, 8pm
One Plus One returns this week in a new timeslot – the
Australian Story/ Back Roads one – and with Stan Grant in the driver s seat. His theme over the course of half a dozen interviews is identity: what it is, where it comes from, how it shapes us, and how we shape it. First off the blocks is the remarkable Alex McKinnon, an NRL player who at the height of his powers was gangtackled on the field and suffered a catastrophic spinal injury. Naturally the identity of this young man was wholly wrapped up in his physicality: as an athlete, as an Aussie bloke. How he recreated himself is an extraordinary story, and Grant does a terrific job of drawing it out – and of taking the conversation aw