BATS Theatre is, in many ways, the mother of the Wellington theatre community. It welcomes emerging artists with open arms and provides a place of nurture to help those artists grow and eventually fly from the nest. BATS Theatre is embedded in Wellington’s theatre community, and so many of us have ties to our winged friend, one way or another. Like all the wonderful and valiant mothers in our world, those they nurture always strive to return the favour, by giving back to the person (or people in this case) who helped them along their way.
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Dell MitchellThe Billy T Award is possibly the most well-known award in New Zealand comedy. The winner receives the famous ‘yellow towel’, a small grant, and a lot of prestige. Every year, many up-and-coming comedians spend a significant amount of time and money preparing for this process. Catherine HartOn a typical wet and windy summer day in Wellington I headed out to meet with Hannah Clarke, the Director of the NZ Fringe Festival. I'm not going to lie, this was pretty daunting considering she has been heavily involved in the Wellington arts scene for some time.
George FennGeorge Fenn, age 23.
Hudson and Halls LIVE peaked my interest during its first season in Auckland. So when the big banner went up on the Hannah Playhouse I was delighted to get a chance to see what the fuss is about later this week. My taste in theatre is very broad. I would probably have been satisfied with the hook of “people cook a meal and it’s funny.” I hadn’t realised there was a real Hudson and Halls in the 70’s and 80’s. I had a chat with Anya Tate Manning, one of the performers about the context I was missing. Catherine HartI do not think I need to explain the radical difference between Edinburgh and Wellington (NZ) Fringe in terms of size. It's obvious from any standing point that Edinburgh trumps in scale, popularity, and history. However, during my time working in both there are a couple of differences that I found surprising and interesting, which in turn was a surprise to me.
Zoe Joblin“Lungs is a love story,” say husband and wife production team Adrianne Roberts and Dean Hewison who are about to launch it's Wellington premiere. The play follows two people through the raw and intimate moments of their relationship. Written by British playwright Duncan Macmillan, Lungs has been performed to sold-out audiences internationally.
Courtney Rose BrownDirector James Cain is bringing Richard II to the stage at BATS Theatre this August. Although the Wellington theatre scene has overflowed with Shakespearean content this year, Cain says there’s promise in Richard II because it’s “a fantastic kind of story that no one really knows.” I question how Cain will make Shakespeare interesting to a modern audience. Aware of potential downfalls with Shakespearean language, Cain is confident in his decision. “It’s really important to highlight and find the beauty in the language and Richard II is all written in verse and there’s some fantastic passages and what he [Shakespeare] is able to explore and bring about through characters in this incredibly stylistic language is amazing.” Zoe JoblinI was delighted to have a conversation with Lorae Parry, one of New Zealand’s foremost playwrights, following a play reading of her latest script Scarlet and Gold. The play premieres at Circa Theatre in November to mark the 100th anniversary of the formation of the Labour Party in New Zealand. Along with Lorae, Producer Kate JasonSmith and Director/Choreographer Jan Bolwell are equally as passionate about the project and the importance of it’s themes. Courtney Rose Brown
Courtney Rose Brown Local theatre makers, Iris Henderson and Catriona Tipene, are eager to hit the road again. Soon after returning home from The Lord Lackbeard’s North Island tour of Ophelia Thinks Harder (Jean Betts) and Hamlet (Shakespeare). This time choosing to tour their own work When We Dead Awaken (Henrik Ibsen), presented by their collective ‘Walking Shadows.’ Walking Shadows was founded for the Fringe Festival earlier this year, for their debut show. |
Art MurmursAt Art Murmurs, we aim to provide a safe and open space to discuss the arts in the Wellington Community. Archives
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