20 Jan 2012
Pioneering debuts from esteemed kiwi artists Josh Rutter, Alexa Wilson, A Slightly Isolated Dog Ltd and Talking House converge upon Aotea Centre this February, when the New Performance Festival welcomes some of New Zealand’s brightest talent to share their latest offerings.
Experimental choreographer Alexa Wilson , who cleaned up at the Auckland Fringe Awards with her 2011 work Weg-a-Way, debuts her latest work with collaborator and former Shortland Street cast member Nisha Madhan. Holding a mirror up to our obsession with celebrity; Show Pony satirises the world of talk show, television, celebrity ‘cult’ culture and public therapy through the lens of innovative performance. This self-referential work royally mocks their public roles in performance in New Zealand.
Dunedin’s Talking House productions follow their 2010 theatre highlight Hush with new work Be|Longing: A Verbatim Play. Armed with only MP3 players the performers have sometimes described themselves as ‘avatars’, re-enacting whole conversations by replicating the emotions and body language of their interviewees. These interviews are fed to the actors live via headphones to offer up a fascinating new experience in documentary theatre.
Recently returned from North American and European tours, performance artist Josh Rutter gets back into the ring with Dance like a Butterfly Dream Boy. Gleefully stealing from prepubescent vlogs, protein supplement package design and Hungarian backyard wrestling, Josh creates a powerful and comedic comment on male identity. Rutter has danced for many of New Zealand’s leading choreographers and has collaborated with international performance artists, choreographers, musicians and theatre makers.
With the festival’s most intriguing title, Vague Meditations and the Irresponsible Use of a Time Machine, Wellington theatre company A Slightly Isolated Dog reveal an absorbing mix of discussion and performance. Their latest collaborative effort between artist and punter invites audiences to upload audio, video and stills, melding social networking and new media into imaginative worlds.
IMMERSE YOURSELF IN A GENRE-BLURRING 8 DAY FESTIVAL...
BE | LONGING: A VERBATIM PLAY: 22nd and 23rd, 7:45pm Lower NZI 1, Aotea Centre – Adults $25, Concessions $20 (booking fees will apply)
DANCE LIKE A BUTTERFLY DREAM BOY: 22nd & 23rd February 9pm
Rooftop, Level 5, Aotea Centre – Adults $10 (booking fees will apply)
SHOW PONY: 24th and 25th, 6:30pm Lower NZI 3, Aotea Centre – Adults $25, Concessions $20 (booking fees will apply)
VAGUE MEDITATIONS AND THE IRRESPONSIBLE USE OF A TIME MACHINE: 23rd, 6:30pm
Lower NZI 3, Aotea Centre – Adults $10 (booking fees will apply)
All bookings through THE EDGE – www.buytickets.co.nz or 09 357 3355
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