Haere mai ki te Basement Theatre i tēnei wiki mo te kanikani me te kata!
In the Theatre, Antonio! brings all the love and drama in punk pirate musical form.
In the Studio, don’t miss Sam Gibson’s unfiltered and hysterical debut of Some Regrets. An hour of razor-sharp comedy that’s already taken Christchurch and Wellington by storm! Also, catch Bull Rush for your weekly dose of improv comedy.
Mā te wā,
Basement Theatre x
Antonio!
19 – 22 March, 6.30pm. Theatre. Antonio! is a queer punk pirate musical starring Shakespeare’s ultimate love interest.
What if The Bard wasn’t just reusing a character name, but was instead inspired by one hopelessly romantic pirate looking for love in all the wrong places? Antonio! reimagines all of Shakespeare’s Antonios as one proudly queer pirate stealing hearts and booty on the high seas – that is, when he’s not in London, regaling his playwright lover William Shakespeare with tales of love and adventure.
- Sponsor Promotion -
Fed up with Will taking his stories but erasing their gay content, Antonio takes the stage with his band The Fools for Love to take the audience on a journey through the love stories that inspired The Merchant of Venice, Much Ado About Nothing, Twelfth Night and The Tempest.
Some Regrets
19 – 21 March, 8.30pm. Studio. Choose What You Pay.Sam Gibson has Some Regrets and he’s not afraid to share them in his hysterical debut show. After sold out performances in Christchurch and Wellington, Sam is finally making his way north with this unmissable hour of hilarity. Covering everything from recycling and dating apps all the way down to Mr Potato Head and the deepest recesses of the New Zealand Herald comments section, Sam’s here to reveal all – no regrets! (maybe Some Regrets).
Described as a “very active person with a very busy brain” by his psychiatrist and nominated for Outstanding Solo Performance at the New Zealand Fringe Festival, Sam is certified to make you laugh, cringe, cry, and feel strong feelings about words that actual humans have said with their mouths. Your mum loves him, your dad thinks he’s a bit much, you’re gonna think he’s just right. Get tickets now so you don’t have to tell your grandkids you missed this.
Bull Rush
21 March, 10pm. Studio.No Friday night will ever be the same again.
With a roster of Tāmaki Makaurau’s best and brightest performers, expect spit-take- worthy gags, epic stories, heartbreaking tales, and live improvised music at Bull Rush.
So gather your mates for a night of never before seen, totally made up, improvised comedy every Rāmere Friday.
Mess with the bull, feel the rush.
Since 2020, Bull Rush have been making it up as they go. With several seasons (Jingle Bull(Rush), Ghoul Rush, 1822) under their belt, these self-professed improv nerds know how to put on a bloody good show.
Winners of Best Improv Group at the 2024 NZ Comedy Guild Awards, among other accolades (not to brag).
My Clown, My Circus
25 – 29 March, 6.30pm. Studio. Choose What You Pay.The unique comedic talents of Sean Rivera and Janaye Henry are collaborating once more to bring you their most serious show to date. My Clowns, My Circus. After getting rejected from Aotearoa’s leading drama school – TOY Whakaari, Sean and Janaye are forced to reckon with their lives. For the first time, they are forced to stare into the teachings of Stanislavski, Strasberg, Hurst etc. etc. Can they do it? Can they be serious for a full hour or will they succumb to their usual clown antics?**
** This is a sketch comedy show ultimately. A farce.
Love; Mum
25 – 29 March, 8pm. Theatre.Love; Mum is about 5 Pacific women who meet at ‘Mums Anonymous’ – a self-help group for new Mums. They form a sisterhood that embarks on the journey of parenting together and the struggles we don’t often talk about.
As their children get older, life gets more complicated and begins to test their relationship with each other and the people they love. For Joy, the struggle to show up for the sisterhood while trying to navigate her own life becomes unbearable.
Sela Faletolu-Fasi wrote ‘Love; Mum’ in 2023, from a goodbye letter she wrote to her 6 children. She knew they would never thank her for that letter, so she decided to write a play as a way of sharing her story, expressing hope and to let her children know they are the reason for everything. All five characters in ‘Love; Mum’ are a representation of her and the struggles she has faced in life and as a Mum.
This is a funny and yet heartbreaking story about motherhood, about women, and ultimately about the power of love and forgiveness to overcome it all.
HER Festival
2 – 6 April, Various Times. Theatre & Studio.HER is a festival for all women, femme queens, AFAB, butch, cis, demi girl, feminine, femme presenting, gender fluid, trans women, women of colour, young women, old women, BBWOC, Indigenous terminology femme identities, mothers, queer women, women who can’t have children, women who don’t want children, women who haven’t even started on their journey, and all those in between.
The Play That Gets Louder
8 – 12 April, 8pm. Theatre.In a crumbling hospital ward amidst a retrofuturistic war, a wounded soldier is confronted by three others. As they bond over memories of their mothers, his search for a lost axe—and its dark legacy—ultimately leads to a tragic end.
How can I support Basement Theatre? Donations help us keep advocating for artists. Becoming a Basement Lover or a Basement Mate is the best way you can continually support us – and you get some bonus treats too!
