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In the Theatre, catch Tafatolu, a visceral physical theatre show inspired by Pasifika mythology and the traditional Samoan theatre style of fale aitu.
In the Studio, catch Mother Is A Daughter Is A Mother, a show that pulses with destruction, restoration, and the complex relationship between a mother and daughter. Catch Guido and witness a taut, haunting reckoning between two men in 1920s Dunedin, where memory and power collide. No Homo is back with an iconic lineup of queer comedy superstars, promising a sell-out night of hilarious talent hosted by James Mustapic. Also in the Studio, Bull Rush brings improv chaos and comedy.
Mā te wā,
Basement Theatre x
Tafatolu
12 – 16 August, 8pm. Theatre.‘Tafatolu’- is a visceral, musical, and physical adaptation of the stories passed down from our tupuna, tuaā, and fanga-kui. Stories born from Pasifika mythology inspired by the traditional samoan theatre style of fale aitu. Venturing into a realm unknown we bear witness to the awakening of our ancestral knowledge and gods who have lied dormant within us awaiting their turn to dance!
GUIDO: A Play Reading
13 August, 8.30pm. Studio.One room. One night. One reckoning.
Set in 1920s Dunedin during the height of New Zealand’s colonial legacy, Guido is a taut two-hander that traps two men in a private study—while the echoes of a high-society party hum just beyond the door. Over the course of a single night, memories rise, power shifts, and the truth presses in from all sides.
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Performed in the raw intimacy of Basement Theatre, Guido is a claustrophobic descent into memory, guilt, and the long shadow of power. What happens when the past comes back—uninvited?
A haunting queer, migrant, and POC-centred story of survival, silence, and reckoning—set in 1920s Aotearoa.
Mother Is A Daughter Is A Mother
14-16 August, 6.30pm. Studio.WHO ARE YOU IN RELATION TO ME?
Exploiting what it means to be a Mother,
when you are still a Daughter.
Birthing art as a result of fermentation.
Inducing labour in the hope of catharsis.
Mother. Daughter.
Pulsing to the tune of destruction and restoration.
A portrait of life creation.
Or is it art creation?
Probably neither.
MDM explores the outside concepts of Motherhood and Art.
Prepare to be cradled, confronted and confused (???)
No Homo: Queer Comedy
15 August, 8.30pm. Studio.No Homo is BACK, baby! After a sold-out show in June, we’re returning on August 15th with another iconic lineup of queer comedy superstars. Hosted by James Mustapic, and featuring the hilarious David Stuart, Marshall Lorenzo, Johanna Cosgrove, and Rhiannon McCall. No Homo always sells out, so get your tickets!
Bull Rush
15 August, 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.
Strawberry Baby
19-23 August, 8pm. Theatre.Strawberry Baby is a bold, camp, and colorful solo dance work exploring beauty standards, neurodivergence, and queerness through movement, humor, and expressive design. Set in a bright pink bedroom, this vibrant performance peels back the layers of societal expectations, revealing the intimate struggle of self-acceptance. Audiences will be taken on a playful, rebellious, and thought-provoking journey through an immersive dance performance that challenges beauty norms while celebrating the joy of self-discovery.
Decadunce
21-23 August, 6.30pm. Studio.The award-winning Kiwi comedian Marshall Lorenzo (Canada’s Drag Race) is back with a brand new sketch comedy extravaganza ‘Decadunce’. Let’s just say we’re a gun law away from finally eating the rich and Marshall Lorenzo is ready to pull the trigger. ‘Decadunce’ is the third chapter in the eight-time NZ Fringe award-nominated ‘Baby Gorgeous’ sketch comedy trilogy. While 2024’s ‘Baby Gorgeous’ was the amuse-bouche and Baby Gorgeous Build Ups was the main course, get ready to eat good in the decadent and dizzying dessert of the Baby Gorgeous trilogy: ‘Decadunce’. Now fully committed to living a lifestyle outside of his means, Decudunce is a brand new show about fraud, excess and stupidity. Featuring various unforgettable characters (Including the Briscoes lady!), and biting commentary on the dilapidated state of it all! Come see the sequel to the comedy show audience members called ‘freakin hilarious’, and ‘on another level’.
E Ngaro Ana Koe?
26-30 August, 8pm. Theatre.E ngaro ana koe? (Are you lost?) is a full-length multimedia dance work that questions: How do we break bread with our taniwha?
This work embodies the shedding of skins, the practice of growing new niho, and the act of morphing—again and again and again. It is an archival space. It is a place to wade, yield, sigh… exist. But more than that, it is a karanga to face the raruraru that often sits deep within the puku of those who feel disconnected from their whakapapa.
Will we allow our taniwha to consume and engulf us—or will we cradle her with care?
Weaving pūrākau and personal journeys, E ngaro ana koe? highlights eight powerful movement artists as they find communion in confronting their individual and shared taniwha. Guiding us along their sacred awa of shared concerns, joys and dreams—inviting us to reflect, witness, and feel.
Each night is a unique experience of movement, poetry, archival film, sculpture, and connection to the virtual ether.
We invite you to consider:
What brought you here?
The whenua you reside on?
And where you might be headed next.
May Mga Uod Ang Utak Mo (There Are Worms In Your Brain)
27-30 August, 6.30pm. Studio.Welcome to the wake that never ends
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The father dies
The funeral starts
Sean speaks
The father dies
The funeral starts
Sean speaks
The funeral runs its course
Time folds in on itself
The coffin twitches
A pepe the frog weeps
A troll bleeds
Voices distort
Music rots
The algorithm is watching
May Mga Uod Ang Utak Mo is an autopsy of the self. Looping through ritual and ceremony- Sean Rivera wrestles with the death of his father in an arena of internet echoes. 4chan, reddit, the manosphere- a universe hopping, red-pill popping extravaganza that throws time in the bin and warps the fabric of reality itself.
Pay respect to Sean Rivera’s solo debut, a twisting labyrinth of grief in the digital age made with support from Creative New Zealand.
[opening file grief.exe]
[WARNING: THIS FILE CANNOT CLOSE
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