The Liberal Agenda - Basement Theatre - Welcome To The First Week Of Our Summer Pride Season!

Kia ora Basement whānau,

Aue, e hika ma! Titiro koutou ki ngā whakaari i tēnei wiki! The Summer Pride season calendar is heating up and we have some absolute heavy hitters in the building this week.

In the Theatre, it’s the end of an era. Come say your goodbyes at bad apple: Last Harvest. After four years of serving the LGBTQIA+ community with top-tier literary excellence, they are throwing one final, spectacular party. Don’t miss this chance to witness a powerhouse lineup of readings and musings from Amber Esau, Liam Jacobson, Ruby Macomber, Amy Marguerite, Ted Greensmith-West, Laura Vincent and kī anthony.

In the Studio, we have a treat for the theatre baddies. Praise the Lord Play Reading, presented by Samesame But Different, offers an exclusive first look at a brand-new work by a local queer writer, Connor Amor-Bendall. If you want to see how the magic is made, you need to be here. Plus, the cast is absolutely stacked: Brit O’Rourke, Holly Hudson, Te Ohorere Williams, Andi Crown, Sam Sneddenand Tom Clarke.

Mā te wā,
Basement Theatre x

bad apple: Last Harvest
7 Feb, 8pm. Theatre.After four years of serving the LGBTQIA+ community of Aotearoa, bad apple is coming to an end. Before the website goes quiet, the team want to celebrate with Tāmaki Makaurau—one LAST HARVEST for all the fruits of the city.

We’ll celebrate and commiserate in style with readings and musings from frequent collaborators Amber Esau, Liam Jacobson, Ruby Macomber, Amy Marguerite, Ted Greensmith-West, Laura Vincent, kī anthony and more!

All are welcome along for this one-night-only, party/funeral for the juiciest queer art and lit journal.

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Praise The Lord – Play Reading
7 Feb, 6.30pm. Theatre. Choose What You Pay. Samesame But Different presents the third year of the Praise the Lord playwright residency in collaboration with Auckland Pride and Auckland Theatre Company, inspired by Robert Lord.

As the opening event of the residency, we’re excited to host a reading event of a new work by a local queer writer. This will be a staged reading of the play or an excerpt.

The 2026 Praise the Lord resident playwright is Connor Amor-Bendall!

It’s 1907 in Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Wellington. Painter Edith Bendall has begrudgingly returned home at her father’s behest, either to wed or be struck from the family fortune. Edith finds herself enamoured with a young author, Katherine Mansfield, and temptation soon leads to a tangle of lies, lust and unlaced corsets. Paranoia mounts as the two women risk everything for stolen hours in each other’s arms. As custom hedges them in, Edith is torn — are the consequences of loving each other too dangerous in this tightly-laced society?

Cast:
Kath Mansfield – Brit O’Rourke
Edith Bendall – Holly Hudson
Maata Mahupuku – Te Ohorere Williams
Annie Beauchamp – Andi Crown
Harold Beauchamp – Sam Snedden
Oscar Wilde / George Robison – Tom Clarke

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Big Queer Improv Party 3
14 Feb, 10pm. Theatre. Choose What You Pay.Big Queer Improv Party is back for our annual celebration of queer joy, featuring a delightful cast of queer comedy superstars and surprise celebrity guests.

Not only will this show fill your cup with joy and nonsense, it will also fill you with good vibes because every ticket sold raises money for our friends at Rainbow Youth!

Featuring Tom Sainsbury, Tom Clarke, Maria Williams, Rebecca Mary Gwendolon, Steven Lyons, Georgia Pringle and Greg Ward. Big Queer Improv Party 3 combines real stories with made up scenes for a welcoming and goofy hangout-vibes comedy show.

Consider this your invite to our improv party! We’ll see you there!

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We’re Weird For Other Reasons
10 – 14 Feb, 8pm. Theatre. Choose What You Pay.A world-first theatre project entirely devised by members of the Ace/Aro/Aspec community. This is a joyful and insightful exploration of our varied experiences and identities, brought to the stage for our community, friends, the curious and kind.

Brought to you by the creative teams behind Ungartered Territory and the Dr Drama Trilogy- We’re Weird for Other Reasons promises to be fun, theatrical, enlightening and a celebration of an emerging identity through performance.

Supported by Wellington City Council and Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington.

“it’s also so powerful to be able to watch a piece and feel represented in a way that I’ve just never felt”- Theatreview (Ungartered Territory)

Audio Description is available for all performances of We’re Weird for Other Reasons. Please email austinharrisontheatre@gmail.com directly if you would like Audio Description available for your performance.

Wednesday 11 Feb – Post-Show Q+A with the creatives and director behind ‘We’re Weird For Other Reasons’

Saturday 14 Feb – Free Workshop, Makers Space, 10am-1pm

A free workshop for aspec (asexual and/or aromantic) and questioning folks to explore and discuss aspec identities and experiences in an affirming and gentle space. Offered by Dr James Wenley (Te Herenga Waka-Victoria University of Wellington) and the team behind Basement Theatre and Auckland Pride aspec theatre show ‘We’re Weird for Other Reasons’, this workshop will involve playful prompts and exercises for us to connect and share in community.

Saturday 14 Feb – “Platonic Valentines”, Basement Theatre, 6pm

Join the team behind “We’re Weird for Other Reasons” for a warm evening celebrating platonic connection. Whether you’re a fellow aromantic legend, or just not feeling the traditional valentine’s buzz this year- we’ve got you. There will cake, good company and a space to hang out and meet new people without any icky expectations.

Join us from 6pm in the Basement Theatre bar, and stick around for the show with your new pals.

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TAKAPAPA – An indigenous queer film night
14 Feb, 5pm. Theatre. FREE EVENTWoven through the theme of TAKAPAPA — this indigi-queer film night weaves layers of identity, ancestry, memory, and connection that shape us across cultures, generations, and geographies. Each film speaks to the ways people locate themselves: in whakapapa, in queerness, in culture, in land, in community, and in the stories we inherit or choose to create.

Casting the net across Te Moana Nui a Kiwa and Asia, these works invoke decolonial thinking while exploring the tensions and tenderness of becoming, belonging, and authenticity.

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Potluck: A smorgasbord of drag talent!
17 – 21 Feb, 8pm. Theatre.Summer, Pride, and a whole lot of queer chaos. Drag King Haute Dish Auckland’s tastiest export and a wholesome Midwestern boy with just the right amount of spice – hosts Potluck, a nightly feast of drag where the menu changes every evening. As an Auckland drag king and producer for Cabaret Coven, Haute Dish brings a cheeky, home-cooked vibe to the stage: warm, unapologetic, and wildly unpredictable.

Expect a smorgasbord of talent, mouth watering looks and sizzling performances. With a rotating lineup each night, no two shows are the same — come hungry for spectacle, leave with crumbs of queer magic (and maybe a new favourite performer). Bring friends, bring pride, and bring your appetite.

Starring: Haute Dish, Romeo Blanco, Alexis Stoned, Bacchus, Johnny Raven, Dick Slayson, Douchebag DuJour, Theo Throb, Mx Splicit, Finn Gerring, Slovena, Veronica Feelgood, Fizzy Pop, Molly Q-Lar, Carmen Composed, Miss Caara, Fey Fapae, Neigh Sayyer, Tea Gurl, Large Hard Ron Collider and Margarita Blades

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Support Basement Theatre, supporting artists, supporting a vibrant Tāmaki Makaurau.

Basement Theatre is where the ideas, artists and arts leaders of tomorrow are being formed. We are hell-bent on supporting artists to develop their craft and build sustainable careers. We need your help to make this happen and there are a number of easy ways you can support us.

You can choose to make a one-off donation or set up a recurring donation to support our mission for a sustainable sector.