In the Theatre, don’t miss Potluck: A Smorgasbord of Drag Talent, a high-energy showcase with a different line-up every night featuring 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. Also, Nish Kumar is at Basement Theatre this Saturday!? Yes!!! This is a one-night, and now sold-out, gig.
Mā te wā,
Basement Theatre x
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
“Technology is just a tool. AI can replicate, but can it yearn? Can an algorithm understand the weight of a glance between two people who can’t express their feelings? Can code capture the way memory distorts and reshapes our past? These are the questions that interest me, and I don’t think machines have the answers yet” – Wong Kar Wai
New material from the co-host of Pod Save the UK and People’s Champion of Taskmaster
404: FAFA NOT FOUND
26 – 28 Feb, 6.30pm. Studio. Choose What You Pay
404: Fafa Not Found explores the impossibility of being authentically represented and the rituals we invent when explanation fails. Drawing from queer Pasifika and Indigenous knowledge systems, it refuses to define identity, instead staging its continual rewriting. A butch queen, a liberated body, the body the algorithm rejects. This work invites you to decode what appears … and what stays hidden in the system.
Live Reel Presents: Undercover Beauty Queen
25 Feb, 8.30pm. Theatre. Choose What You Pay.
We’re back and we’re kicking off 2026 with a classic!
UNDERCOVER BEAUTY QUEEN!
Come see some of Auckland’s most crack up people as they perform Miss Congeniality all from memory!
Will Sandy B successfully become hot enough to stop some crimes against models? Will she remember to say ‘World Peace’? Will there be a talent portion of the pageant? You bet your ass there will be…if we remember.
The Ruckus
27 Feb, 7.30pm. Theatre. Choose What You Pay.
The Ruckus is a DIY fantasy nerd punk show. Every gig, a new line-up of three performers play a role-playing game (kinda like a very loose D&D), with a bunch of randomised elements decided by dice rolls while a live band plays an improvised soundtrack.
Tickets are Choose What You Pay from just $8 – The Ruckus is for all! All profits go back into making each Ruckus bigger than the last, so if you can afford a bit more on your ticket, it goes a long way.
So invite your adventuring party, buy some ticks, and we’ll see you down at The Ruckus!
Consider the ever-expanding blackness of space, the vastness of the deep ocean, That there is more video content on the internet than you could watch in your lifetime.
Do you remember the last time you really lost yourself on the dance floor?
Motion Sickness compares the end of the universe with the current political fire-storm of 2026. Using a score of pulsing electronic music, immersive, hypnotic visuals and breakneck-speed new writing, a2 Company is taking over the Basement Theatre for four nights to guide you through the three leading theories of the end of the world.
To be a tiny part of a massive universe is not the same as being insignificant.
Before We Begin – Fundraiser Season
5-7 Mar, 8.30pm. Studio.
Taskmaster meets Sex Education… Before We Begin returns for three nights only!
After delighting audiences at Pride, the Before We Begin team are thrilled to be coming back to Basement and Tāmaki Makaurau audiences before making our Australian premiere at Adelaide Fringe.
The Base – Street Dance Festival
5 & 7 Mar, Various Times. Theatre.
Back to the base. Built from the roots.
THE BASE is a three day street dance event focused on the foundations of the culture. Delivered on an intimate scale, this fest highlights foundation based performance, battle, and choreography, centring the underground street dance community.
Across three days, THE BASE creates space for street dance styles to be honoured and held through depth, exchange, and presence.
Day 1 Thursday 5th Showcase night featuring Hip Hop dance theatre
Day 2 Friday 6th Battle night centred on freestyle and dope music, 7PM start
Day 3 Saturday 7th Foundations Dance Contest honouring the roots and fundamentals of street dance.
THE BASE is presented by Projekt Team in collaboration with street dance groups and leaders from the community.
More details to be announced. See you at THE BASE.
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.
