TAHI SHOWS 2020

Directed by Sally RIchards and Kerryn Palmer

A collection of quintessential monologues from New Zealand solo shows that explore what it means to be a New Zealander.

Featuring monologues from the following solo works: Banging Cymbal, Clanging Gong by Jo Randerson; Mapaki, by Diana Fuemana ; I’m Having it Off With Ajax, by Mel Johnson; KRISHNAN’S Dairy by J. Rajan and J. Lewis; The End of The Golden Weather, by Bruce Mason; Queen, by Sam Brooks; Verbatim by Miranda Harcourt, William Brandt and Ngā Pou Wāhine, by Briar Grace-Smith, Waiting by Shadon Meredith and A Cripple Talks About Anatomy, by Henrietta Bollinger.

By agreement with Playmarket.

Performed by Emma Katene, James Ladanyi, Tupe Lualua and Ravikanth Gurunathan

Devised by Peter Wilson and Kenny King

Circle of Life is a new work in development that explores the birth, life, and death of two puppets - one born from a block of wood, and the other from newspaper. These inanimate objects come to life as we suspend our disbelief and are taken on a journey, where the end is the beginning and the beginning is the end.

Directed by Kerryn Palmer and produced by Bronywn Bent

When Elisabeth Easther first stumbled across the writings of ornithologist Perrine Moncrieff, specifically her 1925 field guide, New Zealand Birds and How To Identify Them, she was astonished that Perrine was not better remembered. To remedy that historical amnesia, A Rare Bird explores the audacious exploits of an extraordinary woman in a male-dominated world, and reveals the vital role Perrine Moncrieff played in conserving the flora and fauna of Aotearoa.

Trigger warnings: People who worry about the ongoing destruction of nature and the ramifications for all living things may be inspired to make changes both big and small.

Directed by Mark Rayner

Performed by David Charteris

Funny, tragic and full of human interest, this is the story of Walter D’Arcy Cresswell the self-proclaimed “soldier poet”, and his relationship with Whanganui Mayor Charles Ewing Mackay.

A compelling tale of the relationship and its consequences.

Presented by Linn Lorkin and David Charteris

Linn Lorkin went to New York on a three-week transit visa in 1977, fell into piano-bar work and stayed eight years. Interwoven with original songs ( including her famous Family at the Beach) and unfolding like a Broadway musical, Hey, Piano Bar Lady! tells the fascinating tale of her adventures in the Big Apple as she progresses from down-town $20-a-night gigs to up-town’s swanky ivories with stops along the way for marriage, divorce and a baby. Currently in revival for New Zealand audiences, it was one of ThreeWeeks Picks of the Festival at Edinburgh Fringe 2012 and won Best Cabaret at the world’s largest solo theatre festival, United Solo, in New York 2013.

"A love-letter to a life filled with adventure, funny and poignant, Lorkin’s captivating performance exuding the timelessness of a brilliant performer " * * * * The List UK " Fabulous style...a cross between Victoria Wood and Edith Piaf " * * * * MusicalTheatreMatters UK

Presented by Eleanor Bishop and Karin McCracken

Jamie and Ari like each other. Karin and Tom do too ;)

They might be at two separate parties, but their stories are identical – until they really aren’t.

Part confession, part documentary, part open conversation, Yes Yes Yes is a theatre show created for young people that explores the knotty and necessary topics of healthy relationships, consent, and desire.

This latest work from award-winning duo Karin McCracken and Eleanor Bishop blends audience interaction with captivating solo performance, and features in-depth interviews with teenagers from around Aotearoa New Zealand. Made with and for 14-22 year olds, Yes Yes Yes is a funny, generous and innovative piece of contemporary performance that speaks directly to one of the most pressing issues young people face today.

Outstanding Performance, Karin McCracken, Wellington Theatre Awards 2019

Excellence in Theatre for Social Change. Wellington Theatre Awards 2019

Excellence for Overall Production, Auckland Theatre Awards 2019

Originally commissioned by Auckland Live and produced by Zanetti Productions (Helen Sheehan)

Presented by DramaLAB. Written, directed and performed by Martine Baanvinger. Composition by Mark Manson

“When the Roaring Lion calls my Henry, I’m dreaming hours down to minutes…”

The award-winning show ‘Solitude’ is telling you the extraordinary true story of Annie Chaffey’s struggles and triumphs whilst living for 40 years in New Zealand’s isolated mountains.In 1913 Annie enters the remote mountains of Kahurangi National Park to live a hidden life with her lover Henry Chaffey. There are no regrets, the years pass but love never falters. Together with the hills they grow old. Forty years in raw exile, swallowed by the silence, enslaved by the fire.

Martine Baanvinger from DramaLab is offering you a peek inside Asbestos Cottage where Annie lives a life of solitude. Where Queen Vicky and Aunt Daisy come to the rescue. Where jam and scones are served in Victorian dresses and the gun is always within reach. Bang! Woodhen for dinner.

This beautiful, touching true story is about Annie Chaffey’s love, loneliness, loss and laughter.

Presented by downunderground

Through the eyes of a talking fish, a magical encounter of two girls across time and oceans tells the story of an eccentric family and their house by the sea.

Fish Saw is a collection of intimate and moving stories told by the Little Girl with Glasses and her best friend, the giant talking fish. Can their unlikely friendship survive the catastrophe that destroyed the town and lives most dear to her? Based on the true stories of Sachie’s family, Fish Saw is a ‘Miyazaki meets Garcia Marquez’ one-woman show created by Japanese performer/composer, Sachie Mikawa, and Argentine-based American director, George Lewis. The show features original stop-motion animation and musical score.

"A beautiful, funny, tragic and touching show about the endurance of memory in the face of human mortality" -apt613 Ottawa

Presented by Little Dog Barking. Devised by Peter Wilson and Kenny King

Tim is afraid of the dark, he wants the lights turned on all the time. Noises from under his bed, the wind rattling the window, these all make him afraid, so much so that he believes the noises are all monsters waiting , waiting, waiting... The cat, a frog, and a spider all help Tim to overcome his fear, and he finally goes off to sleep with the light off.

This show is suitable and targeted for children.

Presented by School for Gifted Children. Created, performed and designed by Jean Sergent

Acclaimed Wellington actor Jean Sergent's show about thriving and surviving through grief, happenstance, and self-sabotage returns to BATS for the third time in 2020! If life has ever gotten so weird and dumb that you've thought about joining a cult, join Jean instead on a cosmic comedic journey through terrible happenings and horrible choices to learn how to Change Your Own Life. Grab your crystals, light some candles, and get ready to open your chakras, or at least laugh about sad things.

‘I’ve never seen Jean give anything less than a powerhouse performance, but this show... gawd. Look, it’s maybe the most generous performance I’ve ever seen. She never turns off, never disconnects from us, her audience.’ Freya Daly Sadgrove, Pantograph Punch.

Written and Performed by Lynda Chanwai-Earle

Close to the bone, Ka-Shue (Letters Home) is an epic story of love and loss, spanning a hundred year’s between China and New Zealand through the eyes of one Chinese family struggling to resettle in Aotearoa.

Lynda Chanwai-Earle is a fourth-generation Chinese New Zealander and Poll Tax descendant. Ka-Shue (Letters Home), premiered at Circa Theatre in 1996, and was the first authentically New Zealand– Chinese play for mainstream audiences.

By arrangement with Playmarket.

Presented by Plumb Theatre

Combining magical storytelling with an immersive soundscape, Stalker delivers one man's insights into life, death and the remarkable intelligence behind it all.

It is a story that draws on science, imagination and the indefatigable love for things lost and so very near to extinction. Coming to terms with the loss of his partner to cancer, Stalker finds the devastating effects of kauri dieback on the trees surrounding his house symptomatic of a deeper malaise – climate change, species extinction, increasing isolation, and loss of identity. But his discovery that science confirms the existence of an intelligent network of communication between trees opens his mind to the wonder and awe of life and the amazing connectedness of all things.

“Intensely lyrical images...exquisite tenderness...a powerful redemptive quality” - NZ Herald