BATS Theatre - Tue, 01 Mar 2005

Tue, 01 Mar 2005

Kia ora koutou

It's the final week of Fringe and we have six fantastic shows to see the festival out. Come check out Mmmdance, Uniform, Considering Rachel/A Stye of the Eye, Stamping Grounds, Drift and The World's Tallest Tale!

BOOK NOW to avoid disappointment - to book for any performance at BATS simply reply to this email with your name, number of tickets and date you wish to attend. We will reply to confirm your booking and you can pay when you come to the show.

Coming up at BATS, Cabaret of the Unlikely, a Red Mole production opening on 8 March and Bedbound by Enda Walsh, directed by Tony McCaffrey opens on March 15.

X the BATS crew

Mmmdance Season: Sunday 27 Feb - Tuesday 1 March Time: 6.30pm Tickets: $15 full/$12 concession/$10 Fringe addict Juliet Shelley (Wellington) & Bob Eisen (New York) perform in Mmmdance.

Two experimental dancers living on opposite sides of the globe who have never clapped eyes on each other, join physical forces at BATS for MMMDAnce in a programme of two solos and a duet. "I know I'm alive when I'm dancing." Juliet Shelley " surreal and stylised..." (Dominion Post ) is a Wellington based dancer born in Tanzania who performs improvisations at the drop of a hat and has been doing so for around ten years in NZ. Bob Eisen - "one of the city's more iconoclastic and progressive artists" ( Chicago Tribune ) - is an experimental dance soloist in his '50s. His eclectic career as a dancer, choreographer and improviser spans three decades. He brings to the fringe festival a solo improvisation that runs the gamut from 'dancy ' dance to silliness, awkwardness, gestures, facial expressions and making sounds. His dancing is fluid, gutsy, alarming and deliciously unpretty.

Uniform Season: Saturday 26 Feb - Wednesday 2 March Time: 9.30pm Tickets: $15 full price/$12 concession/$10 Fringe addict Stitches and sutures, sewing and surgery. A personal account of artistic yearning and body politics. Written, directed and performed by Nichola Gerard and the Big Strong Girls, Uniform (meaning "one shape") is set in a theatre wardrobe and introduces the costumier, summoning some famous feisty females from her theatre career (Nora Helmer, Elektra, Ophelia and others).

A score of both original and sampled music, with dance choreography, add to a layered dialogue of theatre ritual and colourful mayhem. Anarchic and camp, Uniform dissects personal identity through the transgender experience, reflecting on the importance of the theatre as a vital social forum. Devised for Performing Arts Studies at the University of Otago, the work and its writer have been featured in the Listener and on TV2's Queer Nation.

Considering Rachel/A Stye of the Eye Season: Monday 28 Feb - Thursday 3 March (sold out apart from a few tickets tonight - Tues) Time: 8pm Tickets: $15 full/$12 concession/$10 Fringe Addict With a hiss and a roar, Yael Gezentsvey leads The Faberizzi’s double-bill featuring everything from the poignant to the bizarre… Considering Rachel dives into Rachel and Dave’s marriage where the drama and comedy of their relationship unfolds. Desiree Gezentsvey’s script illuminates a marriage where profound intimacy and the abyss of loss are equally present. A Stye of the Eye is a hilarious satire of American culture. Murder, incest and a manic transvestite nun- Durang’s work entertains and un-eases. Parodying works by playwright Sam Sheppard, this is one for Sheppard fans and critics alike!

Stamping Grounds Season: Wednesday 2 - Saturday 5 March Time: 6.30pm Tickets: $15 full/$12 concession/$10 Fringe Addict Directed by Jade Erikson (Yatra, Penumbra). TALKBACK Youth Theatre collective made up of recent settlers from the Middle East and Africa: Aya Al-Umari, Phil Pithyou, Martin Pithyou, Mohamed Osman, Ahmed Osman, Leila Osman, Fatima Jeylawi, Tammilkah E Nurokina, Yordanos Giebremichael, Rahwa Giebremichael and Zaya Aoraha, and graduates of Toi Whakaari Jessie Alsop, Amanda Baker, Anna Brothers, Jade Daniels and Vaughan Slinn come together, risking life and limb with the stories the media forgot to tell you.

This energetic theatrical exploration is devised from investigations into the powerful media images of countries in crisis that can often overshadow the rich personal experiences and histories of these individual New‚ New Zealanders.

The World's Tallest Tale Season: Thursday 3 - Saturday 12 March (no show Sun/Mon) Time: 9.30pm Tickets: $16 full/$12 concession/$10 Fringe Addict International comedians Alicia Clark and Aurora Kurth return to Wellington with the world premier of their latest Theatre escapade. The story follows our outlandish heroes on a quest to discover the truth behind The World's Tallest Tale. They encounter ridiculous scoundrels, magic and skullduggery, as they race to save the world. Hilarity, adventure and nail biting excitement ensue.

The fantastic John Bolton Theatre trademarks are created by - actors playing multiple characters, singing and physical comedy devices all combining to create an amazing world for this story to unfold within. The show's director Merophie Carr a kiwi is also a fellow John Bolton Theatre School graduate and won the Melbourne International Comedy Festival Export Award in 2003.

Drift Season: Friday 4 - Saturday 5 March Time: 8pm Tickets: $14 full/$12 concession/$10 Fringe Addict Drift, a sonic and movement based performance, debuted in New York in 2004 by Tuning Fork, a NZ production duo.

Tuning Fork founders, Camilla Maling and Olivia Skinner, have brought a radio documentary to the stage, combining Camilla's experience in radio and movement with Olivia's performative passions.

Their multi-dynamic piece tells the story of two women and their fellow NZers dealing with the universal experience of living with distance.

Drift has been described as "a kind of aria, a lyrical poem" and encourages audiences to indulge their senses and imaginations. Drift is a story about people, transition and growth expressed through movement, text and audio landscapes of bustling New York environments and abstract sound worlds. *******************************************

BATS Theatre 1 Kent Terrace Wellington, Aotearoa bats@bats.co.nz bookings 802 4175 office 802 4176 fax 802 4010 www.bats.co.nz

The Fabulous Fringe 05 at BATS! On now until 12 March ********************************************

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