Beep Test
Fringe Binge for Wellington Theatre Collective
Binge Culture presents Whales, For Your Future Guidance and ‘Beep Test*
The beep sounds, the game is on and it’s all go for Wellington theatre collective Binge Culture! Veterans of NZ Fringe
Festivals, the collective will present three new works in Fringe 2013. Known for subversive and interactive performance
art, Binge Culture’s new works find original ways to include audience members, from those wanting to stop by Thistle
Hall for a beer (which the collective will serve alongside their performances) to unsuspecting passers-by on
Wellington’s waterfront.
Whales is an outdoor spectacle. The curious are invited to gather on Wellington Waterfront, between 12 and 1pm on Saturday 15
November, where they will meet the whales. The company says the show is suitable for grown ups, children and hipsters,
and recommends that audience members bring a bucket.
For Your Future Guidance
Help is on the horizon for citizens anxious about what the future holds. For Your Future Guidance is an interactive performance in the style of a self-help seminar aimed at giving the participants the skills and
knowledge to survive the coming decades. The seminar will help people adjust to their imminent new reality and give them
a chance to practice coping mechanisms.
‘Beep Test* is a performance of gladiatorial proportions in which the performers comply with the horrific, robotic demands of the
beep test. Channelling the 'give it a go' zeitgeist of their secondary school education, performers will demonstrate
their special talents, until now kept between themselves and their bathroom mirrors. Dreams and school mottos may come
true: 'Per Angusta, Ad Augusta', -Through difficulties to greatness.'
Award-winning Binge Culture formed in 2008. In 2009, Binge Culture was awarded “Best Newcomers” at the NZ Fringe
Festival and “Most Original Production” at the Dunedin Fringe Festival. Street theatre specialists, they won “Best
Outdoors” at the 2010 NZ Fringe Festival. Their show Wake Less, originally commissioned for BATS Theatre’s 2011 STAB season, was performed in Auckland in early 2012 as part of the
New Performance Festival at The Edge and was singled out by theatre reviewers as a highlight of the festival. Their show This Rugged Beauty was nominated for the 2009 Chapman Tripp Theatre Award for Most Original Production.
Whales The team behind Binge Culture’s 2013 Fringe projects is Joel Baxendale, Simon Haren, Isobel MacKinnon, Fiona McNamara,
Claire O’Loughlin and Ralph Upton.
Whales Saturday 15 February, wet weather alternative Sunday 16 February, 12-1pm, Wellington Waterfront, on the Harbour side of
Te Papa, in front of Circa Theatre. FREE
For Your Future Guidance 26 February - 1 March, 6:30pm, Thistle Hall, 293 Cuba Street, Wellington, Tickets: www.bingeculture.co.nz/bookings and door sales
‘Beep Test* 4-9 March, 7:30pm, Thistle Hall, 293 Cuba Street, Wellington Tickets: www.bingeculture.co.nz/bookings and door sales
ENDS