A White Honkie Scrubs up the Real Dirt on NZ

A White Honkie Scrubs up the Real Dirt on NZ

Have you ever wondered what to do about your morbidly racist grandparents? Ever been too white to join the Kapahaka group? Lied about your heritage to give you street cred?

Wellington will be served up a rare treat in the The New Zealand Fringe Festival with a fleshy bite of colonial cringe. Fresh off the back of a successful tour of London and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival comes REAL FAKE WHITE DIRT, a sharp-witted and cheeky one-woman show offering us a striking common struggle: being white. Navigating through this cringing territory with charm and honesty, REAL FAKE WHITE DIRT plays at BATS Theatre from 24 Feb-1 March at 8.30pm.

“from the moment it begins… to when she takes her bow, I fear I have not breathed for missing a word” - Theatreview

Taking to task our post-colonial paradise, Jess Holly Bates asks how we came to be the spray-tanned indigenous of our lush island homeland. Showcasing nationalism at it’s wryest, REAL FAKE WHITE DIRT fuses spoken word and theatre, bringing some wickedly recognisable characters along for the ride. After seeding her training at Long Cloud Youth Theatre under late legend Willem Wassenar and Silo matriarch Sophie Roberts, the “engaging, relentless and humorous” Bates makes her fierce return to the Wellington stage, hilariously unafraid of faux pas when it comes to those ugly fruits of history.

“Fantastic” Broadway Baby

Following international success with his company Theatre Beating (The Magic Chicken Show, Whistle Solo, Constantinople), Melbourne-based director Geoff Pinfield returns to bring REAL FAKE WHITE DIRT to his hometown of Wellington. Winner of 2013 Director Of The Year at the Chapman Tripp Theatre awards and soon to jetset to New York with the NZ New Performance Festival this March, Geoff is delighted to bring yet another brilliant piece of astute cultural commentary to the 2015 Fringe.

“bold, honest political statements … saved the best for last … a stunner ... very much in a class of its own” - Rip It Up on Lucky C*ntry (writer, performer)

“Bates gives a no holds barred performance” - Matt Baker, Theatrescenes on Auckland Theatre Company's The Heretic

“If you are hesitant to see Real Fake White Dirt because you're more of a theatre-goer than poetry person – fear not! [it is] funny, moving, and downright impressive!” -Theatreview

Taking their cue from Broadway Baby, audiences should “come with an open mind and expect to be satisfied,” by Bates’ friendly (and anxious) tongue in the cheek of what it means to be a culturally sensitive honkie in this country.

Facebook: /REALFAKEWHITEDIRT and Twitter: @realfakewhitedirt

REAL FAKE WHITE DIRT plays
Dates: 24 February - 1 March
Venue: BATS Theatre, 1 Kent Terrace, Mt Victoria, Wellington
Tickets: $18 Adult or $14 Concession
Bookings: www.bats.co.nz

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