Theatre show immerses audience in the storm of post-truth

How do we frame truth in the era of ‘fake news’, social media swinging elections and algorithm-induced echo chambers, where yesterday’s science fiction is today’s reality? A storm is brewing, but can we see it coming? Or is it just a tempest in a teacup? The highly coveted and anticipated 2018 STAB commission Actual Fact seeks to explore these questions and more, as audiences go on a whirlwind journey into their own meaning-making through a playful multisensory live performance from 16 Nov - 1 Dec at BATS Theatre.

From award-winning makers Isobel MacKinnon and Meg Rollandi this show reframes audience perceptions by wrapping them in a visual, aural and sonic feast, complete with an immersive video environment, surround sound, and electric performances from a stellar, intergenerational all-female cast: stage veteran Madeleine McNamara (Demeter’s Dark Ride - An Attraction; White Elephant), Karin McCracken (Body Double; Jane Doe) and Freya Finch (Shortland Street; Maggot). A team of collaborative design artists including Charley Draper, Thomas Lambert and Owen McCarthy join them alongside dramaturg/producer Melanie Hamilton for what promises to be a provocative exploration of a timely subject that involves us all - whether we like it or not.

“There’s the story...then there’s the story of how the story came to be told. Then there’s what you leave out of the story. Which is part of the story too.” - Margaret Atwood

Fitting for the prestigious once-a-year STAB commission by BATS Theatre, Actual Fact is ambitious in both scope and scale. Creators MacKinnon and Rollandi say “in our polarised world, we want more than ever to create a show that humorously explores how we can communicate across difference and distance. Rather than offering audiences an ‘objective’ experience, we want to make it radically subjective to the point that audiences might understand and ‘see’ the work quite differently.”

Actual Fact Co-Directors and Co-Performance Designers Rollandi and MacKinnon most recently worked together on the highly acclaimed My Best Dead Friend, which is currently touring arts festivals in Australia and New Zealand after winning the Melbourne Fringe Tour Ready and Best of Fringe awards (NZ Fringe 2018), and Force Field, winner of Best Overall Production Design and more at Auckland Fringe 2018. The STAB commission is a prestigious opportunity to further this creative partnership, awarded to artists who are creating innovative contemporary performance works.

Understanding how one perceives meaning amongst multiple narratives, where information is continually reframed, is a vital skill in our ‘post-truth’ world. Actual Fact offers a audiences a chance to playfully explore their own perspectives through a provocative and compelling live performance with ever shifting, altering viewpoints.
www.actualfact.co | Facebook: @actualfactshow

Actual Fact plays
Dates: 16 Nov - 1 Dec (preview 15 Nov); 8pm
Venue: BATS Theatre, 1 Kent Tce, Wellington
Tickets: $19 - $25 (Booking fees may apply)
Bookings: www.bats.co.nz or phone 04 802 4175

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