In case you don’t know we have two spaces.

The studio (which seats 60-80 people)

and

The theatre (which seats 100+)

The studio is upstairs and is cheaper for companies to hire – that doesn’t mean the show is any less awesome. Sometimes it’s more awesome! However it does mean no aircon. So we thought we had better let you all know, that it does get very warm up there in January and February when the shows sell out and there’s lots of hot bodies.

Bring your fan and a bottle of water. Maybe wear a singlet and shorts?

We’re sorry it gets so hot, we’ll try to leave the fire escape open and one day when we are a rich little theatre we promise to buy you aircon for upstairs too.

Bring on March when the nights are cooler!

Love The Basement x

Entering into the upstairs studio of the Basement on Tuesday I was expecting short theatre that had merely a romantic and comedic appeal but I was mistaken. I’m Not Content Productions were presenting “Love is a Street Fight”, a surrealistically dark look at the hardships and struggles of relationships from the past and present.

It’s safe to say the performance was not what I was expecting, but I still thoroughly enjoyed show. The six stories are incredibly diverse while keeping with the theme of “love”: One minute we were witnessing a fathers gripping and tragic passion for his family – the next schizophrenic confusions casting mayhem for a couple . The stories are all written by local emerging talent and manage to end on cliff-hanger’s that leave you wanting to see more.

Whether it was a couple struggling to get through an abusive past or a seedy man trying to fill his empty heart with a trip to the local gentleman’s club, this play has it all.

The nine-member cast transform into different characters along the way. The characters vary tremendously throughout the performance. Two men imprisoned together, medical experiments and a relationship on the brink of destruction are just a few of the themes touched upon.

The nine-member cast transform into different characters along the way. The characters vary tremendously throughout the performance. Two men imprisoned together, medical experiments and a relationship on the brink of destruction are just a few of the themes touched upon.

The lighting was suited perfectly to every individual play casting dark and grungy tones through the times of struggle and drama. This was teamed with airy music to help capture the emotions of those in the audience.

It’s a play that, even though you will hate to admit it, everyone can relate to in some way. Whether the characters portray a relationship that you’ve had in the past or a relationship of someone close to you – It is a show that will surely tug on your heartstrings and leave you questioning what makes love so addictive and compelling.

So don’t be fooled of the Valentine’s Day release date, this is no lovey-dovey performance. Instead it is six incredibly diverse 15-minute journeys into the dark-side of attractions and relationships. I shall mention no more but I highly recommend jumping on iicket and buying a pass to this performance!

By Kate McRobie

http://www.entertainme.co.nz/reviews/LoveStreetFight20120216

Happy Valentines Day! To celebrate we have a play that is the opposite of romantic.
If you are a Valentines hater – come along tonight at 8pm. If you have a Valentine maybe come later in the week.

Love Is A Street Fight
14-18th February
8pm

I’m Not Content Productions presents an evening of short theatre. Six original short plays inspired by the idea that Love is a Street Fight, written by, directed by, and featuring local emerging talent. A mixed bag of comedy, romance, and drama. (There is a guarantee of a little romance).

Featuring:

A Number Sacrificed, A Name Saved
As soon as Isaac wakes up he knows that something is wrong. How did he get here? And who is the strange dapper man with the German accent? As all of his worse fears begin to come true Isaac must find peace in the most unlikely of places and people.
Written by: Sophie Fletcher, Directed by and Featuring: Ashton Brown, Tom Kane

Two Blind Men
Two men who cannot see can do nothing but talk and wait while others do the fighting for them.
Written by: Laurence Dolan, Directed by: Benjamin Teh, Featuring: Jeremy Rodmell, David Rumney

All My Dreams Are Nightmares
She doesn’t remember the night. The dreams don’t make sense. Sometimes the only way to go forward is to go backwards, but sometimes what’s behind us should stay untouched. Have a glass of wine, a nightmare and reflect.
Written and Directed by: Ashton Brown, Featuring: Kat Glass, Tom Kane

Solitaire
He is a hoarder; content to search and simmer in solitude and negative space. His collection is impressive. But what is he searching for and who is he really playing games with?
Written by: Shane Garnett, Directed by: Natalie Braid, Featuring: Daniel Cresswell, Timothy Whale

What We Built
Their world consists of a ladder, a telephone, and the perceived threat of the intangible. But can love survive in an atmosphere of claustrophobia, paranoia, and tension?
Written and Directed by: Kat Glass, Featuring: Rachael Longshaw-Park, Jonathan Riley

All My Clients Are Lonely
A businessman, a prostitute, and a pile of hundred dollar bills. Tom isn’t like Laura’s other clients – he’s a rude, power hungry, intellectual with a hidden agenda. But Laura isn’t what she seems to be either, and their ensuing power-play raises questions of identity, contentment, and loneliness. A comedy about what really comprises love and knowledge.
Written by: Ashton Brown, Directed by: Tom Kane, Featuring: Kat Glass, Ashton Brown

That is six plays in one! Only $20. You can book tickets by clicking here

If you’d like to try your luck and win tickets to LOVE IS A STREET FIGHT Thursday night – reply with a ‘love you’ and we’ll pop you in the draw.

Love from
The Basement 
xo

Reviewed by Nik Smythe, 11 Feb 2012

I am met at the door of the Basement Studio by solo performer Jonathan Council, who shakes my hand welcomingly and gestures for me to take a seat.  An appropriate introduction for such a personal autobiographical journey, juxtaposed as it is with the historic show-biz tale of all-but forgotten 19th century vaudeville minstrel Irving Sayles.

His ample stage is set about (by Sally Tran) with life sized black & white photograph cut-outs of various characters, some familar – Liz Taylor, Sidney Poitier etc – some not, identified in due course as Irving Sayles and his best mate Mr Hicks, and Council’s own mother, who early on affects the direction of his tragi-comic true-life journey with her judgemental input. To complete the picture are cut-outs of a scaled-down statue of liberty and a classic 80s-style TV camera.

Council has enlisted the skills of young rising-star playwright Arthur Meek to form his very personal story which plays out in contrast to Sayles’ clear cut fable of fame versus dignity, as a kind of Buddhist parable addressing the desire for material gain versus the freedom of detachment forced upon him by agonisingly ironic timing.  Any fellow actor with a whisper of passion for the craft could not help but wince with incredulous pain watching him achieve the breaks most of us only dream of, only to have them torn asunder in the next moment.

Meanwhile 100 years ago, African-American Irving Sayles is the toast of Australia, and laterNew Zealand’s vaudeville circuit having left the US midwest aged 16.  His career predominately involved ridiculing his own race and culture by exploiting and reinforcing established uncomplimentary stereotypes, to greatly successful comic effect.

Mr Sayles’ tale is sadly ironic at best, and ultimately tragically foiled by a bureaucratic technicality, not unlike Mr Council’s frustrating travesty a century later.  But Council makes a point of explaining where the similarities end and the thankful differences between their two stories begin; he wants to be clear that for all the prejudice he may have suffered in his own life, it’s a holiday compared to the abuse suffered by people who were alive when slavery was normal and legal.

Given its content, the work might have been indulgently apologetic or self-piteous, but instead in its own quiet way Council’s earnest and endearing performance carries us on a rollercoaster through his personal struggle to succeed, culminating in a cathartic epiphany denied his historic counterpart.

http://www.theatreview.org.nz/reviews/review.php?id=4455

This week Jonathan Council is bringing his show Dark Stars, written and directed by the very clever (award winning playwright) Arthur Meek, to The Basement before heading to the New Zealand Fringe next week at BATS, then Adelaide Fringe, then Edinburgh, New York and the Moon. There is a cool set by Sally Tran, eyebrow raising gags by the golden age of minstrelsy, and Sidney Poitier as you’ve never seen him before. 2 nights only and selling FAST! Just come.

Dark Stars – a poignant tale full of black humour

February 10 and 11th at 7pm

$20-$25

Written and directed by Arthur Meek, one of New Zealand’s most celebrated young playwrights, Dark Stars is a solo play starring Jonathan Council, who portrays a version of his own life journey.   In seeking his big acting break, Council is propelled by misfortune to a tiny island in the Pacific where he unearths the forgotten story of Australasia’s popular Black Minstrel, Irving Sayles. Dark Stars weaves together the stories of two African-Americans living a hundred years apart in an examination of racist humour and the price paid for lusting after fame at the expense of dignity.

Sayles was an entertainer with one of the largest minstrel companies in the mid Western US providing audiences with stereotypical presentations of African American culture. After the Civil War in 1888 and aged just 16, he fled to Australia.  He subsequently became a well loved figure on the Australian stage moving to New Zealand to continue his career in vaudeville until his untimely death on a Christchurch street in 1914.

“This work has been a true collaboration with Jonathan”, says Meek, “He wanted to bring to life the story of Irving Sayles who was a hugely talented comedic entertainer whose humour was self-deprecating and racist, a product of the segregated world he lived in”.

Book your tickets right here

Two. Shows. Only. Make sure you make it to one.

A Sweet Deal from our friends at The Edge

THE EDGE presents a Festival to expand your mind… The New Performance Festival sets out to smash (and rebuild) the boundaries of performance by challenging the commonly accepted notions of “genre.” As well as a host of extremely talented locals, they are bringing in some highly acclaimed international shows from Germany, Canada and Australia.  With thirteen ground-breaking shows, a Festival Club hosting four alternative bands, a ping pong pit, and three incredible artists workshops, this is ONE festival you don’t want to miss. Check out all the details online: npfestival.co.nz

The Edge have created a special BASEMENT ticket price of $25* (normally $30*) from now till Tuesday 14 February.
Call 0800 BUYTICKETS and use the Promo code: ARTIST or book here and add ARTIST into the promo box.

See you soon everyone,

Love, The Basement 
xo

We are back! Happy 2012. We missed you.
Down at The Basement we are super excited to have this years first world premiere. It’s a brand new show called Leopard and it’s going to be dangerous!
Opening tonight and running till Saturday, don’t miss this sexy, twisted theatre piece written by emerging playwright Shoshana Mc Callum . The tagline is ‘Tearing you open from heart to groin.’ Ouch.

You can and should book tickets here.

Or you can win tickets by emailing us back with a Raarrrrrrrrrr in the subject line and we’ll put you in the draw to win a double pass for Wednesday (tomorrow) night.

Have a looksy at our website for more details www.basementtheatre.co.nz

See you soon, if you’re brave enough.

Love, The Basement 
xo

The Theatre Awards are back!
And this year we’re bigger and brighter than ever. We’ve got more show stoppers and big numbers than you can poke a stick at. But the magic can’t happen without YOU…

We need you, our beloved theatre community to get involved, and here’s how you can…

- Nominate an award

- Vote for the dress theme in the poll on our wall

- Join the official Hackman dance troupe

- Sponsor an award

- Enter the Bacon and Egg Pie Competition! Bring one along on the night and be in to win some fabulous prizes!!!! Remember to use that extra pastry for decorating! (Vegetarian pies accepted)

Get your tickets here http://www.the-edge.co.nz/Event-Pages/H/Hackman-Awards.aspx

But we will be asking again soon for our January-June 2013 season.

Please get in touch if you’ve got something up your sleeve. We love collaborating with an artistic mixtape of theatre makers, dancers, visual artists, poets, musicians, comedians and everyone in between. We are a safe place to be experimental, brave and innovative and WE WANT YOU!

Please go here for a submission form & more information or you can email sophie@basementtheatre.co.nz

Looking forward to hearing from you!

x