Festival Fever

The International Festival has finally started on Friday, and we are proud to host two iconic Kiwi shows at Downstage. Te Karakia opens tonight and tells a love story of hope and forgiveness set amidst the maelstrom of the 1981 Springbok Tour. Co-produced by multi-award-winning company Taki Rua Productions and the International Festival and written by NZ's boldest young playwright Albert Belz (winner of the 2006 Bruce Mason Playwrights Award and the Chapman Tripp Award for Outstanding New Zealand Play of the Year in 2006 for Yours Truly) it will surely be a winner.

And Downstage is also getting ready for another festival premiere. Directed by former Downstage director Colin McColl Where We Once Belonged is an unflinchingly honest, poetic and often wildly funny coming-of-age story set against the backdrop of 1970s Samoa – a society on the cusp of change.

It tells the story of Alofa, Lilia and Moa, three typical teenage girls. They tease the local boys, misbehave at school and worship Charlie's Angels. But there is a darker side to Alofa's life. She struggles to win the acceptance of her unforgiving family. As young Alofa Filiga navigates the more and restrictions of village life, she begins to come to terms with her own changing identity and the price she must pay for it. This emotionally charged adaptation of Sia Figiel's award-winning novel, by another leading New Zealand playwright Dave Armstrong, starring Robbie Magasiva (Naked Samoans), Goretti Chadwick, Pua Magasiva, Anapela Polataivao and Joy Vaele will be another unforgettable Festival premiere

And have a look behind the scenes of this Auckland Theatre Company production. Watch some exclusive shots from the rehearsals here

2b or nt 2b? Fringe Show @ Downstage

2b or nt 2b? u r 16 yrs old. u think life sux? u are nt alone!







Six young people meet on whatsthepoint.com butr they the 1st to feel this way? Shakespeare rulz! Chekov 4 eva! Ibsen&Sophocles r gr8! A 2008 lol classic in da makn

It’s true - the more things change the more they stay the same! Take six characters from classic plays, give them each a mobile and a laptop and let them loose on today’s modern world.
2 b or nt 2 b takes characters from Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Midsummer Night’s Dream, Chekhov’s Three Sisters and The Seagull, Sophocles’ Antigone and Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler. But has anything really changed for today’s modern teens? Hamlet and Antigone have disyfunctional families, Helena and Masha moon over unattainable boys and Irena and Hedda feel trapped in their boring lives. As present day teenagers they all end up on whatsthepoint.com, a website for those searching for meaning in life – and the play follows their plans to meet up.

From 18-20 Feb, 9.30 pm, Downstage Bar. Door sales only!

Full Price $12/Concession $10/Fringe Addict $9

Duration 50 mins