The Valentina
Sunday 10 March
12.30pm preshow demonstration of lights, sounds and surprises
2.00pm Relaxed Performance
Ellen in a spacesuit gazing in wonder out of her helmet window at a purple striped planet.
Please note: More information on this performance will be available closer to the Festival time.
Genre: Theatre/Family-Friendly
Show Summary: With the help of her awesome parents, 8-year-old Ellen paints a spaceship she has drawn at school on her bedroom ceiling. As darkness falls and the moon rises, the ship comes to life. Joining Ellen on board are new friends and trusted crew members Yuri Gagarin, Neil Armstong, Laika the space dog, and the first woman in space, Valentina Tereshkova. Ellen goes on an extraordinary adventure that takes her past the edge of the unknown and onto the surface of an alien planet, Vitanonan X.
Show Length: 50 minutes with no interval.
Stage and seating: The Herald theatre is a small theatre space with tiered seating. The seating block is steep and has handrails on both sides of the stairs. Wheelchair seating is located in the back row and Relaxed seating is on the ends of the rows.
Language: English.
Performers: There are four performers and one puppeteer.
Show Warnings: Darkness, haze effects, and moments of alien horror.
Recommended for Ages: 8-12
Lighting: The theatre will be quite dark for the puppeteering scenes. Further info to come.
Sound: TBC
Action: TBC
Audience Participation: None.
Venue: The Herald Theatre, Aotea Centre
Accessible bathrooms: Yes. Just inside the Herald theatre foyer to the left-hand side.
Venue Access: 50 Mayoral Drive, outside the Aotea Centre stage door. The Herald Theatre entrance is next to this.
Preshow Demonstration Details: 12.30pm on Sunday 10 March.
This will be together with a Touch Tour for the Audio Described performance, which takes place at the same show. Patrons will meet Access and Inclusion Coordinator Eliza in the Herald foyer before being taken into the theatre and shown some aspects of the performance to help prepare for watching. Details to come.
Relaxed Venue Aspects: The venue doors will not remain open (due to the nature of this show and the playing with light/shadows) however you may come and go as you please. The floor lighting will remain on. There will be signs in the foyer noting that the performance will be Audio Described and also Relaxed.
Breakout Space: There will be a Breakout space set up in the foyer.
Further information: We welcome you to bring along anything that will make you feel more comfortable like headphones, sunglasses, hats, fidget toys, etc.
Trailers and Photos: NA
Take a Virtual Tour of the Herald Theatre: Accessibility Virtual Tours (property3d.co.nz)
Bernie Dieter's Club Kabarett
Thursday 14 March
5.30pm preshow demonstration of lights, sound, action
7.00pm Relaxed Performance
Poster image of a woman bathed in red smokey light, holding her hanf lightly to her cheek as she looks haughtily down her nose.
Please note: More information on this performance will be available closer to the Festival time.
Genre: Cabaret/Circus
Show Summary: Strutting her way to Aotearoa for a salacious, gin-soaked, punkjazz season of unfiltered circus and cabaret, the undisputed Queen of Weimar Punk is here to celebrate the sexual freedom and daredevil exhibitionism of 1920s underground club culture. Come for dangerous acrobatics and fire-breathing antics, stay for Dieter’s amazing songs, live haus band and family of misfit performers.
Show Length: 1 Hour 40mins including interval
Stage and seating: The Spiegeltent, erected in Aotea Square every year for our Festival is the home of Bernie Dieter. The Spiegeltent has both booth seating and floor seating. The stage at one end has a four person band and microphones for the performers. There is a catwalk stage out into the middle of the tent connecting to a smaller circular stage. Audience seating is all around.
Language: English.
Performers: 10+
Show Warnings: Sexual references, smoke effects, herbal cigarettes, strobe lighting, nudity and coarse language.
Recommended for Ages: 16+
Lighting: Strobe effects – this will be included in the preshow demonstration.
Sound: Live band – this will be included in the preshow demonstration.
Action: Fire breathing, acrobatics, aerial work – parts will be included in the preshow demonstration.
Audience Participation: Some members of the audience will be asked to participate and interact with the performers however patrons can be seated in areas where they will not be asked to participate or interact.
Venue: The Spiegeltent, Aotea Square
Accessible bathrooms: Yes, onsite. Other bathrooms are located in the Aotea Centre.
Venue Access: The Spielgeltent is located in Aotea Square – best entrance via Queen Street.
Preshow Demonstration Details: 5.30pm on Thursday 14 March
Patrons will meet Access and Inclusion Coordinator Eliza at the Spielgeltent entrance before being taken into the space and shown some aspects of the performance to help prepare for watching. Details to come.
This Relaxed performance will also be our NZSL interpreted performance.
Relaxed Venue Aspects: The venue doors will remain open so you may come and go as you please. There will be signs noting that the performance will have an NZSL interpreter and be a Relaxed performance. Festival staff members will be onsite to assist you in any way.
Breakout Space: There will be a Breakout space set up – TBC location.
Further information: We welcome you to bring along anything that will make you feel more comfortable like headphones, sunglasses, hats, fidget toys, etc.
Trailers and Photos: Bernie — Bernie Dieter
Spark LIVE
Thursday 21 March
11.00am and 2.00pm Relaxed Performances
Six cast members in green and white clothing are standing, crouching, and laying on the floor in a group. All are holding onto a web of white string and two are holding a guitar and a trumpet.
Please note: More information on this performance will be available closer to the Festival time.
Genre: Theatre/Family-Friendly
Show Summary: Combining film, original live music and unique interactive staging, Spark LIVE is a highly accessible production for all audiences, and in particular, those with Profound and Multiple Learning Disabilities.
Kate, a teenage girl with a heart condition, is isolated from the world during a pandemic. As her mother tries to keep her from getting ill and navigate their new normal, Kate yearns to be reunited with her friends and, most of all, her beloved horses. Invited to connect to the story in their own individual way, audiences will be taken on a journey of love and hope exploring the incredible bond between a human and her horse. Join us on World Down Syndrome Day to be immersed in a multisensory storyscape that weaves things to touch, taste, hear, see and smell through the performance.
Show Length: 1 hour no interval
Stage and seating: The Concert Chamber is a large hall space with lots of chairs for the audience. The balcony seating won’t be open. White screens on wheels will have projection playing, and the set is a single bed and a kitchen counter on wheels. The performers will be in and around the audience during the show.
Language: English.
Performers: Six performers including a trumpet player.
Show Warnings: Reference to a medical event, haze effects.
Lighting: TBC
Sound: There will be singing and instrument playing, but nothing too loud.
Action: TBC
Audience Participation: The show is sensory in nature but there is no requirement for participation. Performers may hand you items to explore or create a sensory experience around patrons.
Venue: The Concert Chamber, Town Hall.
Accessible bathrooms: Yes
Venue Access: From Queen Street entrance into the Town Hall building.
Preshow Demonstration Details: TBC
Relaxed Venue Aspects: The theatre doors will remain open and you may come and go as you please. The floor lighting will remain on. There will be signs in the foyer noting that the performance will be a Relaxed show.
Breakout Space: TBC.
Further information: We welcome you to bring along anything that will make you feel more comfortable like headphones, sunglasses, hats, fidget toys, etc.
Trailers and Photos: Introducing Spark (the multi-sensory experience) on Vimeo
Aiga
Thursday 21 March
7.00pm preshow demonstration of lights, sounds and surprises
7.30pm Relaxed performance
Lusi Faiva in her powerchair with a Samoan blowing in the breeze behind. Lusi wears all black with hoop earrings, and her hair braided. Her eyes closed, fist pumped in air and a huge smile across her face.
Please note: More information on this performance will be available closer to the Festival time.
Genre:
Theatre/Dance
Show Summary: AIGA (Samoan for family/whanau) is a groundbreaking and emotional Disability-led Pasifika-led work of theatre told through the lens of the real-life journey of Lusi Faiva. A collective creative ensemble of women, non-binary, disabled, non-disabled, Pasifika and Māori identities brings this quest for identity and belonging to life, artfully sharing their own experiences with and through Lusi's. An Aotearoa story with universal resonance. An honest and heartfelt work that moves you, expands your empathy and consciousness and invites you to explore new perspectives of being. With a powerhouse creative team, this work features storytelling at its core; a story that will make you laugh, cry, think and feel - one that needs to be heard.
Show Length: 65 minutes with no interval
Stage and seating: The seating for this show is in on either side of a performance space. One side has a raked seating block and the other side is ground seating. There will be accessible seating with ramps on the seating block, and seats around the stage.
Language: English, Samoan, NZSL
Performers: There are four performers: Lusi Faiva, Forest Kapo, Iana Grace and Fiona Collins.
Show Warnings: Darkness, haze effects, strobe lighting and moments of loud music.
Recommended for Ages: 13+
Lighting: The theatre will be quite dark for many of the vignettes.
Sound: Loud music playing – especially one metal song called AIGA by Shepherds Reign.
Action: Moments of Aitu crawling around (other worldly beings/demonic)
Audience Participation: There will be Samoan Lavalava at the end of the show if you like to dance but there is no expectation for audience to join if they don’t want to.
Venue: Te Pou Theatre
Accessible bathrooms: Yes. Just inside Te Pou Theatre, to the left - first bathroom straight ahead.
Venue Access: 2 Mount Lebanon Lane, Henderson, there are two disabled car parks out the front of Te Pou Theatre (by the huge hanger).
Preshow Demonstration Details: 7pm on Thursday 21st March
Patrons will meet Access and Inclusion Coordinator Eliza in the Te Pou foyer before being taken into the theatre and shown some aspects of the performance to help prepare for watching the show. Details to come.
Relaxed Venue Aspects: The venue doors will not remain open (due to the nature of this show and the playing with light/shadows) however you may come and go as you please. There will be ushers located at the end of each seating block to help you out of the theatre.
There will be signs in the foyer noting that the performance will be a Sensory Relaxed one.
Breakout Space: There will be a Breakout space set up in the foyer.
Further information: We welcome you to bring along anything that will make you feel more comfortable i.e. headphones, sunglasses, hats, fidget toys, etc.
Trailers and Photos: TBC
O le Pepelo, le Gaoi, ma le Pala’ai
Saturday 23 March
6.30pm Preshow demonstration of lights, sound and action
8.00pm Relaxed performance
Pili, the father, lies on his back gazing skyward and surrounded by his concerned family.
All are dressed in white.
Genre: Theatre, Drama, Comedy, Samoan culture
Show summary: In Sāmoa’s not-so-distant past, Pili Sā Tauilevā is a proud Ali’i (chief) in the village of Moa. He has devoted his life to the sacred fa’a sāmoa tradition of service. When he suddenly falls gravely ill and refuses to name a successor, his daughter and son become rivals for the title. In a sacred paradise where “your path to leadership is through service”, Pili’s dwindling light sends the family into overdrive to keep the fire going. Power, politics and tradition collide in this darkly comic piece, a commentary on the growing divide between those who have chosen to stay and those who have chosen to leave.
Show Length: 2.5 hours minutes with an interval. Part 1 is 1 hour 45 minutes, part 2 is about 40
minutes.
Stage and seating: The ASB Waterfront Theatre has tiered seating in two sections, the stalls section on the ground floor and the circle section in the balcony. Wheelchair seating is at the back of the front section of the stalls.
Language: English, Gagana Samoa (with English captions)
Performers: There are nine performers.
Show Warnings: Contains coarse language, smoke effects, loud music and sound effects, and violence.
Recommended for Ages: 16+
Lighting: Dim and dramatic stage lighting, as well as moving projection, is used during the show. Lighting may change colour and brightness quickly. There is a brief sequence of flashing lights.
Sound: Loud music and sound effects, especially at the end of scenes, are used. Characters will yell, whoop, and crow.
Action: Violent fighting and portrayal of death and hunting.
Audience Participation: None.
Venue: The ASB Waterfront Theatre
Accessible bathrooms: Yes. Inside the theatre foyer to the right of the box office.
Venue Access: 65 Jellicoe Street. Parking and arrivals information can be found on the ATC website and information will be emailed once tickets are booked.
Preshow Demonstration Details: 6.30pm on Saturday 23 March.
Patrons will meet Sensory Relaxed Performance Advisor Katie in the theatre foyer before being taken into the theatre to check out lighting, sound, and surprises in the show.
Relaxed Venue Aspects: The lighting will be kept on in a section of the seating to provide a relaxed seating area, and stage doors on one side of the theatre will remain open. Audience may come and go during the show. There will be signs in the foyer and a pre-show announcement noting that the performance is sensory relaxed. This show will also be NZSL interpreted.
Breakout Space: There will be a Breakout space available. Theatre staff are on hand to show patrons to the breakout space.
Further information: We welcome you to bring along anything that will make you feel more comfortable like headphones, sunglasses, hats, fidget toys, etc.
Trailers and Photos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHIgYTm8vi4&t=1s