Events Calendar

Talking House is delighted to produce a combined New Zealand tour of their successful plays: Be|Longing and The Keys are in the Margarine, between April and November 2015. These plays explore, respectively, the issues of immigrants to New Zealand, and dementia.

Having come into prominence internationally in the last 25 years, documentary theatre has recently acquired an increasing profile in New Zealand. Talking House has been especially instrumental and influential in the growth of this artform. Beginning with Hush: A Verbatim Play about Family Violence (2009-2011), we have developed a unique methodology for creating and performing this form of theatre and have produced perhaps the most substantial portfolio of verbatim theatre in the country.

Be | Longing and The Keys are in the Margarine develop the techniques of making and performing verbatim theatre first developed with Hush. With the testimonies of interviewees playing in their ears, the actors not only repeat the words of their subjects, but, as closely as possible, replicate their accents, inflexions, and hesitations. They also reproduce as accurately as possible each gesture and involuntary movement of their subjects. The result is an uncanny ‘doubling’ of the actor and the interviewee.

Creating and producing both Be | Longing and The Keys are in the Margarine proved an extremely complex process technically and technologically. In performance the stories and conversations are vividly re-presented. With the audio of the edited interviews playing in their ears, the performers not only repeat the original words, but they endeavour to replicate precisely the speakers’ inflections and intonation. Also, in rehearsal they study the ‘physical score’ of the interviews in order to capture each gesture and body movements as accurately as possible. Performances are required to be so exacting that the actors sometimes think of themselves as avatars. Being involved in these shows has also been a deeply profound theatrical experience, for the company as well as for interviewees and audience members.

In response not only to the vehement urging of many who have seen the productions, but also to our own investment in the projects, Talking House is now able to bring these to a wider audience. As well as playing for a return season in Dunedin, Talking House will present Be | Longing and The Keys are in the Margarine in other South Island centres as well as Auckland, Hamilton and Wellington.

Alexandra Community Hall Function Room

2 October – Be|Longing
3 October - The Keys are in the Margarine

Click this link to watch the TVNZ One Network News item on Keys in the Margarine

Feedback about Keys from the Alzheimers Australia NSW media release on the Alzheimers Disease International Conference in Perth April 2015:

Dates:

• Fri, 2 October 2015
  Friday
• Sat, 3 October 2015
  Saturday

Location

Alexandra Community Centre

Skird Street, right in the heart of Alexandra's CBD, between the library and the Memorial hall.