Personal drama: Auckland theatre boss Sophie Henderson turns job into film Workmates
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Scoop
7 days ago
- Scoop
A Bold New Pasifika Show Premieres At Basement Theatre
Press Release – Basement Theatre When best friends Tautai and Maaus stubborn refusal to change stirs trouble across the realms, their mischief draws the gaze of powerful presences: Nafanua – goddess of war. Fiapoko – god of knowledge. Faataualofa – god of love. A weaving of contemporary storytelling and Pasifika mythology, Tafatolu pulses with rhythm, bringing forth a fierce and funny celebration of friendship, identity and love. Marking the directorial debut of Nikeidrian Lologa-Peters (Te Arawa, Ngāi Tūhoe; Magiagi, Papase'ea – Samoa), Tafatolu is a high-energy show for the whole family with live music, physical theatre and poetry, inspired by the traditional Samoan theatre form of Fale Aitu. Stories passed down by tupuna, tuaā, and fanga-kui return here with new heat and heartbeat. When best friends Tautai and Maau's stubborn refusal to change stirs trouble across the realms, their mischief draws the gaze of powerful presences: Nafanua – goddess of war. Fiapoko – god of knowledge. Fa'ataualofa – god of love. And just like that, the duo are flung into a world beyond theirs, where the two must reckon with who they are, where they come from, and what it means to grow, all beneath the watchful eyes of the gods. With musical direction and original composition by Ahikāroa 's Lijah Mavaega (Ulutogia, Manono, Vailuutai, Vaovai – Samoa) co-founder of theatre collective No. 3 Roskill and longtime collaborator of Pacific Underground, Tafatolu moves with sound as much as story. Mavaega also takes the stage alongside Lologa-Peters, with fellow collective members – Josephine Mavaega (Ulutogia, Manono, Vailuutai, Vaovai – Samoa), Tristin Katoa (Makaunga, Tataka Mo Tonga, Loto Neifu, Vava'u – Tonga) and Nētane Taukiuvea (Felemea, Tu-anekivale – Tonga) – with dramaturgy from Wheke Fortress' Fuimaono-Tuimafuiva Falesātaua Joshua (Mush) Iosefo (Salani, Lalomanu, Palauli, Apolima – Samoa; Alofi, Liku – Niue) and costume design from JonJon Tolovae (Saleimoa, Vaigaga, Avao, Tanugamanono – Samoa; Avatele – Niue). Crafted with soul and driven by the community, Tafatolu is made to be shared. Bring the tamariki. Bring the cousins. Bring the whole aiga. The music's loud and the gods are watching. 12 – 16 August 2025, 8pm
NZ Herald
30-07-2025
- NZ Herald
Personal drama: Auckland theatre boss Sophie Henderson turns job into film Workmates
Call it Sophie Henderson's sliding-doors moment. There she was, 24, playing Bailey Wilson, the love-rat lawyer girlfriend of Outrageous Fortune's West twins, bartending part-time at Auckland's Basement Theatre, and working weekends at clothing store North Beach.
Scoop
23-07-2025
- Scoop
A Karanga To The Lost; A Multimedia Journey Of Communion, Reconnection And Ritual With Our Whakapapa
Press Release – Basement Theatre An invitation to return to the self, Ella Rerekura (Te Āti Haunui-a-Pāpārangi, Ngāti Rangi, Ngāti Tūwharetoa) presents her directorial debut, E Ngaro Ana Koe? (Are You Lost?) as part of Basement Theatre's Matariki/Winter season. This multimedia dance work is a calling to those who have ever felt distant to their whakapapa, moving with the rhythms of collective and individual reconnection through movement, poetry, archival film and sculpture – and ultimately a provocation to meet the taniwha that live inside us with care, and to honour the continual act of shedding, morphing and becoming. Featuring seven powerful movement artists alongside Ella – Indiana Carder-Dodd (Ngāpuhi, Te Āti Awa, Pakeha), Rewa Fowles (Whakapapa Māori), Tara Hodge (Te Aitanga a Māhaki, Ngāti-Whare), Hayley Walters-Tekahika (Ngāti Kahungungu, Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngapuhi) as well as Harrison Cook (Ngāi Tahu) and Eli Free (Whakapapa Māori) who will be joining digitally from Australia – who each bring their own whakapapa journeys and relationships to the floor, weaving together personal story and shared ritual. Ōtautahi-raised and Tāmaki Makaurau-based, Rerekura draws from her own experience as wāhine Māori and CODA (Child of Deaf Adults), bringing together her practices of dance, writing, pigment making and archival process. Her work sits at the intersection of identity and embodiment, deeply rooted in her whakapapa journey, reflecting a personal commitment to understanding the presence of her tūpuna and how they reside in her body today. Conceived with collaboration at its core, the show features work from a total of 16 artists including tuakana support from comedian/actor Janaye Henry (Ngāti Kahu ki Whangaroa), poet/writer Liam Jacobson (Kāi Tahu) and movement artist Gabby Terras. E Ngaro Ana Koe? is a calling for us to ask: what brought us here? And where are we going next? E Ngaro Ana Koe? plays: 26 – 30 August 2025, 8pm Basement Theatre, Lower Greys Ave, Auckland $30 standard // $20 concession Earlybird tickets available until August 5 ($27 standard // $17 concession)
