Pirates Vs Ninjas: Which One Would You Choose?

Pirates Vs Ninjas

Which One Would You Choose?


And What Happens When You Throw In Gypsy, A Viking, A Guerrilla Terrorist, A Cowboy, An Aeronaut And Sasquatsch?

SOMETHING AWESOME

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A council meeting crossed with a celebrity death match, Pirates vs Ninjas centres around the emergency meeting of the Clans of Freedom. Humanities forces of freedom and anarchy are at war, and the Clans must unite together to defeat their foe. But will they be able to bury their own grievances to unite as allies?

The Pirate King is determined to have his bride, the Gypsy will have her revenge and the Ninja must face her destiny. Tempers will flair and blood will be spilt. Love and loyalty will be tested and most will fail.

Pirates vs Ninjas is a racy new work premiering at Bats and kicking off this year’s New Zealand Fringe Festival. Featuring a diverse team of hot local talent, amongst them is acclaimed actor/director Sophie Roberts, New Zealand’s only professional Cambodian Actor Sarita So and award winning Magician Jarred Fell (voted Top Senior Magician in Australasia).

Anya Tate-Manning, the show’s creator, traces its beginnings to an interest in Romano Gypsies whilst living in Finland “Gypsies in Helsinki live totally outside of society, they don’t go to school or have normal jobs. They wear old fashioned clothes and are really beautiful but also really intimidating.” She created the show around an entire council made up of groups that live beyond societies restraints. “Then I got drawn into the Pirates vs Ninjas debate. It’s been going for ages, I’ve seen people nearly come to blows over it”. Research on the topic revealed a youtube competition of hundreds of homemade Pirates vs Ninjas videos from all over the world.

Fast paced and unrelenting, an hour of rich language, high passions and firebolt action. An epic scope with a cartoon twist.

Pirates vs Ninjas runs at Bats from Feb 2nd till 15th, 9.30pm. Tickets are $10-16

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Creative team;

Anya Tate-Manning (Writer/Director) is a graduate of Otago University and Toi Whakaari; New Zealand Drama School. Most recently she played the title role in the Fortune theatre’s productions of Jane Austen’s Emma, and Glorious. In last year’s fringe she directed Poly-Zygotic, which was selected for the ‘Pick of the Fringe’ at Downstage. A Chapman Tripp nominee for best female newcomer for Ugly Customers, she was also Highly Recommended for Best Performer at the 2008 Fringe Festival, for her role in Babycakes. Other theatre credits include Angels in America, Whaea Kairau and Revenge of the Amazons. Anya has also toured for Capitol E, National Theatre for Children and worked for the Ryhmateatteri in Helsinki Finland, working on props and special effects for their production of The Unknown Soldier.

Sophie Roberts
Award winning Actor, Director and Producer Sophie Roberts is a 2007 graduate of ToiWhakaari: NZ Drama School. She has performed lead roles in Angels in America, A Streetcar Named Desire, Antigone, Jeff Koons, Wolf’s Lair and Blood Wedding. Directing credits include Blinkers, the Toi
Whakaari season of Go Solo (2008 & 2009) and Mr Marmalade. Sophie is codirector of Almost a Bird Theatre Collective. Sophie won in 2008 the Chapman Tripp Award for Most Promising New Director of the Year for directing Mr Marmalade, which also won Production of the Year. In
2006 she won the standout performer award for her performance in Delicates in the Wellington Fringe Festival. In 2009 Sophie won the Chapman Tripp Award for Most Promising Female Newcomer for her performance in her Solo show Wolf's Lair. Sophie is currently directing Vernon God Little at Downstage Theatre.

Sarita So (actor) is a 2007 graduate of Toi Whakaari and Victoria University. Specialising in stage combat, she starred as Richard of Gloucester in her second year production of Shakespeare’s Henry the Sixth. She appeared in the 2008 Fringe Festival in (Not) The all Indian Radio Show and as ‘the girl’ in Circa Two’s production of The Pillowman. Most recently show appeared in Gas at Bats in December.

Natano Keni (actor) is a 2007 graduate of Toi Whakaari also. He has worked in Uganda, in theatrical workshop seasons for troubled youth, in Auckland with the Killer Kokonut Krew in their production of Once were Samoans. In 2008 he toured all over New Zealand with the Duffy Books in Homes Tour.

Jarred Fell (special FX) is an award winning comedian magician . He specialises in special effects and is known throughout New Zealand for his dark and quirky comedy routines. Awarded Best Newcomer at the 2008 Comedy Guild awards, in 2009, at the age of 18, he was awarded as Top Senior Magician in Australasia by the International Brotherhood of Magicians. He has recently completed working on special effects for on his first feature film, a zombie thriller.

Jon Coddington (designer and animator) is a graduate from Massey and Toi Whakaari’s Stage and Screen Design course. He specialises in industrial set design, has a keen interested in animation is currently filming and stock motion short film. He particularly enjoys using recycled materials for set construction.

Ahilan Karunaharem (dramaturg) is a graduate from Toi Whakaari, and Victoria University, and has recently starred in Centrepoint’s production of Awhi Tapu. Ahi is currently working on a solo show and has been mentor and dramaturg for the script since in conception early last year.

Sam Bunkall is a 2008 graduate of Toi Whakaari, originally from Wellington. In 2009 Sam created and stared in A Mime to Kill in the fringe festival. He produced and stared in Aoterroroa written by Jo Randerson at Te Whaea in 2008. Sam is currently writing a feature film being shot in Wellington in 2010.

Paul Harrop is a 2008 graduate of Toi Whakaari and is just finishing up a season starring in Circa's Pantomime 'Dick Wittington'. Other credits include Sky Rocketeers of Justice, and Postal for which he was nominated for a Chapman Tripp Award for Best Male Newcomer.

Thomas Press - Sound Designer
A graduate of Toi Whakaari:NZ Drama School with a Diploma in Entertainment Technology (2005), Thomas has worked as a sound and lighting designer for company’s such as Java Dance Company and SEEyd Company. He has worked for Almost a Bird on the previous season of ‘Wolfs Lair’ earlier this year. Throughout 2006, Thomas was house Technician for Downstage Theatre and composed music and sound design for the Chapman Tripp nominated production of ‘Dracula’. In 2008, Thomas was the composer for the Capital E touring production of ‘Kiwi Moon’. He is currently in the third year of study towards a Bachelor of Music in Composition at the New Zealand School of Music.
Thomas Lahood most recently starred in Good Night The End at Downstage in 2009. Experienced in clowning and mask work, Thomas trained in Ibiza and traveled with Circus Ronaldo in Belgium . He has worked for Capitol E in A Dog's Tale, and co-created and performed in the renegade theatre experiences Ye Olde Horror Walk and Barry's Bush Walk

ENDS

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