Last week of Speer

Mon, 11 Oct 2004

Last week of Speer

Kia ora All,

Albert Speer closes on Saturday - book now to avoid disappointment! Tuesday and Wednesday's performances are already sold out.

You are also invited to attend a FORUM DISCUSSION on Tuesday 12th October, 6-7pm. Your chance to discuss the issues raised in 'Albert Speer' with a panel including Tilman Enders, Cultural Attaché from the German Embassy, Professor Paul Morris from Victoria University's Religious Studies department, Rabbi Antony Lipman, dramaturg Bronwyn Tweddle and actor Paul McLaughlin. Entry is free and on a first come first served basis.

"From direction to acting to costuming to lighting to sound effects, Albert Speer is courageous and visionary, doing justice to the brilliant material at hand...Go see this play if you want to challenge your pre-conceptions while appreciating an outstanding production" Salient

Next week at BATS - Taro King by Vela Manusaute - see below for season info.

BOOK NOW - To book for any performance simply reply to this email with your name, number of tickets and date you wish to attend. We will reply to confirm your booking and you can pay when you come to the show.

Love BATS x

Albert Speer by David Edgar Season: Friday 1 - Saturday 16 October (no show Mondays) Time: 7.30pm, 6pm on Sundays, plus 2pm matinee on Saturday 6th Tickets: $18 full price, $12 concessions, $14 groups 10+

"In the passion to create something out of myself, was I too made creative only by Hitler?" ­ Albert Speer

Albert Speer is a finely crafted epic play that explores the relationship between personal stories and history. David Edgar, one of Britain¹s leading playwrights wrote Albert Speer for the National Theatre in London ­ and was premiered in 2000 as an acclaimed production.

This must see play is based on 'Albert Speer: His Battle with Truth by Gitta Sereny', a best-selling biography that delves deeply into some of the greatest mysteries of the Nazi period. How did Speer, a highly intelligent, talented young architect become such close friends with Hitler, and how could he claim at the Nuremberg trials that he knew nothing about the massacre of the Jews? The play is both a fantastic story and a deep examination of the human psyche. Albert Speer ricochets through fifty years of history, from the Nuremberg rallies to the Nuremberg trials, from Berlin to the Ukraine, from the bleakness of Spandau Prison to the glamour of post-war publishers¹ parties.

Director David O'Donnell (nominated as best director at the Chapman Tripp Theatre Awards for The Sojourns of Boy (1999) and Irish Annals of Aotearoa (2001)) is staging Albert Speer in epic fashion. Paul McLaughlin (recently seen at Circa starring in Speed the Plough and Cloud Nine) plays Speer with one of the largest and most impressive ensembles to be seen in Wellington for some time, including Bill Walker as Hitler. Their dynamic presence co-ordinated with the thrilling design of Martyn Roberts will present a refreshing twist to the apocalyptic imagery of World War II and its aftermath.

Taro King by Vela Manusaute Season: Wednesday 20 ­ Saturday 23 October Time: 7.30pm, plus 2pm Saturday matinee Tickets: $16 full / $13 concession

Writer/director Vela Manusaute became the talk of Auckland theatre when 'Taro King' premiered at the Maidment Theatre. BATS is proud to present the Wellington premiere of this distinctly South Auckland play.

Filipo (Samoan born but raised in NZ) cuts taro for a living, searching for and dreaming about the land of milk and honey that his father promised him. His friendship with Raj, Filipo's Fijian Indian workmate, comes under pressure when the coup in Fiji brings their lives to a crashing halt. Cultures clash in the back room of a supermarket in Otara, South Auckland.

'Taro King' is Pacific Island Theatre incorporating physical theatre, dance and song. The cast features Rajeev Varma (Awhi Tapu, D'Arranged Marriage), Aleini Tufuga (Simi¹s Plight, The Songmakers Chair), Ene Petaia (Dawn Raids, Two Days in Dream) and Ana Tuigamala (Good Hands, The Songmakers Chair).

I was deeply excited by the authenticity of the world and the voices that Vela was bringing to the stage...... [Vela's] work is deeply felt and brilliantly satirical at the same time...... It is a creative force driving us from the margins. Vela is one of those voices - a mouthpiece from South Auckland." Christian Penny, Head of Directing, Toi Whakaari , New Zealand Drama School, 2004. ******************************************* BATS Theatre 1 Kent Terrace Wellington, Aotearoa bats@bats.co.nz bookings 802 4175 office 802 4176 fax 802 4010 www.bats.co.nz Albert Speer 1 - 16 October ********************************************

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