Live at Six: Nelson, Tauranga and Auckland

Media Release: For Immediate Release

TRUTH IS OVERATED

Out Of Bounds and SHOW PONY present
LIVE AT SIX
By Dean Hewison and Leon Wadham.

Uncovering the power that broad cast media has over our perception of the truth in an age of smart-phones, Live At Six, which plays Nelson, Tauranga and Auckland throughout October and November, allows audiences to take a voyeuristic look inside newsrooms and asks them - does “reality” match the footage they are shown?

Set in the sometimes cut-throat world of television news in New Zealand, Live At Six tells the story of anchor Jane Kenyon (Jess Robinson – The Truth Game, West End Girls), who falls victim to footage of her (apparently) misbehaving at a party goes viral – rocking both her life and her career.

With the story out, the race is on for both her network and the competition to package the footage and the story. Whose version will the public believe and, more importantly, whose will they tune in to?

In a similar vein as Charlie Brooker’s recent Black Mirror series, Live At Six is a comedy with both a thriller and a techno-horror edge to it. In a day and age where information has become more easily accessible and even more quicker to be dispersed into the public domain, Kenyon’s tale could be anyone, and even more incredibly has been a number of “stars” who have achieved viral fame… or infamy.

What set’s the production of Live At Six out however is it’s incorporate of on-the-fly footage, on-the night footage and a very real deadline. Each performance begins as the ‘incident’ occurs pre-show, captured by specially fitted security cameras. Audience members are also implored to use their smart phones to shoot the action and upload to the show crew.

As the story of journalists, presenters and executives plays out on stage, audiences can also watch each network’s editors scrambling to cut the footage to fir their own agenda. Interviews with audience members during the interval add to both the story and the challenge for the editors. At the end of the show, the audience sees both versions of the broadcast story, built with that night’s footage – is it factual or is it ‘entertainment’?

Alongside the technical wizardry is a script full of wit and insight. The pressure cooker atmosphere of the newsroom tests loyalties and friendships both within and across the networks, and at the centre of it all; Jane Kenyon must face the nation.

Live at Six grew out of Dean Hewison and Leon Wadham’s experience manipulating footage in the editing room. Originally conceived as reality TV, the shift to world news came from the realization everyone knows the ‘fakery’ their original format, but not from trusted news broadcasts that can be equally open to manipulation. Originally premiering in 2009 as a STAB commission, Dean and Leon have significantly developed the show in response to the rise of the “iPhone Generation.”

“A polished and entertaining satire” – Dominion Post, 2013

LIVE AT SIX plays

Nelson: Theatre Royal, 25th and 26th October, 7:30pm
(bookings: www.ticketdirect.co.nz - $20 - $48*)
Tauranga: Baycourt Theatre, 30th and 31st October, 8:30pm
(bookings: www.baycourt.co.nz - $25 - $40*)
Auckland: Lower NZI Building, Aotea Centre, 12th – 16th November, 7pm & 8pm
(bookings: www.buytickets.co.nz - $20 - $35*)

*Booking fees may apply

For more information on Live At Six, visit http://www.showponynz.com or www.facebook.com/liveatsix

ENDS

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