Afterlife of a Fringe Favourite

Afterlife of a Fringe Favourite

After a crowd-pleasing run at the 2014 Fringe, Alice May Connolly brings her lo-fi comic fairy tale to the BATS stage in October. Written and performed by Connolly (Vampimple, The Bacchanals), joined on stage by Hillary Penwarden (The Bacchanals), and directed by Brigid Costello (Gizza Hoon, Pinwheel Dance Theatre), TUT will play from October 14th – 18th; an enchanting encounter between an eternally brooding teenage Pharaoh and an ebulliently naive, if somewhat lost, possum.

There are four million people in New Zealand. There are four…? Six! Major cities. There are forests. There are THIRTY MILLION possums.

The play flips prevailing sensibilities and takes a young possum (Poss) as its hero. Transported by wondrous green rain (or is it poison?) to Tut’s chamber in the Egyptian afterlife (or the “afterparty” according to Poss), where Poss starts to make friends and influence long dead Egyptian royalty. She never loses her raw animal charm though as she recounts scenes from NZ forest life, “Like the way the face of a Saddleback peels right off if you tug from the wattles”. Connolly says, “It’s an offbeat story about two very different creatures helping each other process their respective fates... and a lot of tasty native birds”.

Told by two actors (one aided by a great possum suit), and the disembodied voice of Pharaoh Akhenaten (Tut’s dad) the show features dancing, graphic OHP slides, and live music by local musicians Oliver Devlin and Aaron Pyke, in a cheeky, original, lo-fi fairy tale.

The play was first performed in the 2014 NZ Fringe Festival in an intimate setting at the former People’s Cinema. It has now been revamped, scaled up and even acquired a new character. Everyone involved is really looking to bringing the show back for those who missed it the first time around. Director Brigid Costello says, “TUT was so touching, sweet, and hilarious during its first season, and now it’s even better! I can’t wait for people to see it and share the fun we’ve all had making it”.

TUT will be playing at BATS Theatre cnr Cuba and Dixon Streets, 6:30pm October 14th - 18th. Tickets are available through BATS at www.bats.co.nz or 04 801 4175. $10 student special on Wednesday 15th October! Email book@bats.co.nz or come to the Box Office on the night with your student ID.

"A whimsical response to one of humankind’s eternal questions”, TUT “suggests a fine creative mind is at work” - Theatreview

“Magical-realist style, transporting our imaginations to luminous places, and suddenly grounding us with visceral, stark imagery... Lo-fi, lots of fun” – The Lumière Reader

ENDS

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