You Have Been Summoned for Jury Service

You Have Been Summoned for Jury Service

Kiwimeter is on trial, the creators suing for defamation, in a case that will be heard in... BATS Theatre.

A Trial at BATS Theatre, 19 - 23 April, 7.30pm

A group of Wellington theatre makers are staging a semi-improvised show called A Trial at BATS Theatre in order to investigate the issues that TVNZ’s controversial Kiwimeter survey has raised and to put the New Zealand justice system itself under the cauterising lights of the theatre for judgement.

The satirical court case will follow real judicial procedures and conventions (with a small degree of creative licence). Each night of the season will be a different stand-alone episode in a serial that will be documented online as it unfolds over the week.

Karin McCracken, herself a former practicing lawyer, will perform as the counsel for the defendant. “Trials always struck me as very theatrical,” says McCracken, “the wigs, the bows to the judge, the esoteric (read: inaccessible) language. I got interested in the relationship between form and content in that setting. That’s what this show explores.”

A Trial will take place at BATS Theatre, beginning on the 19th of April until the 23rd. In the civil case being brought, TVNZ has sued a prominent commentator [name suppressed] for defamatory statements leading to loss of profit. The public are invited to attend on any night; each episode will see new witnesses interrogated and new attempts to twist the law in favour of one client or another. As part the innovative and topical theatre experience, audience members can put themselves forward to serve on the jury (provided they are available for all five episodes) and give their verdict on the final night.

A Trial is a collaboration between some of Wellington’s leading independent theatre practitioners. Along with McCracken is Joel Baxendale of Binge Culture, Anya Tate-Manning (PSA, Puppet Fiction), Maria Williams (queens), and designers Meg Rollandi and Nick Zwart (Devil’s Half Acre). Barbarian Productions' Jo Randerson will play the judge presiding over the case. Asked about what excites her about the production she said, “I just did the Kiwi meter survey. There's a lot of provocative questions in there. My character is a cross between the average New Zealander and judge judy. I think it's going to be an interesting case.”

Tickets are available from www.bats.co.nz, along with all the details on how to sign up for jury service. Follow proceedings at atrialshow.weebly.com and @TrialJournoNZ on twitter.

ENDS

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