Welcome to Rat Chats, where we have a chill convo with the artists behind upcoming performing arts works. Today we sit down with Jess Karamjeet (Redundant), Jazmine Rose Phillips (Their Feet Did Not Touch The Ground), and Olivia Hall & Carrie Rudzinski (The Bitching Hour). With performances that are centred on representing complex identities and stories, we have an invigorating chat about the ethics of representation, the rise of performance poetry, and creating works that get under your ...

Welcome to the first episode of Rat Chats, where we have a chill convo with the artists behind upcoming performing arts works. Today we sit down with Rhiannon McCall (The Good, The Bad, and The Completely Made Up), Jane Wills (Castaway Airlines), and Tamara Gussy (Tea for Two World Tour), who are all working on improvised and interactive performances - ranging from a one-woman Western, to an interactive dating experience, to an immersive airline flight! We chat about creative processes, wor...

Last year, we were so stoked to have Silo Theatre at Basement Theatre presenting seven methods of killing kylie jenner by Jasmine Lee-Jones. They partnered up with Black Creatives Aotearoa, who happened to be Basement's Company in Residence, and together they put on a panel discussion one Sunday before the performance. It was a meeting of powerful hearts and minds and it was truly a historic piece of theatre. - Nisha Madhan, Basement's programmer Once in a Black Moon panel Keagan Carr Fransc...

As part of the Tautai 2021 Fale-ship Residency, we present the Tautai 2021 Fale-ship Podcast hosted by Amanda Wilson, talking to artists from the programme about their residency, their artistic practices and their lives. The second episode is with Teremoana Rapley, an iconic figure in the entertainment industry, expressing her thoughts and feelings through music and lyrics, vibrations and frequencies. See Teremoana's Tautai Fale-Ship Home Residency here and here. Support the show

As part of the Tautai 2021 Fale-ship Residency, we present the Tautai 2021 Fale-ship Podcast hosted by Amanda Wilson, talking to artists from the programme about their residency, their artistic practices and their lives. The first episode is with multi-disciplinary storyteller Marina Alefosio who uses poetry, performance, short stories and rap as her vessel. See Marina's Tautai Fale-Ship Home Residency here and here. Support the show

EPISODE 9: In Patralekhika Productions' play The Kamasutra Chronicles, writer Shriya Bhagwat explores the ups and downs of marriage whilst tackling the taboo topic of sex in the South Asian community. In this episode, guest host Nathan Joe chats to cast members Gemishka Chetty and Dev Sherman about bringing Shriya's play to life, and their thoughts on Kamasutra, sex as a taboo subject, and why the play is important to experience. Disruptors is a podcast series where creatives in Aotearoa tal...

EPISODE 8: As the creative sector claws its way out of the pit of 2020, our live panel discuss what art is worth, both for our emotional survival and paying the bills. Featuring Ngā Rangatahi Toa's Huia O'Sullivan, FAF SWAG's Tim Swann and The Green Party's Chlöe Swarbrick. Hosted by Nisha Madhan. This episode was recorded live at Basement Theatre on Saturday 29 May 2021. This episode was sponsored by Garage Project. Disruptors is a podcast series where creatives in Aotearoa ta...

EPISODE 7: Performance artist Moe Laga and comedian James Nokise are two Pasifika artists who share similar cultural backgrounds but make work that is on absolutely opposite scales of the performance art world. In this episode, Moe and James discuss art as activism. Disruptors is a podcast series where creatives in Aotearoa talk about how they disrupt with their art. Produced by Basement Theatre with support from Re: News. Support the show

EPISODE 5: "To be an artist is to suffer." The old adage coined by famed philosopher Aldous Huxley kicked off the fifth episode of Disruptors, which is the first to be recorded in front of a live audience at Basement Theatre. Musician and activist Mazbou Q, artist Mya Morrison-Middleton, and award-winning poet and journalist Mohamed Hassan came together to talk about grief, and how they not only cope with it but make art from it. This episode was recorded live at Basement Theatre on Sa...

EPISODE 6: Jean and Sarita talk about making their solo shows Change Your Own Life and Digging to Cambodia ahead of their seasons at Basement. In their discussion, they delve into how they take care of themselves while creating and performing deeply personal works, and the relationship they have with their audiences. Disruptors is a podcast series where creatives in Aotearoa talk about how they disrupt with their art. Produced by Basement Theatre with support from Re: News. Suppo...

EPISODE 4: In this special fourth episode of Disruptors, recorded in the depths of lockdown, four theatre practitioners reflect on what happens when the disruption in their work comes from the external force of a global pandemic. Disruptors is a podcast series where creatives in Aotearoa talk about how they disrupt with their art. Produced by Basement Theatre with support from Re: News. Support the show

EPISODE 3: A conversation between incoming and outgoing Producers in Residence at Basement Theatre – Elyssia Wilson-Heti and Alice Kirker. Elyssia and Alice share a passion for creating work that celebrates body positive, something they say inherently puts them in a disruptive space. It’s a position they are more than comfortable with as they consciously make work outside traditional bounds. Disruptors is a podcast series where creatives in Aotearoa talk about how they disrupt with the...

EPISODE 2: Sarita and Alice chat through their creative process with all its struggles and triumphs, talk the importance of prioritising indigenous practices in theatre and dive into the big D, diversity. Disruptors is a podcast series where creatives in Aotearoa talk about how they disrupt with their art. Produced by Basement Theatre with support from Re: News. Support the show

EPISODE 1: In the first ever episode of Disruptors, comedy trio Frickin Dangerous Bro (Pax Assadi, James Roque and Jamaine Ross) talk about New Zealand's comedy scene. How do you navigate an inherently white space as a person of colour? How do you know if you should keep pursuing your art or if it's time to quit? What does Pax mean when he says "comedy is like adding the honey to the medicine" (a self-confessed, very FOB thing to say)? Disruptors is a podcast series where creatives in ...