…well the stage itself will be lit up like a Christmas tree but the bar and exteriors will be lit by candles for Earth Hour.

 Saturday is the closing night for Pick of the Fringe at Downstage, if the whirl of Fringe and the New Zealand International Arts Festival has passed you by this year you can still catch two outstanding shows at Downstage. 

Theatre is an experience to be shared and both shows on offer are really accessible as well as being ‘Fringe’, so you could take you sister or your boyfriend or your work colleague.  You can see both shows for $40 which is very reasonable.

back/words is a piece of documentary theatre with performances that focus on being completely faithful to the source of the story.  The source being in this case, filmed interviews with people that have been loosely framed around important ‘firsts’.  Out of hours and hours of footage they have shaped a theatre length show full of humor and emotion.

All of the cast wear ipods which are playing the dialogue as they perform it, venquilitrist theatre if you will.  This device works but the stories themselves are what draw you in as the actors switch from elderly couple, to gay man, to eight year old girl, to bogan with true commitment and skill.
 

 Wannabe was a massive hit with the judges at Fringe Festival, winning best solo show but also rocking some serious satire and straight up comedy gold.  This man is a one man boy band with the acting chops to have you keeping up with the character changes and waving your hands in the air like you just don’t care.
 
Yeeeaaah girl.
 
Go, it will be fun.  Take someone you wanna get close to and spend some time at the candle lit bar perhaps…
 
 
 
 

 Photo credit: Dominika Zielinska