BATS The­atre cel­e­brates 21 years of STAB annu­al com­mis­sions with a pro­duc­tion of The Rime of the Mod­ern Mariner by The Play­Ground Col­lec­tive. In this adap­ta­tion “the Mariner sets out to sea to catch the ulti­mate prize, but when he care­less­ly fells an alba­tross a curse befalls his ship. Strand­ed in the north Pacif­ic Gyre — a swirling vor­tex of trash — the Mariner comes face to face with the over­whelm­ing con­se­quences of our unthink­ing con­sump­tion. Afloat and alone in a for­got­ten mass of plas­tic he is stalked by the endan­gered crea­tures of the deep, haunt­ed by ghost­ly appari­tions, and faced with an encroach­ing storm. If he hopes to sur­vive he must bear the weight of his actions and atone for his mis­takes.”

STAB fund­ing (thanks Cre­ative New Zealand ) gives the­atre com­pa­nies the chance to realise some­thing ambi­tious, exper­i­men­tal, or unusu­al. The videos I’ve seen on FB promise music, pup­pets and a real­ly intrigu­ing set.