The air is warmer, the beautiful kōwhai are in full bloom, and life just feels a little bit sweeter. You couldn’t ask for a better setting to experience the work of our artistic community in Basement Theatre’s Spring season - running from the beginning of September to the end of November.
We called upon artists far and wide to send us works with joy and liveness as their act of resistance… and far out did they deliver. Our outstanding Spring season artists will help you find that spring joy.
Rule-breakers, risk-takers, and party-bringers present 18 top-notch works at Basement Theatre this Spring season. A stunning lineup of works hand-picked to make you truly feel in the moment, swept up in the story, and among the important conversations.
So throw your phone off a bridge and say goodbye to doom scrolling - it’s time to come see something live.
BASEMENT THEATRE SPRING SEASON - 2 SEPTEMBER - 29 NOVEMBER
SEPTEMBER
Let It Die, 2-6 September, Chye-Ling Huang presents a surreal, low-lit spiral into some casual questions on existence, told through an earthy, lumpy cast of puppets.
ROADKILL: The Uber Cool Musical, 2-6 September & 23-27 September, Tom Knowles takes you a wildly immersive journey through love, life and rock ’n’ roll — all from the back seat of a van. This intimate one-man musical combines humour, heart and unforgettable tunes for an experience like no other.
Scorned, 9-13 September, When his heart is shattered, a young romantic unravels, not quietly, but in fury and velvet. Haunted by the legendary women who taught him how to suffer beautifully, he wages a seductive, spiralling war against grief itself, transforming heartbreak into a spectacle of power, vengeance, and desire. Presented by Goblin Men Productions.
First Buzzard at the Body, 11-13 September, Elliot Vaughan’s show of exploratory music and poetry about death, capitalism and ornithology. First Buzzard at the Body is a setlist of poetic texts subjected to transformative compositional processes, gutting them of meaning or stumbling through the banal into the sublime.
Running into the Sun, 16-20 September, a2 Company’s Running into the Sun arrives home in Aotearoa after a breakthrough debut at the 2024 Melbourne Fringe, winning Best Theatre and Best Emerging Company. A high-octane performance with two actors, a three-piece jazz band and four contemporary dancers.
Craig and Renee Do It! (Comedy), 18-20 September, They say never date a comedian, but Craig Westenberg and Renee Church were never great at taking advice. A stand-up comedy show about a comedy couple who joke together, laugh together, and roast together.
Pussy Play, 23-27 September, Meet Indigo - sultry, sharp-tongued, and slightly unhinged - as she navigates the terrifying business of putting a shattered self back together. With her enigmatic pussy Evie in her lap, she's ready to face the darkness with black humour, dangerous vulnerability, and more than a little messy mischief. Presented by Indigo Paul with Grammelot Productions.
Dear God, 23-27 September.
Monsters made by monsters, 30 September - 4 October, by A Slightly Isolated Dog, presented by ATC Youth Company.
OCTOBER
EPIC WAY! I'm Gay? Oui oui faguette™ ILOVE KIM HILL (1999 version), 7-11 October, JOIN THE LOBSTER (and Liv Ward) ON A COMEDIC, AND BORDERLINE TRANSCENDENT JOURNEY FROM THE SOUTHERN NECROPOLIS OF TE UMUKAHA (TEMUKA), INTO UTOPIAN FAGUETTEDOM™.
Backwards in High Heels, 14-18 October, When tango knocks on the door of a solid relationship - Oops! Directed by Lou Yang, Creative by Sherlly Duan and written by Stuart Hoar.
Caterpillars and Butterflies, 16-18 October, Half observational comedy, half autobiography, half critique, half celebration, Jonathan Vanderhoorn seamlessly blends these four halves together in an hour of original music and monologue.
Bull Rush presents: Ghoul Rush, 28 October - 1 November.
Ilang-Ilang, 28 October - 1 November, Presented over Undas - a Filipino holiday of honouring their dead, this risk-taking intimate drama by playwright and director Alyssa Medel weaves a deeply personal story that honours both the resilience of Filipino women and the seaside community of Ilang – her home village in Davao City.
NOVEMBER
The Dry House, 4-15 November, Two sisters, one last drink. In the Irish border town of Newry, Chrissy promises her sister Claire that after four cans of lager she will go to the dry house to get sober. Does she mean it this time? The NZ premiere of the acclaimed London show. An emotionally searing new family drama about love, loss and the immense redemptive power of hope. Presented by Hekerua Bay Productions.
Femmes & Thems Comedy, 18-22 November, After a sell-out season at the 2025 NZ Comedy Festival, Femmes & Thems Comedy is back for a FULL WEEK of smoking hot comedy! 5 different fire line-ups of women, nonbinary, and gender non-conforming funny folk will come together for 5 different themed nights. Presented by Comedy Culture NZ.
Sweeties, 18-22 November, In a Squid Game meets Toddlers & Tiaras world, Brynley Stent and Ella Hope-Higginson compete for a yummy prize. Navigating schoolyard games, frenetic choreography, and the daunting 'Swimsuit Category', they grapple with their profound yearning for victory. Sweeties is a twisted, sketch-comedy portrayal of our relentless quest to outdo one another.
Bottom Surgery, 25-29 November, Join burlesque artist and comedian Lily Catastrophe in her award-winning debut - a one-woman, semi-autobiographical variety show about trying to get bottom surgery in Aotearoa.
James Mustapic's 30th Birthday Bash, 29 November, James Mustapic is turning 30, and what better way to celebrate than with a chaotic comedy roast/show/powerpoint spectacular starring his funniest friends (and his mum Janet)?
