Kia ora Basement community,
Thank you for your patience with us this week as we’ve worked through our plan amongst the Covid-19 situation. Responding to ever changing information and updates, we have had an intense week of monitoring official advice and consulting with our artists, staff, Board of Trustees and wider community to arrive at a plan of action. We can now confirm that Basement Theatre will be closed to the public for the time being.
To audiences: If you have pre-purchased tickets to an upcoming Basement show, you will receive an email by the end of next week with information about processing your refund.
To artists involved in upcoming seasons: Our Programming Manager Nisha Madhan will be in touch with your producer to communicate the next steps.
To everyone who has shown us support and kindness over this past week: thank you xx
Our office will still be open and operating as normal - but it’s been a big week so our team will be resting this weekend and will be available again on Monday morning to talk through any concerns, questions and support you need.
This year we began a new ten year strategy for Basement that made artist wellbeing and sustainability our top priority. What we’re experiencing right now gives us more fuel and drive to pursue this even further.
Basement’s always been a lot more than a venue - we have always believed that our space belongs to those who have a vital voice in the world today. We've always known that those voices transcend the limits of our bricks. Even with our roller door down, we will continue to find new ways of upholding these voices. We will begin to lay the foundations of this for you now. In the meantime, we encourage our artists to rest their voices and try not to feel pressured to productise this pandemic.
We know this is an extremely difficult time for our freelancing community and we encourage you all to become familiar with the support available to you and get on those government waitlists ASAP. If you need further support navigating this we are here to help - please get in touch with Nisha and we’ll do whatever we can to walk alongside you during this time.
If you want to show your support for Basement and the community we serve - please have a look at our ongoing fundraising campaign Make Basement Better, or get in touch if you have ideas about ways we can collaborate and adapt together to meet the new needs arising in our city.
Stay safe and rest assured we will keep you updated on any changes or developments at Basement.
Aroha nui, Basement Theatre xx
PS - Here’s a 10min exercise that got us through the week. If you’re ever feeling anxious give it a go :)