Media Releases
BATS and RNZ announce new partnership: Live on Stage. Now!
Released at 2:05 pm on 20 September 2016
BATS and RNZ have partnered in the Live on Stage. Now! initiative. The project will make audio recordings of selected productions and events live on stage at BATS over the next 12 months. RNZ and BATS hope to make top-quality New Zealand stage works more available to audiences everywhere, within the theatre itself and further out.
The partnership will mean greater opportunities for New Zealand artists, and a chance for more people to access fantastic new Kiwi theatre productions. Recorded productions will be played on air on RNZ once at the beginning of the on-stage season at BATS, and then will become available online on the RNZ website for a limited time after the stage run ends.
Adam Macaulay, RNZ’s Commissioning Editor for Drama, says “It’s about giving these productions a nation-wide profile, increasing the buzz around them and extending their life beyond the walls of the theatre. And we get to support the great work BATS is doing.”
Heather O’Carroll, Programmes Manager at BATS says, “We are thrilled to partner with RNZ, another vital organisation in Wellington's artistic community, to provide a valuable opportunity to showcase our artists and BATS Theatre as a home for new New Zealand work on a national platform.”
The first production chosen for Live on Stage. Now! is Vanilla Miraka created, written and performed by Hayley Sproull. It is described as an unflinchingly hilarious personal investigation into her bicultural New Zealand heritage.
Of the Live on Stage. Now! initiative Sproull says, “[it] not only gives artists the rare opportunity to immortalise their work, but it more importantly allows artists like me to reach an audience I would otherwise miss. I am always trying to expand the reach of my theatre, and by collaborating with BATS and RNZ I will be able to do this in a way that is direct, shows audiences who I am, and engages them in the work.”
Vanilla Miraka opens on 27th September at BATS Theatre. The live recording from Vanilla Miraka will play on Nights with Bryan Crump on RNZ National on Wednesday 28th September just after 9pm.
ENDS
Contact: Adam Macaulay – Adam.Macaulay@radionz.co.nz