What Would You Do If Someone Gatecrashed Your Party? 

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 Over My Dead Body: UNINVITED is a black comedy that pays homage to those who lived, loved and lost during the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the 1980’s/1990’s.  It is provocative, chaotic, and heartbreakingly moving as it educates the audience about a forgotten piece of NZ history, and will play February 24-27 at Q Loft.

A flat-warming party on the eve of World AIDS Day. When 3 uninvited guests turn up, the party takes a turn for the worst.  But as these strangers drag the skeletons out of the closet, the flatmates discover they are more intricately connected with the past than they ever imagined. 

The major inspiration for this story is the NZ AIDS Memorial Quilt Panel ‘3 Anonymous’. Made in 1992, the quilt maker desperately wanted to put names on the quilt panel but was not allowed to. Instead, they were given an identity based on consciousness & pride. The panel is an expression of love & affection overlaid with some defiance. The quilt maker said, “they’re not anonymous but had to remain so, what does this say about the status & acceptance of HIV & AIDS in our community? I’m doing this because it’s the only thing I can do. I’m standing up for these people. Somebody’s going to acknowledge them. I don’t care what you say.”

AIDS/HIV is still a prominent topic

Not only in the gay community, but society in general. There is still much stigma, discrimination, bullying and harassment towards those who are afflicted, but much less knowledge around the history of the disease.  UNINVITED provides a platform to have an open kōrero about the effects of the epidemic in our community and is the second play in the Over My Dead Body series by Jason Te Mete of Tuatara Collective.

A new company formed to focus on collaboration, to translate stories about Aotearoa into art, each work in the series will explore a different tentacle of Te Wheke Māori Health model (where each tentacle represents a specific dimension of health), with UNINVITED exploring Mana ake – unique identity of individuals and family. Mana ake is about maintaining power, having control, experiencing different situations or challenges and having the ability to build the mana of others. Created with support from the Auckland Council, Rule Foundation, Auckland Fringe Festival and Auckland Pride Festival, Pride & Spark Empowerment, UNINVITED will safely encourage conversations around mana ake and well-being. The actors will undergo professional training to facilitate post-show kōrero, with access to an in-house counsellor for both audience members and the cast and crew of the show.

Expanding from the previous development season which saw UNINVITED premiere as part of Auckland Pride Festival 2019 this tour-ready version of the show has been timed for Summer at Q and the PANNZ Digital Arts Market at which Tuatara Collective will be pitching for opportunities to tour nationally and overseas.

Over My Dead Body series includes Adam NZ Play Award-winning LITTLE BLACK BITCH which had two well received, highly acclaimed professional seasons in 2020 at Mangere Arts Centre and TAPAC in Auckland after a development season in 2019 in Wellington at Kia Mau Festival, the Basement Theatre in Auckland and Waiheke Island.

Te Mete (Ngāti Ranginui) is a highly skilled multidisciplinary artist, previously working as a freelance actor, singer, dancer, director, vocal coach, and musical director, in addition to his classical training as a pianist. With dozens of credits under his belt as an actor and musical director in recent years, Jason received outstanding reviews for his performance and musical direction of the 2015 Edinburgh Fringe Festival season of K’Rd Strip which earned 5-star international reviews, and has directed over 30 musicals, including The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee which won 9 NAPTA Awards including Best Musical, Best Director and Best Ensemble Cast.

Over My Dead Body: UNINVITED

Dates: 24-27 February, 9:00pm
Venue: Q Loft
Tickets: $25 – $30
Bookings: https://www.qtheatre.co.nz/overmydeadbodyUNINVITED

Director: Bryony Skillington
Cast: Amanda Tito, Brady Peeti, Disciple Pati, Lyncia Muller, Tim Hamilton and Vincent Farane
Stage Manager: Edward Peni
Mātanga Mātauranga Māori: Tūī Matira Ranapiri-Ransfield

As part of the Auckland Pride Festival 2021, running regionwide from Wednesday 3 – Sunday 28 February, 2021

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