Year of the Tiger (虎—hǔ) – a Unique Night of Theatre

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Coming to Auckland this March, the world premiere of New Zealand theatre-artist Alice Canton’s new live arts project, Year of the Tiger(虎—hǔ).

Part-social experiment, part-reality performance, Year of the Tiger (虎—hǔ) sets a group of volunteers, born between 1938 – 2010, a series of onstage tasks to reveal their true values, opinions and behaviour. Placed against a backdrop of historic events and current world issues, the participants, each born in the year of the tiger, share their real-life experiences and discover the  ‘predetermined’ characteristics of the Chinese zodiac that tie them together.

“I grew up with this idea your [zodiac] sign was some kind of roadmap to predict everything, from personality and career, to life partners!” says Canton, “so I’m trying to create a space to reflect on how accurate these ‘predictions’ are, and whether there’s an ounce of truth to it.”

Canton (whose work includes Orangutan, White/Other, and the award-winning live documentary show Other [Chinese]) weaves together her celebrated style of direction and design, placing non-performers on stage and offering audiences the chance to witness ordinary people doing extra-ordinary things. Every night promises to be a completely different show, with a rotating group of ‘tigers’ varying in ages and backgrounds throughout the season.

“What if we got a bunch of strangers together, asked them to reflect on their life choices” muses Canton, “and then just watched to see what might happen?” Entertaining and informative, Year of the Tiger (虎—hǔ) promises to be a unique night at the theatre.

Year of the Tiger(虎—hǔ)
Dates:  10 – 21 March, 6.30pm (no show Sunday; Monday)
Venue: Basement Theatre (Studio)
Tickets: $18 – $25
Bookings: www.basementtheatre.co.nz or phone iTicket 09 361 1000

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