The Basement Tapes

Chapel Perilous presents

The Basement Tapes

Performed by Stella Reid (White Man Behind a Desk, Potato Stamp Megalomaniac, Drop Down Globe)

Directed by Jane Yonge (Heterperformative, WEiRdO)

DOMESTIC THRILLER UNRAVELS AS ONE GIRL DISCOVERS CHILLING FAMILY SECRETS IN HER GRANDMA’S BASEMENT

Winner of Director of the Year and nominated for both Production of the Year and Outstanding Performer of the Year at the 2017 Wellington Theatre Awards, The Basement Tapes makes its way to Basement Theatre (March 27 - 31) following two sell-out seasons in Wellington and a critically acclaimed stint at the 2017 Melbourne Fringe Festival.

A girl is faced with the overwhelming task of clearing out her Grandmother’s house. Her Grandmother, like most, was a serious hoarder. It is a daunting prospect. When the girl uncovers old home-recorded tapes, her Grandmother’s voice offers what seems at first to be a familiar comfort. As the granddaughter hears these tapes for the first time, things start to unravel as waves of secrets and memories are confessed, threatening to drown both performer and audience. However, is the Grandmother a reliable narrator? Is the girl any more trustworthy?

Director Jane Yonge describes The Basement Tapes as a story “about our interconnection with the women who have come before us. Our mothers, our grandmothers. It's about life, loss, and unfinished business.”

A hit of the 2017 NZ Fringe Festival, The Basement Tapes is part audio work and part live performance, bringing the past into the present through mixed media. Inspired by Robert Lepage’s suggestion that radio is the most visual medium and also the popularity of podcasts (think Serial, This American Life and Welcome to Night Vale), it offers an audience auditory pleasure of immense detail.

Reviewers have remarked on how The Basement Tapes captivating sound, lighting, and set design (by Thomas Lambert, Jason Longstaff, and Oliver Morse respectively) encourage and highlight Reid’s award-winning performance.

“Thomas Lambert’s sound design is a fundamental supporting player. Lambert plays with how sound impacts us: shifting points of origin have me looking all around, distortions jerk me back and forth through time, and the volume draws me to the edge of my seat only to blast me back.” - Pantograph Punch.

Accolades

Winner: Outstanding Performance – Stella Reid (NZ Fringe Festival 2017)

Winner: Melbourne Fringe Tour Ready Award (NZ Fringe Festival 2017)

Winner: Director of the Year – Jane Yonge (Wellington Theatre Awards 2017)

Nominated: Production of the Year (Wellington Theatre Awards 2017)

Nominated: Outstanding Performer of the Year – Stella Reid (Wellington Theatre Awards 2017)

Nominated: Best Performance (Melbourne Fringe Festival 2017)

Nominated: Best Directed Chaos (NZ Fringe Festival 2017)

Nominated: Best of Fringe (NZ Fringe Festival 2017)