Bard Productions

Bard Productions
Formation2007 (2007)
TypeTheatre group
PurposeSite-specific and 'adventure theatre'
Location
  • Wellington, New Zealand
Notable members
Frogs Under the Waterfront, Quarantine, A Tempest off Matiu-Somes Island

Bard Productions, based in Wellington, New Zealand, is a theatre company best known for offering site-specific and 'adventure theatre.'[1] The company has been in operation since 2007.

Performances

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Frogs Under the Waterfront, an adaptation of Aristophanes' The Frogs, was the company's first successful site-specific production. The performance took place underneath the Wellington waterfront, with the audience in paddle boats. The company won a number of awards for the production and attracted significant local and national media attention.[2][3][4][5][6]

Two years later the company produced Quarantine, a show about the human quarantine patients who lived and died on Matiu-Somes Island in the Wellington harbour. The audience was taken to the island at night in a chartered ferry, and the performance itself took place in the forests of the island and in an historical quarantine building.[7][8][9][10][11]

In 2013 A Tempest off Matiu-Somes Island, an adaptation of Shakespeare's The Tempest held in a chartered ferry which took audience members to the island and in a large animal quarantine station abandoned in the 1980s.[12][13]

In 2014 the company mounted a return season of "A Tempest off Matiu-Somes Island". It was made public in January 2014 that the company had joined with the New Zealand Department of Conservation and the Kaitiaki Board to secure a 10-year concession to stage theatrical events and performances on Matiu-Somes Island during the summer months.[14][15]

Other projects

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In mid-2013 the company expanded to Melbourne, Australia and opened up the corporate teambuilding and murder mystery branch of the company, CluedUp Unique Events.[16][17]

References

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  1. ^ Powell, Selina (18 January 2013). "Storm Brews over Harbour Island". The Wellingtonian. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  2. ^ "Conchords Ignite Fringe Hall of Fame; awards named". Wellington Scoop. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  3. ^ "Chapman Tripp Theatre Awards 2009". Chapman Tripp. Archived from the original on 2 May 2014. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  4. ^ "Frogs Under the Waterfront TV3". TV3 New Zealand via YouTube. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  5. ^ Somerset, Guy. "What Lies Beneath". The Listener. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  6. ^ "The World Under the Waterfront". The Wellingtonian. 21 January 2009. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  7. ^ "Quarantine TV3". TV3 News New Zealand. 2010. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  8. ^ Thomson, Rebecca (3 February 2011). "Quarantined on Matiu/Somes Island". The Wellingtonian. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  9. ^ Duff, Michelle (3 February 2011). "Quarantined on Somes Island". Dominion Post. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  10. ^ Chug, Kiran (5 January 2011). "Fringe Show to Quarantine its Audience". Dominion Post. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  11. ^ BHONSULE, PRIYANKA (8 February 2011). "Ranger Roped in on Matiu-Somes Island Drama". The Hutt News. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  12. ^ Kingston-Smith, Jonathan. "A Tempest off Matiu-Somes Island". blogspot. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  13. ^ Powell, Selina (18 January 2013). "A Storm Brews off Harbour Island". The Wellingtonian. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  14. ^ Jackman, Amy (9 January 2014). "Somes Island confirmed for 10-year theatre deal". The Wellingtonian. Retrieved 27 April 2014.
  15. ^ McKee, Hannah (20 January 2014). "Audience to become shipwrecked on island". The Dominion Post. Retrieved 27 April 2014.
  16. ^ "CluedUp Unique Events". CluedUp Australia. Retrieved 27 April 2014.
  17. ^ "Bard Productions Blog". Bard Productions. Retrieved 27 April 2014.
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