WELLINGTON, NZ. Heartbreaker Productions invite you to their house for a sleepover. The artists behind Conversations with the Ghost in my Bedroom (NZ Fringe Festival, 2021, shortlisted play for Playmarket’s Playwrights b4 25), and performers of Susan’s Glaspell’s Trifles (Six Degrees Festival, 2022), return to BATS Theatre this August with their latest production, Midnight Confessions. This newly created show will run 23–27 August, 6:30pm at BATS Theatre.
Midnight Confessions is an experimental anthology piece about love, loss and the power of female friendships. Inspired by the classic play, Love and Information by Caryl Churchill, this piece is set in the intimate setting of a sleepover. It is a coming of age love letter to the friendships that shaped us growing up. Self discovery, vulnerability, exclusion and heartbreak are woven through topics of girlhood, love, trust and growth.
Cassandra Tse, Artistic Director of Red Scare Theatre Company, writes in support of the girlhood themes of the show. “It is still rare in entertainment media to see the rituals of girlhood treated as worthy of in-depth exploration rather than trivial, and the Heartbreaker team are well-placed to treat the quintessential experience of the childhood sleepover with nuance and empathy.”
Heartbreaker Productions, consisting of Abby Lyons, Anna Barker, Alia Marshall and Mia Oudes, are an emerging, feminist theatre company.
Abby Lyons, Heartbreaker Productions Co-Creator explains that the team are passionate about bringing heartwarming and heartbreaking feminine candor to the stage. “We want to open the door to women and non-binary characters and show audiences what we are really like.”
In this show about girlhood, the Heartbreakers team are bringing fresh new modes of creative practice to theatre with a democratic working environment. Lyons explains, “We are each writing, directing and performing – allowing us to all feel in full control of the creative process of this show.” This collaborative process is reflected well in Midnight Confessions, with endearing performances and beautiful writing that truly reflect female relationships at their strongest as well as at their most vulnerable.
Book your tickets on the BATS Theatre website at bats.co.nz/whats-on/midnight-confessions/