Silo Theatre Unveils a Boisterous Five-Show Program for 2018

For its 2018 season, Silo Theatre intends to flip the script on the status quo and "celebrate the destruction of systems and ideas that no longer serve us." Unveiling the lineup, Silo Artistic Director Sophie Roberts says that the company's five new shows, "tell stories populated by characters striving to create a new world order." From March to December, theatregoers can expect an investigation into sex, gender and performance, an unsettling look at one of Aotearoa's greatest defence lawyers, a dysfunctional family drama, a post-apocalyptic world inspired by The Simpsons, and a David Byrne/Fatboy Slim musical.

The season will kick off with a Auckland Arts Festival co-production that aims to provoke its audience to question the way we represent romance and sex in popular culture. Body Double by Eleanor Bishop and Julia Croft blends erotic literature, science, and the language of Hollywood film to revolutionize the way women see themselves in the digital age.

Dan Musgrove's The Defendant will make its world premiere at Q Theatre from 14 June to 7 July. Commissioned and developed by Silo, the piece is an imagining of the last days of lawyer Greg King who defended some of the country's most notorious criminals.

Directed by Sophie Roberts, HIR is a dysfunctional family drama for the 21st century. The work from American playwright Taylor Mac has been touted as a "deliciously sly and exquisitely intelligent comedy about the messy implications of change".

MR BURNS will see survivors in a post-apocalyptic world trying to piece together an episode of The Simpsons. The "outrageous post-modern pop culture mash-up" was written by Anne Washburn and directed by Oliver Driver.

Silo's final production of the year will see David Byrne and Fatboy Slim's unlikely concept album, Here Lies Love, come to life under the direction of Sophie Roberts and musical direction of Robin Kelly. Through disco-pop, the album charts the rise and fall of Imelda Marcos, the former First Lady of the Philippines aka the "Steel Butterfly".

SILO THEARE 2018 SEASON

Body Double: Q Theatre, March 20-29.
The Defendant: Q Theatre, June 14 - July 7.
HIR: Herald Theatre, August 2-25.
MR BURNS: Q Theatre, September 13-29.
Here Lies Love: Herald Theatre, November 22 - December 8.

For more information and bookings, visit Silo Theatre.