MoodPorn
This piece of chamber theatre touches on guilt, unsaid feelings and learning to live with your shit.
Overview
For anyone who's lived in Wellington for a few years, you know what it's like to bump into someone you used to know time and time again. Sometimes it's on a street corner, just an embarrassingly loud hello, or over a coffee. Wherever you bump into characters from your past, memories come flooding back of jobs, flats, past relationships and more cups of coffee. Now there's a theatre production that addresses our uncomfortable situations — and makes them even worse.
Later this month BATS Theatre will be showing MoodPorn by Matthew Loveranes. A 90-minute production starring Heather O'Carroll and Ali Foa'i, the lost friends from university meet again after a few years. Both have hidden secrets, and choose to share with one another. An emotional and moving play, it's relevant to basically anyone living in their twenties right now.
MoodPorn is being staged by Red Scare, a Wellington not-for-profit theatre company that champions original New Zealand plays. For theatre buffs there are some up-and-coming names behind MoodPorn. Director James Cain's last play Movers was shortlisted for Playmarket's Adam NZ Play Award, and toured the country after a sold-out season at BATS Theatre. Production Manager Cassandra Tse was the co-winner of the 2015 Playwrights b4 25 competition, and has been nominated for multiple other theatre awards.
If MoodPorn sounds like the play for you, it's probably the play for your workmate too. BATS Theatre has great concession prices, including Cheap Wednesday and group prices, so bring the gang along and have 90 minutes of squirming.