It's a Trial!
A Binge Culture and Barbarian Productions co-production
It’s a Trial! is a unique performance fusing courtroom drama with community theatre - a theatrical forum to discuss social issues. Staged like a genuine trial and loosely following real court procedures the show stages a serious debate through absurdly funny characters. As part of the performance, audience members are invited to act as the members of the jury, sketch artists in the press box, or simply watch from the public gallery.
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PRODUCTION HISTORY:
KIWIMETER (TVNZ v [name surpressed]) It's a Trial was originally created and performed at BATS Theatre in April of 2016. In this first case of the 'Adjunct High Court' TVNZ sued a prominent commentator for defamatory statements about the infamous 'Kiwimeter' quiz in a trial that was serialised over five nights. Coverage of this trial can be found here DEVISED AND PERFORMED BY Karin McCracken, Joel Baxendale, Jo Randerson, Maria Williams, Anya Tate-Manning WITNESSES Ria Simmons, Tadhg Daly, David Farrar , Tania Sawicki-Mead, Jonny Potts DESIGN Nick Zwart, Meg Rollandi PRODUCED BY Joel Baxendale DRAMATURGY Karin McCracken HOUSING (Mate-Tanning v Attorney General) A second trial was held on Saturday 19th November 2016 at the Wellington Museum as part of Barbarian's Spring Uprising Festival: the Government was sued for negligence over New Zealand's current housing crisis. PERFORMED BY Karin McCracken, Joel Baxendale, Jo Randerson, Maria Williams, Anya Tate-Manning WITNESSES Robert Whittaker, Jonathan Foster, Lenka Rochford PRODUCED BY Gina Moss COMMERCIAL INCENTIVES IN THE ARTS (Mate-Tanning v Minister for Culture and Heritage) The third trial was held on 22 February at Samoa House, 20 Samoa House Lane as part of Auckland Fringe Festival. The case was a judicial review brought against the controversial decision to distance the creation of art from commercial imperatives. PERFORMED BY Karin McCracken, Joel Baxendale, Jo Randerson, Maria Williams, Anya Tate-Manning WITNESSES Stephen Wainwright, Dr Emily Beausoleil, James Tito, Alice Canton PRODUCED BY Joel Baxendale in association with Basement Theatre LOCAL GOVT FUNDING FOR THE ARTS (Phil E. Stine v Attorney General) The fourth trial was held as part of the Local Government New Zealand Conference. The case was another judicial review, again at the Wellington Museum, testing whether it is possible to improve the ‘cultural wellbeing’ of people through arts and culture initiatives. PERFORMED BY Karin McCracken, Joel Baxendale, Jo Randerson, Maria Williams WITNESSES John Smythe, Rachel Bowen, Nicola Young, Bonita Bigham, Stephen Wainwright PRODUCED BY Barbarian Productions |