This Rugged Beauty

25 March - 5 April / BATS Theatre / bats.co.nz/shows/this-rugged-beauty/

This is a shared story. And a unique opportunity.

New Zealanders don't talk themselves up, which is part of what makes them great. Yet this can mean they undersell themselves when it counts, losing competitive advantage. We have turned that around.

Created in consultation with a range of sector leaders and stakeholders, This Rugged Beauty helps Kiwis reflect on exactly what makes this place remarkable. Thanks to all who joined us as at this special event celebrating our Great New Zealand Story and the launch of This Rugged Beauty on the global market.

"Slyly subversive"
Dominion Post

"Hugely original"
Capital Times

"A clear highlight"
Lumiere Reader

Production History

In February 2011, Binge Culture presented a development season of This Rugged Beauty as part of NZ Fringe. It was devised and performed by Binge Culture with Eli Kent, also as performer and deviser, and Gareth Hobbs as sound designer. It received strong feedback from audiences and critics and was nominated for a Chapman Tripp Wellington Theatre award for “most original production”.

“Presented in the Fringe as “an exploration” the company wishes to “develop and grow”, This Rugged Beauty already stands proud on the slopes of a metaphorical Mount Aspiring.” - John Smythe, Theatreview

We took the final 15 minutes of that performance, in which the actors donned wetsuits and stranded onstage as another performer worked with the audience to refloat them, and extended it out into an hour-long performance that took place across central Wellington. 33 people participated as whales in this project, staged as part of the NZ Fringe Festival 2013.

In June 2013, we conducted a redevelopment workshop of This Rugged Beauty, funded by a Creative NZ Quick Response Grant, culminating in two industry showings at Downstage.

Students of performance wishing to view a full video online of the original or workshop production can send a request to email bingeculture@gmail.com

This Rugged Beauty

This is a shared story. And a unique opportunity.New Zealanders don't talk themselves up, which is part of what makes them great. Yet this can mean they undersell themselves when it counts, losing competitive advantage. We have turned that around.

This is a shared story. And a unique opportunity.

New Zealanders don't talk themselves up, which is part of what makes them great. Yet this can mean they undersell themselves when it counts, losing competitive advantage. We have turned that around.