Political animals

A scene from Binge Culture Collective. Photo / Supplied

Theatre and contemporary politics don't usually mix in Auckland. But this warm and committed Wellington production demonstrates with gusto why they should be seen together more often in polite society.

In two devised, semi-experimental pieces, the young, university-based Binge Culture Collective creates some disturbing and fascinating theatrical moments which draw links between consumer society, national politics and the worst of our allies' illegitimate acts. New Zealand isn't isolated; it is implicated.

In the stronger piece, Drowning Bird, Plummeting Fish, the walls are graffitied with profit graphs, and chalk lines are snorted off the ground. The performers choose their party identities - "in on the joke", "wondering how to suggest an orgy" - literally out of the box.

Later their boxes become buildings marking out the performers' (possibly real) personal maps of Wellington: here, I kissed a boy; here, I wrote a poem in the sand. Collectively, they seem to have vomited all over the nation's capital.

The show's layers have cohesion without narrative, and memorable imagery without a tricksy "physical vocabulary". The powerful centrepiece is an almost-naked young man (Simon Haren) reciting "top 10" lists on demand. His smiling commanders approve when his "top 10 ways to catch Australia" include "digging up our national parks". His predicament, which at first invites voyeurism and laughter, slowly reveals itself to be an echo of something more sinister, to great effect.

Animal Hour, the lighter, warm-up comedy, depicts a reality TV show of awkward, naïve human contestants and cranky, power-hungry animal musicians. It is amusing, but they say little on the theme of "we ain't nothing but mammals" that novelty pop songs haven't already covered.

The live music is very good; the collective stage presence is frantic and a little flighty. However, all the evening's performers have likeable and plausible stage personas, and interact easily with the audience. They make the evening inclusive and watchable, and the rough-and-ready production values add to their underground community vibe, as do the $20/$14 tickets.

There's great potential here - long live the revolution.

What: Elimination Rounds
Where and when: Basement Theatre, to April 10