Soccer, Samoa and bringing the world together: Silo Theatre's 2019 season

Katerina Fatupaito, Nora Koloi and Stacey Leilua perform in Wild Dogs Under My Skirt as part of the NZ Festival 2018. Photo/Matt Grace

This year, it tackled The Simpsons, Here Lies Love featuring David Byrne, and gender identity; in 2019, Silo Theatre is all about soccer players, blind dates and diversity.

The Auckland-based company has announced its line-up for 2019, promising "four blasts of electric intimacy".

The four works include a mix of local and international settings but are linked by what artistic director Sophie Roberts calls a "compulsion for connection" that aims to bring the world closer together.

Wild Dogs Under My Skirt begins that challenge. Inspired by Tusiata Avia's 2004 poetry collection, this co-production with playwright Victor Rodger follows six Samoan characters walking a fine line between cultures and carving out their own identities.

Wolves, the Pulitzer Prize-nominated debut by American Sarah DeLappe, will be the first time Silo has had a cast focused around teenage performers. It involves nine girls gossiping on everything from periods to Cambodian murders as they warm up for their weekly soccer game.

In a rare move for an Auckland company, The Blind Date Project returns after five years, with former Shortland Street actress Natalie Medlock back as Anna in the fully improvised show. Each night, Medlock meets a new blind date, and the conversation is dictated by live texts and phone calls. The 2014 season featured Taika Waititi and Madeleine Sami among the guest stars, and Silo is promising a "fresh and fierce" line-up for 2019.

Stacey Leilua, Sophie Helm (Silo Youth Ambassador), Natalie Medlock, Ahi Karunaharan and Silo artistic director Sophie Roberts. Photo / Toaki Okano

My Heart Goes Thadak Thadak rounds out the year. From our first Sri Lankan NZ playwright Ahi Karunaharan, this is one of two productions from him in 2019 (A Fine Balance, from Auckland Theatre Company, comes earlier in the year). Set in 1970s Bombay at the height of Bollywood, it follows Roshan and Kamala, the children of a legendary director forced to try and bring his latest effort to life after he dies during production. Silo promises it will be an interactive and immersive experience.

Their last two shows of the year, Mr Burns and Here Lies Love, earned rave reviews for their experimental use of theatre.