In search of the perfect brew

Ellis drinks six cups of coffee during her show so her performance gets faster and faster

Performing a play about coffee to Aucklanders sounds a bit like taking a production about ice to Eskimos but there is nothing which can be assumed about Biscuit and Coffee.

It's a solo show in which Alex Ellis plays Biscuit and five of her dysfunctional and obsessive java junkie family, friends and colleagues as they search for the perfect coffee.

Written by Ellis' good friend Phil Ormsby, the comedy brims with tales of conspiracies, potions and ancient prophecies, all concerning the elusive perfect coffee - but does it exist and where?

Since starting the show last year, Ellis and Ormsby, who also directs, have had plenty of time and opportunity to ponder the question.

After the show's debut last April in Tauranga, Ellis spent a month telephoning various South Island towns, finding suitable venues and booking one-night performances of Biscuit and Coffee from Takaka to Gore.

The duo packed the set and four stage lights into a $400 20-year-old Ford van and headed for the South Island where they performed at 13 venues, including cafes and boutique cinemas.

"When you are searching for the perfect coffee in a small town, everyone will usually tell you the same place to go because there's usually one good place which is doing great coffee and funky food," says Ormsby.

"It's quite interesting because you think of coffee as being an urban, metropolitan thing but the line between big urban centres and smaller towns is obviously blurring because there always seems to be someone who can make a great cup of coffee no matter where you are."

In Keherenga, between Blenheim and Kaikoura, they found excellent coffee at the Star Café which sold tickets to Biscuit and Coffee as part of a dinner and theatre evening.

In Akaroa, there was no shortage of good coffee - locals brought their favourite to the show which they watched while enjoying gourmet BYO picnic dinners.

After the South Island tour, Ellis and Ormsby headed north, taking the show - and newfound knowledge - with them. Now they know how to adapt the on-stage action for various spaces, having worked in venues from palatial restored theatres which could seat up to 500 (Waimate) to a Kerikeri cinema with a 1200mm space immediately in front of the screen.

"I had strict instructions not to touch the screen so I had to make everything really, really small but I was still very concerned that I would accidentally flick my hand back," laughs Ellis.

Producer and The Edge creative programmes manager Lauren Hughes saw Biscuit and Coffee at Bats in Wellington and asked Ellis and Ormsby to bring it to Auckland as part of the Stamp programme.

"It just started off small - a way for us to work in an industry we love and see a bit of the country and now it has reached Auckland," says Ellis.

"I am really excited because it's the biggest and best we can get in New Zealand."

Surprisingly, Ellis is not tiring of coffee. She drinks six cups during the 90-minute show, which means the story-telling gets faster and more manic. It leads to the climax where all six characters confront each other over which is the perfect brew.

For Ellis and Ormsby, it's got to be a long black - "pure and untainted".

What: Biscuit and Coffee
Where and when: Herald Theatre, Oct 31-Nov 11