Basement Theatre is a home to an artistic mixtape of theatre makers, dancers, visual artists, poets, musicians and comedians, and chocka block full of original, local, responsive content. A bar. A theatre. A community. We are the home for Auckland’s mo...
Products and specialities
A bar, a theatre, a community
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In my mind, the Basement is the heart of the thriving arts culture in Auckland city. I've seen some amazing plays, hilarious comedic stand-ups and awesome bands here over the years and every visit has been a good one. It's always affordable and some of the best fresh faces in the city's performing arts scene are always coming through. The place is exciting and will make you excited about Auckland's eclectic talent too.
I've been to a few shows at Basement Theatre lately, and thoroughly enjoy it as a venue. Their two stages are both small, making shows even more powerful and intimate, no matter what you're seeing. The staff are also really friendly and helpful - I've had friends cancel on tickets at the last minute and they've let me use them on other nights. Also, the bar's relatively well priced, with generous pours!
Trust The Basement to be so topical as to have a play in residence about being young and gay right when the vote for Marriage Equality is being drafted! I recently saw Queen by Sam Brooks in the intimate studio theatre and, in with moments of tears & many of laughter, were some real revelations about what it is like growing up gay today. Brooks won the Playmarket Playwright’s B4-25 Award in 2012 and Queen is a brave and honest piece of work. Enjoyable & thought-provoking, it sparked a long conversation afterwards about the themes. ****On 16-25 April @ 7pm**** When I went to see Queen, there was a sign behind the bar: “We are nice! You have the options of: 1. Being nice back 2. Going away! x” and it’s true! One time, the staff here found the last remaining seat in the house to squeeze me into at the last minute when I was on stand-by & desperate to see a popular show, saying “We can just fit you in! Quick! You can pay at the interval!” They are good guys. Basement are now a risk-share theatre too, so they take a cut of ticket sales, rather than charging to book the theatre. This means that new theatre companies have the opportunity to put on a production based on the merit of their work alone, rather than whether they have the capital up-front to book a performance space. Therefore, Basement takes bookings for plays they believe in and they help market them too, because they are invested in the play’s success. This is an important shift and has changed the landscape of Auckland’s theatre repertoire. Love love love for The Basement. :)