MAVERICK NZ PERFORMANCE ARTISTS

DOUBLE BILL IN DUNEDIN

 Warwick Broadhead & Cat Ruka: December 1^st, 8pm at Allen Hall, University of Otago. Tickets $25/$18 unwaged, cash door sales only.

On December 1st Dunedin will experience a one-off double-bill performance by maverick Auckland-based performance artists Warwick Broadhead and Cat Ruka.

The University of Otago’s Allen Hall will see the godfather of flamboyant theatre Warwick Broadhead present his enchanting interpretation of Lewis Carroll’s Hunting of the Snark, followed by the South Island premiere of New Treaty Militia, the startling and contentious new work by renowned dance artist and choreographer Cat Ruka.

Broadhead (b.1944) and Ruka (b.1983) represent contrasting generations of unique New Zealand performers, however each has consistently championed an unfaltering vision within their work. Fellow admirers, they are delighted to be sharing an evening with a Dunedin audience.

“Warwick’s self-expression is phenomenal to witness,” explains Ruka. “He draws you in, takes you to a place you’d never imagine, and leaves you feeling like there’s less rules and more colour in the world.”

Broadhead first saw Ruka perform last year when she opened Dunedin-based musician Dudley Benson’s nationwide tour.

“I was mesmerized from start to finish,” says Broadhead. “The power from Cat’s body as she moves is undeniable, and I was moved by the story she tells. Dunedin is going to be enthralled by her.”

Over the past four decades, Broadhead has performed in theatres, forests and living rooms throughout the country. Inspired as a young man by his experience with the notorious 1970s San Francisco drag-troupe The Angels of Light, Broadhead returned to New Zealand to declare a style not previously seen on these shores. One of his most-loved works, Broadhead has performed Hunting of the Snark over 500 times with no single experience the same as the last. The subject of Florian Habicht’s much-acclaimed 2008 documentary Rubbings From a Live Man, this will be Warwick’s first public performance in Dunedin since his 1991 rendition of Sleeping Beauty.

Cat Ruka (Ngāpuhi, Waitaha, Ngāti Pākehā) has emerged as one of this country’s most innovative and challenging dancer-choreographers of her generation. Since graduating with a Masters degree from the University of Auckland in 2009 with her breakthrough work Playing Savage, Ruka has created an ongoing and ever-evolving dialogue that vividly addresses the complexities of ethnic identity in contemporary Aotearoa. Her performances stimulate thought and debate, with 2011’s New Treaty Militia being no exception. Devised in Auckland, workshopped in Berlin and performed in New York, Melbourne and Auckland’s Tempo dance festival, Ruka and co-performer Josh Rutter (Pākehā) are now bringing the world of New Treaty Militia to Dunedin.