After a four-year gap, Bruce Brown’s Legacy Project returns to Auckland Pride, merging six new short plays from six remarkable writers from across the queer spectrum into an evening of happy/sad/moving/funny shows that is, without doubt, the best yet.

This doesn’t overstate the situation, it’s a thoroughly excellent night at the theatre whether you are ‘family’ or not.

This year tickets are ‘Choose What You Pay’, so audiences get to set the ticket price for themselves, and all takings go to support the show’s creatives so we can all ‘witness more queer magic on the stage’.

Brown’s press release goes on to say ‘art snaps back, chaos at Catholic school, one couple opts to forget their relationship ever happened, while another couple meets for the first time. These are our stories. Strap-in for Legacy 7!’

He’s right: it’s a heart-wrenching, gut-busting hoot from beginning to end.

Pride Theatre is certainly back and with a vengeance so why is it so good this year? I stand to be corrected but Brown has really learned the ropes, he has skin in the game and personal experience to burn, but he also has a great line up of equally experienced producers and dramaturgs who have all ‘been there done that’ and worn out the tee shirts. It’s hard to claim better than Ahi Karunaharan, and when you add Daniel Goodwin and Keagan Carr Fransch you have an outstanding combination even before you start.

A plug, too, for the Pride team that boasts creative theatre genius Julia Croft as festival co-director and writing supremo Nathan Joe as creative boss and with them in charge, you have the performing arts well and truly front and centre for the entire festival.

The 2024 festival is spectacular, simply stunning, and it’s worth noting that this success sits on the shoulders of giants, many of whom gave their guts from Pride Festival Day One which was actually in 2012, in contrast to the Pride website which infers it was 2018. A bit of whakapapa for the uninitiated, Pride was established in 2012 as a Charitable Trust under whose aegis the first festival was staged in 2013 – ‘Legacy’ was featured on that first festival programme along with 60 or so other events – and the Trust transformed into an Incorporated society in February 2014 with this structure being deemed more appropriate for festival management. This IncSoc staged successful festivals for the following six years … but don’t look for any acknowledgement of this on the Pride website which, for some reason known only to itself, has removed any mention of this from the official record despite it being exactly the same organisation now as it was in 2012 and with the same legal status it’s had since February 2014. Want proof? Check the New Zealand Companies Office website, it’s all there. Nothing has changed, except that the sterling work of hundreds of dedicated people has been surgically, and painfully, removed.

I first worked with Bruce Brown in 2013 when he developed the exciting concept of Legacy. It was a brilliant idea that introduced many young queer producers, directors, and actors to the short-play learning space. The shows that year were indicative of what was possible, good, not all great, but the potential was evident. Now, a decade later, the concept has evolved and it’s all class. It’s still a fantastic nurturing ground for queer talent, but the standards now are uniformly excellent and as good as any I have ever seen anywhere. Congratulations, Bruce, and your extraordinary team for producing a night of rib-aching laughter and rich, deep reflection.

Thank you so very much.

As might be expected with a show that consists of six individual works the stage is bare at the start. That is, except for a single mat in the centre which remains there until the end of the first play. Every other show has a portable set: seats, tables, beanbags, a costume rack, all managed by the actors. It’s minimalist, and splendid because of it.

The Basement stage is wide, a bit narrow, and tastefully lit. The seating is in an open U which suits all of the shows perfectly. The lighting is ambient, the pre-show sound is too, that’s when you can hear it above the excited chatter of a very full house. There’s a real sense of anticipation that draws everyone in.

There are times when being a reviewer is an anonymous experience. Audience members who recognise us often say nothing out of respect for the situation and don’t acknowledge that we are there. No-one wants to be seen ‘influencing the reviewer’. It’s a respect protocol that was largely ignored on this wonderful opening night with many warm greetings exchanged and hugs shared prior to the show.

Humbling but pleasing.

Brown, like all good producers, is at the door checking tickets. His warm and affectionate welcome set the scene for me and my whanau. In fact, he was no doubt assessing the house and how the tone of the evening was evolving. It always helps to know everything that’s going on.

The entire theatre was welcoming, from the bunch imbibing on the steps outside, through the foyer where I shared the space with two gorgeous young women and a delicious working pup, through to the theatre proper, everything was fantastic.

The programme, for the uninitiated, was brief and self-explanatory: ‘Legacy Project returns to Auckland Pride and Basement Theatre for our 10th anniversary. Have you missed us’ it asks? After a four-year hiatus, it feels great to be back and supporting more up-and-coming queer playwrights to premier their short plays on stage. These six unique stories reflect our communities from across the LGBTQI+ spectrum and share the relatable experiences that connect us all together’.

They certainly do that, and more.

Lights fade to black and we’re straight into Show Number One. It’s called ‘Artsplain’, is written by Helen Vivienne Fletcher and directed by Samuel Phillips.

This mirth-filled show introduces us to a gallery curator (Janaye Henry) with a moustache that deserves its own production credit. We are introduced to two marble statues (Carla Newton and El Alferez) in various stages of womanly ‘lovemaking’ who mirror, in posture, some of the world greatest art. It’s clear from the outset that these two classical figures are more than ‘just friends’ while the curator does that wonderful thing of pretending that they just ‘gal pals’ enjoying each other’s company. How often do we see this level of misinterpretation of historic gay imagery and it’s almost always women as in this case. It’s funny and touching in unique gay ways – with the odd, unexpected surprise – and is a victorious way to start an excellent evening.

Show Two is ‘My Redacted Lover’, a fascinating exploration of memory erasure as practised in a neurology clinic in Auckland in 2049. Written by Danny Lam and directed by Jordan Dickson, it features Hamish Davies and Lynch Rivera as the subjects and Jessica Bennett as the therapist. As becomes a theme throughout the evening, the deeply embedded affection we have for those we love or have loved is both complex and is often buried by the pressures of living, and the detritus of simply being gay. The relationship between Will and Ka Hei, albeit compacted into a mere few minutes, is well developed and the two subjects relate to each other in very real ways and often counter to expectation. Bennett’s therapist is uniquely, pragmatic, and the show has an underlying humour that the audience really understands. We all follow queer statistics – mostly to see where we fit – and they usually relate to the darker side of our lives, such as our suicide rates compared with those in the straight world, and these are reflected here as regrets when the therapy fails to work: for normal people it’s 1 in 25, but for us it’s 1 in 6. The laughter of recognition that this statistic generates is deeply satisfying.

‘Harm Reduction’, written by Jade Winterburn, directed by Rae Longshore-Park and featuring Ezra as the drug soiree host and Laika Rountree as the guest, is next up. It’s a brave work that is largely successful. It headlines a couple of besties looking after each other during a narcotics session and, despite the challenging nature of the content and its brave, stripped back, and authentic delivery, it is ultimately a story of love and affection between two people whose lives are certainly challenging but each rises above these complexities and the love they have for each other shines through. 

‘The Perfect Fit’ is show number four. Written by Sanjana Khusal and directed by Sananda Chatterjee with support from workshop director Chye-Ling Huang, the programme describes this work as ‘tits are not the shit’. That phrase alone is certainly attention-grabbing. ‘When a young Indian girl goes bra shopping for the first time, she finds herself making big choices. It’s hard with such collectively good work to choose one piece that’s better than the others so I won’t do that, but I will say that ‘The Perfect Fit’ is both fabulous and totally satisfying. What transwoman (and transman) hasn’t been in EXACTLY this situation? The acting throughout is crisp and real, and the casting (Amy Maria Aranha as Sameen, Hazel Oh as Alisha and Brenda, Oscar Shaw as Alex, Marco and Mr Macdonald, with Sundeepta Vyas as Padma) is perfect. What sets out to be a very funny comedy turns itself completely on its axis, becoming something quite different, something much deeper that only those in the queer community would truly understand. It’s about identity, honesty, and caring, and I received it all through the sieve of personal recognition so was surprised in the best possible way at the dénouement. ‘The Perfect Fit’ has quite the best punchline I’ve heard in many a long year.

‘Red Light Discourse’ is, on the surface, a piece about the embarrassing nature of post sex chitchat in a sauna. Written by Aun Sukijjakhamin and directed by Ravi Gurunathan, it features two young men – Mike (Hamish Davies) and Tim (Keven Souza) – who really do ‘embody’ the story. It’s one of those pieces where we keep waiting for the happy ending and, when it finally comes, we sigh with almost orgasmic relief. It’s a beautiful piece, sublimely well-acted and it’s worth noting that Hamish Davies, who plays Mike, also features as Will in ‘My Redacted Lover’. It’s not easy to burst from one role to another in such a short time frame let alone managing two separate rehearsal schedules with, I imagine, plenty of negotiating between Ravi, Hamish, Bruce, and Jordan. Excellent work from Hamish, and well worth the effort.

The final offering is written by Maria Williams, directed by Shay McKendrick and features Ella Blake Brislen as Sofia, Junghwi Jo and Diya, Katie Fullard as Mrs Sutton, and Kierron Diaz as Albie. It’s called ‘UnChristianlike Behaviour’ and it takes place in the office of Mrs Sutton, the discipline teacher at a traditional, all-girls, Catholic school. The programme advises us that ‘Diya is a terrible Catholic girl and it turns out she’s not the only one’.  It’s hard to imagine a concept with more potential than this and the cast milk every laugh out of their material. Each actor is quite superb and, surprise of surprises, once alone, we discover that the deeply religious Mrs Sutton, the browbeaten teacher who is married to a Mr Sutton, has her own dark secret. Who would ever have thought of a goat farm? Laughter from the closet is a fantastic way to end this evening of six superb pieces because laughter is always the best medicine.

It was satisfying to see the entire cast and crew appear for the curtain call because, by the end, we certainly wanted a reminder of what had gone before so we could say a proper thank you with paki paki and cheering galore. A thousand thank yous for taking so much care with such fabulous work and a special big thank you to Auckland Pride for carrying on the work that started, hint hint, in 2013, work that continues today. I well remember the post made by Bruce Brown in 2020 saying that there would be a hiatus in the Legacy Project because he and his team were burned out. It’s courageous to own up to an experience that far too many of us share, and it’s even better to know that he has come through stronger and more creative than ever before. Shows like Legacy 7 are treacherously difficult to curate. So many choices to make, so many hearts to break, so many risks to take, before putting new work in front of a critical audience, and then, of course, the need to reconcile the income against the budget. It’s a very big job.

Legacy 7 is, like all its predecessors, brave work. Long may you continue curating this important material, Bruce. I look forward to Legacy 8.

THE PLAYS:

Artsplain. Written by Helen Vivienne Fletcher, directed by Samuel Phillips.

Harm Reduction. Written by Jade Winterburn, directed by Rae Longshaw-Park.

My Redacted Lover. Written by Danny Lam, directed by Jordan Dickson.

The Perfect Fit. Written by Sanjana Khusal, directed by Sananda Chatterjee.

Red Light Discourse. Written by Aun Sukijjakhamin, directed by Ravi Gurunathan.

UnChristianlike Behaviour. Written by Maria Williams, directed by Shay McKendrick.

Dramaturges: Ahi Karunaharan, Daniel Goodwin & Keagan Carr Fransch.

Legacy 7 is made possible with the support from Basement Theatre, Auckland Pride, and Playmarket.

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