Event: Our Own Little Mess - Jul/Aug 2024

From the creators of audience favourites Jekyll & Hyde and Don Juan, the masters of irreverence, A Slightly Isolated Dog, are thrilled to return to Q Theatre with a hilarious and genre-bending immersive production. Our Own Little Mess runs from 24 July – 3 August as part of Q’s MATCHBOX.

Inspired by Olivia Laing’s The Lonely City, Haruki Murakami’s The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, and the Daniels’ Everything, Everywhere, All at Once; the intertwined lives of five characters celebrate the beauty found in the mundane and the riddles of the human inner voice. Part mystery, part comedy and part thriller Our Own Little Mess is a journey into the existential existence of every human being.

Venture into the private lives and thoughts of a group of unconnected Kiwis who through their musings and a healthy dose of magic realism, connect as human beings. Follow the inner voices of a ventriloquist having an existential crisis in the desert, a stressed-out mum yearning for her partner, an academic wrestling with rejection, a young woman grieving with her mother and an art gallery attendant navigating the gay scene in NYC.

In this offbeat and wildly creative theatrical experience audiences are given headphones to listen in real time to the inner thoughts of the characters’ minds.

Pivotal to the devising process and creation of Our Own Little Mess was the collaboration with cognitive scientists Gina Grimshaw and David Carmel from Victoria University of Wellington. Our Own Little Mess merges science with artistic exploration through an audio experience that examines how the brain works, specifically focusing on what occurs when the audience hears the ‘inner voice’ of the characters they observe.

The opportunity to see a performance from the creative team at A Slightly Isolated Dog is always something to look forward to and they’ve outdone themselves. Champions of innovation and audience collaboration, they’ve taken their mission to another level with this immersive exploration of the inner voices that drive us.
– Tanya Piejus, Regional News

Under the brilliant direction of Leo Gene Peters (A Slightly Isolated Dog) and Jane Yonge (Scenes from a Yellow Peril), the show features compositions by Dr. Jeremy Mayall and dramaturgy by Nathan Joe (writer of MATCHBOX 2023 production Losing Face).

The stellar cast includes Laurel Devine, known for her role in Shortland Street and as Creative Director of Whangārei’s ONEONESIX, alongside Maaka Pohatu, a founder of the Modern Māori Quartet, who recently starred in the successful TV series Far North. Joining the cast are the accomplished Andrew Paterson and Jack Buchanan, both seasoned actors with A Slightly Isolated Dog, and the talented Isla Mayo, who recently showcased her skills in Silo Theatre’s Live Live Cinema: Night of the Living Dead alongside Buchanan.

As part of Q Theatre’s MATCHBOX 2024 season, Our Own Little Mess is the only production to present this year. Due to unforeseen financial circumstances, regrettably Q will not be presenting the two previously selected devised works including Ihumanea by Waiwhakaata Performance and Where Our Shadows Meet by Equal Voices Arts.
Established in 2012, Q’s annual programme has presented 28 productions and provided independent practitioners and companies a platform to present their work at a mainstage venue on their own terms.