Amy Mansfield
Artsense Productions was formed in 2016 by Amy Mansfield and its first production was DARKSONG, an a cappella octet which performed renaissance works in the pitch black at Q Theatre, followed by BARRE NONE, an all-comers 6-hour open-air ballet class installation accompanied by a live pianist, at Auckland's Silo Park.
Since then the company has produced multiple shows including AN ILIAD (dir. J Hendry) and JACK AND THE BEANSTALK (dir. M Hurst, postponed due to COVID), and, since 2018, five of Mansfield's own shows. The company has interests in interactive work and also in unusual ways of presenting classical forms. Recent projects include live karaoke with backing singers THE BURT BACHARACHUPS (Auckland Live Cabaret Season) and community mass outdoor choral work TARANAKI SINGS with Julian Raphael (Spiegelfest, New Plymouth).
H.R. THE MUSICAL is Artsense's latest, and most ambitious, project to date. In 2024 the show sold out multiple seasons across New Zealand (Auckland x 3, Wellington, Christchurch, New Plymouth). It was followed up in 2025 with H.R. The Musical #2. In 2026, a "best of" was toured to Australian festivals (Adelaide Fringe, Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Sydney Comedy Festival) and in August the same touring show will be presented at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe at the famous Gilded Balloon.
Artsense Productions
Artsense Productions was formed in 2016 by Amy Mansfield and its first production was DARKSONG, an a cappella octet which performed renaissance works in the pitch black at Q Theatre, followed by BARRE NONE, an all-comers 6-hour open-air ballet class installation accompanied by a live pianist, at Auckland's Silo Park.
Since then the company has produced multiple shows including AN ILIAD (dir. J Hendry) and JACK AND THE BEANSTALK (dir. M Hurst, postponed due to COVID), and, since 2018, five of Mansfield's own shows. The company has interests in interactive work and also in unusual ways of presenting classical forms. Recent projects include live karaoke with backing singers THE BURT BACHARACHUPS (Auckland Live Cabaret Season) and community mass outdoor choral work TARANAKI SINGS with Julian Raphael (Spiegelfest, New Plymouth).
H.R. THE MUSICAL is Artsense's latest, and most ambitious, project to date. In 2024 the show sold out multiple seasons across New Zealand (Auckland x 3, Wellington, Christchurch, New Plymouth). It was followed up in 2025 with H.R. The Musical #2. In 2026, a "best of" was toured to Australian festivals (Adelaide Fringe, Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Sydney Comedy Festival) and in August the same touring show will be presented at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe at the famous Gilded Balloon.
Artsense Productions's Live Project
H.R. The Musical goes to Edinburgh!
H.R. The Musical is the runaway hit sketch-comedy set in the workplace that, after a successful tour of selected New Zealand and Australian cities in the two years since it opened, is now set to take on the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. In August, performers Mika Austin, Jessica Robinson and Amy Mansfield will play 26 nights at the Gilded Balloon's Patter House, one of the top five Fringe venues in the storied city. The Gilded Balloon is the perfect place for this kind of satirical musical comedy. The venue has hosted the likes of musical comedians Flight of the Conchords and Tim Minchin over the years, and the opportunity to perform H.R. The Musical there to audiences, festival directors, agents, film & TV industry professionals and more is once-in-a-lifetime. The offer arose out of our successful run at this year's Adelaide Fringe. Around 10,000 people have now seen the show in one of its iterations, with audiences and critics alike celebrating it as "a comic triumph*****" (Glam Adelaide), "an instantly relatable gem*****" (The List). The show is resonating across borders because of its "cultural commentary" on contemporary worklife as well as its biting wit. "What makes H.R. The Musical so powerful isn’t just its humour, but its accuracy.****1/2 Upside Adelaide) Having got this far without a single grant or sponsorship funding, and with the costs to get to and stay in Edinburgh for a month - let alone put on a show there - being steep, the time has come for us to look to our community to help us soften the risk (and ideally eat while we're away, plus get back at the end of the season). Anything you can give towards our taking the show to the world is soooo gratefully received.
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