A Man Named Dave

A Man Named Dave is a bold, playful theatre work heading to the Wellington Fringe Festival, and we’re raising funds to bring it fully to life. Blending voiceover, puppetry, and live performance, the show follows Dave—an ordinary office worker whose every move is controlled by an unseen Narrator—until he decides to rebel and take control of his own story. This crowdfunding campaign will support the creative team, materials, and production costs needed to realise this imaginative, absurd, and heartfelt exploration of self-determination on stage.

The team behind A Man Named Dave is made up of recent graduates from Toi Whakaari, alongside a small number of current students. This project offers us the opportunity to further our creative practice and build meaningful connections within the industry, working independently without the direct support of our training institution.

By stepping outside the university environment, we are putting our learnings into practice and gaining a genuine understanding of what it means to create work in the professional theatre landscape—supported by the Wellington Fringe Festival and the wider community around us.

The funds raised through this Boosted campaign will go directly towards essential production costs including:

• Set and costume materials
• Printing and marketing expenses,
• Provision of kai for our cast and crew during technical week and long rehearsal days. 

Ensuring our team is properly supported allows us to work safely, sustainably, and at our best while bringing A Man Named Dave to life.

A Man Named Dave is an original, devised theatre work that combines live performance, voiceover, and puppetry to tell a playful yet deeply human story about autonomy, routine, and resistance. Set within the rigid structure of an office environment, the world of the play is governed by an ever-present Narrator who dictates every action of the protagonist’s day. Dave’s life is safe, predictable, and relentlessly ordinary—until he makes a single, disruptive choice to stop obeying the voice that controls him.

As Dave begins to assert his independence, the objects around him—office supplies, appliances, and tools of his daily labour—come to life. Through puppetry and physical storytelling, these objects become co-workers, obstacles, and unexpected allies, reflecting the systems that both support and confine us. The form of the show mirrors its themes: tightly choreographed moments give way to chaos, improvisation, and play as Dave fights to reclaim authorship over his own narrative.

We are making A Man Named Dave because it speaks directly to a generation navigating burnout, precarity, and the pressure to conform to prescribed versions of success. Many of us have experienced the tension between stability and self-determination—between doing what is expected and doing what feels true. By using humour, absurdity, and theatrical imagination, this project invites audiences to reflect on who—or what—is narrating their own lives, and what it takes to break free from that voice.

At its heart, this project is an exploration of agency: how it is lost, how it is reclaimed, and how terrifying and exhilarating it can be to step outside the script you’ve been handed. A Man CNamed Dave aims to be accessible, inventive, and emotionally resonant, offering audiences a joyful and thought-provoking experience while pushing our own creative practice forward as emerging theatre-makers.

A Man Named Dave is a work that invites audiences to laugh, reflect, and recognise themselves in the absurdity of everyday life. In a world increasingly defined by routine, productivity, and external expectations, this story asks a simple but powerful question: who is really in control of our lives? Through humour, puppetry, and imaginative theatrical storytelling, the show creates an accessible entry point into conversations about autonomy, burnout, and the courage it takes to disrupt the status quo.

This work needs to be experienced live. The transformation of ordinary objects into characters, the tension between narration and rebellion, and the collective energy of performers and audience sharing space all contribute to a theatrical experience that cannot be replicated elsewhere. It is playful and entertaining on the surface, but deeply resonant underneath—offering audiences a chance to reflect on their own routines and the voices that shape their choices.

Backing A Man Named Dave is an investment in emerging artists at a pivotal moment in their careers. As recent graduates and current students stepping into the professional industry without institutional backing, this project represents our commitment to making ambitious, original work and contributing to Aotearoa’s theatre landscape. Community support allows us to pay for the resources that make this work possible, while also affirming that new voices, risk-taking, and inventive storytelling have a place on our stages.

By supporting this campaign, you are helping to bring a joyful, imaginative, and meaningful piece of theatre to life—one that champions creative independence, values collaboration, and reflects the experiences of the community it is made for and made within.