A Quarrantea Party in Lockdownland

In short

Truly Madly Beastly: A Quarrantea Party in Lockdownland' is a radical revision of the classic Mad Hatter’s tea party scene of Alice in Wonderland fame. Part dance-party, part comedic experience - we combine drama, puppetry, music and imagination to deliver some important techniques for dealing with uncertainty through creativity. Our script is written, production prep is in full swing, a venue is booked and rehearsals are commencing in August for its debut at the Whangarei Fringe festival 10-26 October 2020. We are now seeking backers to help this project realise its full potential

The story

In this revision, we meet a 2020 revision of Alice, a blue-haired, hoodie wearing 'Ali' who...tired of doing nothing at all but sit with her older cousins watching rugby replays… has wandered off. Discovering some dancey music playing in a nearby community hall, curious Ali decides to crash whatever is going on in there and finds herself locked-in to a mad Quarrantea party. With no-where else to go, Ali is forced to make some fun and succeeds in forming a bubble with mad Hattie, Hare-brain and narcoleptic... and rather farty, computa-mousie for company.

In this strange place she discovers time is perpetually stuck at 2pm, how careful precautions need to be taken Beastly Winonavirus, weathers the constant bickering between Hattie and Hare-brain. Here, she also learns some new dance moves and provides her bubble buddies with some help to rehearse a tea-party show for Aunty Siouxie... who as it happens, is running very late for tea.

Why we feel it's relevant

The performance explores the connection between imagination, movement and mental health - two powerful resources for improving mental wellbeing while combating uncertainty. It delivers some tips for, staying physically healthy and coping in confusing and challenging times in a fun and entertaining package. There re plenty of laughs for parents as well, with comedic lines referring to current politics and events, helping to reinforce the importance of being prepared to be a little silly....and make do.... when things are not quite feeling as they should be. Because at the end of the day... you don't need very much at all to be happy.

This is a unique and timely story - we are grateful for any contributions and support to help bring this concept to reality!

What we want people to take from it

We want parents to have something to reflect on with their children, and provide educators with another resource to help them support and promote the wellbeing and health of young people. With the mental impact of the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown only just starting to become apparent, and the global pandemic still ranging - this is a way we feel we can reinvent the tools - tales and indeed, new tails... for our tamariki to live by.

The mechanics

'A Quarrantea Party in Lockdownland' is theatre and storytelling as much as it is about dance and activities. Each segment of the scripted show involves a short message and a song that relates to that message. Children are encouraged to interact in various places of the story - and are even invited to take a seat at the table! Short dance routines at staged interludes are designed to increase the party feeling and get endorphins pumping. The set is minimal, but we do require some support for equipment, materials and props to create the party feeling and hire local specialists to assist us with music, audio and visual aspects of the production.

Thank you for taking the time to read about our project, we are super gratefull for all the encouragement we are receiving to get this wild idea off the ground!

Who we are

The concept has been dreamed up and devised by three local Whangarei women who have all somehow found ourselves together here, accidentally-on-purpose in Northland, New Zealand. We are a Kiwi, a Scot and a South African who bring together international knowledge and experience of event management, performing arts, dancing and singing as well as firsthand experience of mental health challenges and parenting children in unusual situations. The three are behind the newly formed local "Beastly Company" and aspire to use this experience as a springboard for future creative work, with the goal of bringing even more fresh, challenging and provocative theatre to local tamariki in the future.

Our passion fuels us on with this work as we juggle full time work, kids, furkids, self-employment, volunteering and other production work to bring this idea to young audiences at the Whangarei Fringe Festival. We are grateful to anyone who has read through to this point. If what we are trying to do resonates with you we would love it if you could share this page with your networks and help us to reach our goal!

All proceeds from this project will go to Dance Therapy NZ