Paper Jam at Bats Theatre

Sal is stuck in a rut. A boring cycle of get up, go to work, go home, go to sleep. Up, work, home, sleep. Upworkhomesleepupworkhomesleep. Her job is an endless sea of pointless data entry and double handling. Every day the same. Every day adulting. Every. Day. D U L L.

Until her thought-to-be-long-gone childhood friend, Biscuit, shows up out of the blue. They’re a trouble maker. A fun maker. They're unpredictable, wild and... Imaginary. Is this really happening? Has Sal finally had too many cups of coffee? Why have they come back now? Jamming together animation, immersive scenography, physical theatre and music, this play-filled adventure merges fantasy with reality in a wacky exploration of imaginary friends.

We had a chat to VUW Te Herenga Waka MFA postgrad students Anna Barker, Belinda Campbell and Rebekah de Roo about their show Paper Jam . 

1. Tell me about how you formed Imaginaries Theatre company, and why you put accessibility and sustainability front and centre.

BEL:
It all started as part of our MFA at Te Herenga Waka. I met Anna and Rebekah last year, and we got talking about what we wanted to do for our final projects. We soon realised that we had a few things in common - we all cared deeply about our planet, about making work that has a positive environmental impact and about accessibility.
We want to make theatre that welcomes everyone!

REBEKAH:
We wanted to create theatre that was uplifting while also encouraging people to put sustainability and accessibility practises into action. A show doesn't have to be about climate change in order for these practises to be fundamental to the production. So, the values of the process were formed first, and then we got thinking about what the show would actually be!

ANNA:
Yes, it formed from the prompt of an imaginary friend. I used the imaginary friend as a placeholder for an assignment, then thought to myself over this is kind of sick! So I took it to Rebekah and then we approached Bel. Imaginary friends have no limit to what they can do, so why don’t we adopt that thinking! Imaginary friends don't have a big carbon footprint!

2. What was the process like, working with NZSL interpreters and on your audio descriptions?

ANNA:
I genuinely think I can't see this show being what it is without the audio description. It's really cool how AD serves a purpose for access, but can change the form of the whole show! The way the script and narrative have all played out alongside a lot of the comedy would not be where it is without AD. It's a really cool challenge as a performer. My character speaks to the audience a lot so it doesn't feel out of character at all to be describing the space, and I feel like it strengthens my bond with them.

BEL:
The AD has really informed the storytelling! It’s helped us become more specific in what we do, and achieve this surreal transformative experience.

REBEKAH:
This surrealism has really become an important language of the show and we have taken it right through to our design elements. We also can’t wait to have the NZSL interpreter in the room with us. We’re excited to see the actors interact with them.

3. What do you want the audience to take home with them from Paper Jam?

BEL:
I want them to walk away being a bit kinder to themselves. It’s hard when you can see what needs to change in the world around you, and to feel like you don’t have the power to change it. It’s about standing up for what you believe in, but holding things more lightly - being ok, not getting in knots because you couldn’t make it right.

In Paper Jam, Sal fights for change. She doesn’t get everything she fought for.

ANNA:
Yeah, the forty hour work week wasn’t made for us. We don’t all have someone at home to make us dinner and do that extra life admin. Sometimes we expect too much of ourselves. Maybe we can put some boundaries in place that bring us a little more enjoyment.

REBEKAH:
We want the audience to have a joyous experience - to come out with a sense of fun and play. We had a lot of fun making it and I think that joy really comes through in the show. To escape into our weird and colourful world and come out with something to chew on.

4. Do you have your next project in your mind already?

ANNA:
It’s top secret.

REBEKAH:
The cast finish this show and plunge straight into various Fringe shows - so keep a lookout, there’s some great performances coming your way soon!

BEL:
We want to keep making eco-friendly, accessible theatre, so you haven’t seen the last of us yet!

5. Who are some other artists doing accessible work that we should check out?

We loved Susan Williams’ Illegally blind, at BATS last year. Make sure you catch that if/when it remounts!

The Circa pantomimes! The most recent production of The Little Mermaid, was really fun. We loved the incorporation of NZSL - would love to see and do more of this!

Huge shout out to Pascale Parenteau from RNZB and Nicola Owen from Audio Described Aotearoa, for welcoming us into the touch tour and described performance of Firebird, last year. The experience was transformative and massively influenced our project from the start. Thank you!

Paper Jam - January 25-29, Bats Theatre.   

• NZSL INTERPRETED PERFORMANCE: Thurs 27 Jan
• RELAXED PERFORMANCE: Wed 26 Jan
• ACCESS TICKET: $12 tickets for Deaf and disabled patrons both nights
• TOUCH TOURS: 5.30pm every night, free of charge!
• AUDIO DESCRIPTION: Integrated every night!