ROSEMARY

In the wake of MeToo, where women are speaking out about their experiences of abuse, and standing for sexual and social empowerment, it's a relevant time to remember and reclaim female icons of history.

The Virgin Mary, symbol of divine love, mercy and wisdom, has for centuries been a revered source of inspiration for people all around the world. At the very same time, her iconic image of 'female perfection' has been notoriously employed to denigrate real women, colonize and control.

ROSEMARY, a multidisciplinary dance work, responds to this legacy with emotional depth and healing humour. It seeks to salvage the vitality of Mary's mystery from the brittle plaster of her icon. A collaboration between dancer Rosie Tapsell and sound/performance artist Jazmine Rose Philips, ROSEMARY will be tender and dark, dream-like and absurd. Basement Theatre's studio space becomes a temple to the mother plant, featuring a haunting sound design and an enigmatic Mary figure, attempting to re-member.

We are seeking help to cover our expenses for this show: rehearsal space, set design and production costs. Anything you can afford to give will help us immensely. 

Rosie Tapsell is a performing artist from Tamaki Makarau. She has worked with leading New Zealand choreographers and directors such as Michael Parmenter, Kelly Nash, Claire O'Neil, Louise Potiki-Bryant, Kate Parker and Alexa Wilson. Rosie co-created theatre work GOD-BELLY with Andrew Gunn (Pressure Point Collective), and is a member of DANCE PLANT Collective.

Jazmine Rose Philips is a queer performance artist and sound designer. Jazmine writes and performs music under the name Him. She co-created the show F(Y)UCK>SEXY? which toured New Zealand and Australia. In 2018 Jazmine created the sound for Extra Ordinary Folk by Claire O'Neil, and also won the best sound design in the AKL Fringe festival for her show, "blood innocence and the void". Jazmine is also a trained herbalist and will be bringing with her knowledge of the healing qualities of rosemary, a herb associated with Mary in scripture. 

Collaborating as the shows dramaturg is Clare Marcie, recently back in Aotearoa after five years of training and performing as an actor and theatre creative in Scotland.

Dancer and choreographer Rose Philpott is collaborating as a choreographic advisor.