Judge's comments:

The theatrical expression of this medium is compelling and presents an experience that elevates an audience’s participation. The presence of technical creative storytelling on stage is revealed beautifully through the art form with a design approach that is brave, persuasive and visually immersive.

Description:

Gravity & Grace is a large-scale stage adaptation of feminist author Chris Kraus’ novel Aliens & Anorexia. Brimming with intellect, humour and rich visuals, the theatre show follows Kraus through the production of an ill-fated film in Auckland in the 90s, her bold move to punk New York in the 70s, and to a disastrous appearance at a Berlin film market. Along the way, she has encounters with some of the greatest artists and philosophers of the 20th century. The large-scale work premiered in Aotearoa New Zealand Festival of the Arts and Auckland Arts Festival in March 2024, to critical and commercial acclaim.

Featuring a multi-level stage, four onstage cameras operated by the performers, numerous projection surfaces and a cast of five, Gravity & Grace was created to provide theatre audiences in Aotearoa with an exceptionally high-standard, large-scale storytelling event with rich multimedia elements, exploring one woman’s experience of crushing failure.

The script, staging and video design in Gravity & Grace were meticulously created in an iterative and highly collaborative process across all creative departments over a four period period of workshopping and development to ensure storytelling and design integration. As expressed in the ‘Architecture Now’ article Theatre Architecture as Enduring Event, “[a]lthough focusing on the portrayal of spectacular creative failure, [Gravity & Grace] was, in fact, a masterpiece of contemporary intermedial design: seamlessly integrating performing bodies with setting, sound, lighting and moving image; including live camera feed overlaid from varying angles.”

This focus on integration created a live event that was emotionally expressive, technically complex, visually layered, and beautiful. Following well attended seasons in Tāmaki and Pōneke and critical acclaim, the show is currently being prepared for touring to international arts festivals.

Cast: Nī Dekkers-Reihana, Simon Leary, Karin McCracken, Sam Snedden, Rongopai Tickell

Production photography by Andi Crown.

The development of Gravity & Grace was supported by Aotearoa New Zealand Festival of the Arts, Te Ahurei Toi O Tāmaki Auckland Arts Festival & Creative New Zealand. Thank you to Artificial Imagination for video system design and integration support.
By arrangement with Playmarket. Initial script development supported by BATS Theatre, through their Artist Residency programme and Wellington City Council.