Girl You Want is a rumination on memory, teenage rebellion and female rites of passage.
"Hopefully there’s a sequel, because on the strength of this, Mitchell has plenty of material to work with and the talents to craft it into something both exciting and poignant."
Tim George - Theatrescenes
It's 1983. Jess is 17. Her teenage rebellion is a roller-coaster through Auckland's underground '80s scene, culminating in a crisis that could change the course of her life. Tessa Mitchell plays herself, her teen alter-ego, and many colourful characters. This multi-media extravaganza promises a wild romp through 1980s counter-culture you won't forget.
Girl You Want extends a semi-autobiographical collection of monologues written by Tessa Mitchell into a solo theatre piece. This show draws on text from her original collaboration I Wanna Be Na Nah Na Nah Nah which received The Auckland Fringe Award for Innovation.
Girl You Want has played seasons at Auckland’s Basement theatre and Melbourne's La Mama theatre to great houses and reviews.
Image credit: Prue Cunningham
The Creative Team
Tessa Mitchell and Chris Jannides have collaborated together on several projects.
Tessa Mitchell has a rich and diverse background as a writer and performer on stage and screen. Film credits include The World’s Fastest Indian (Roger Donaldson, 2005), Perfect Creature (Glen Standring, 2007) and Rubbings from a Live Man (Florian Habicht, 2008). Tessa graduated from Melbourne’s V.C.A Drama school in 1993. Mitchell had early successes with solo performances on both sides of the Tasman. She won best solo street artist for her character Diva Doona in Melbourne's Moomba festival (1994) and her first solo show, Drowning Flounder, successfully toured throughout New Zealand and in Melbourne at La Mama theatre in 1994. In collaboration with musician and partner Ben Holmes she created the work I am a Dark River which went on to tour New Zealand’s fringe theatres.
Chris Jannides (PhD) was the founder of the pioneering New Zealand dance company, Limbs. Chris then went on to create a second company in Australia, Darc Swan, whose focus was primarily dance-in-education. On returning to New Zealand, he was Head of Dance at Unitec School of Performing and Screen Arts in Auckland for 9 years before relocating to the UK to complete a practice-based PhD. His doctorate produced a system called the bodymAPP, which is a movement improvisation tool derived from a close analysis of pedestrian activity. Now living in Wellington, Chris is a full-time movement tutor at Toi Whakaari, the NZ Drama School, where he is developing its movement curriculum, as well as using his doctoral research as a teaching tool for the training of both actors and dancers.
Accessibility
*Access to The Heyday Dome is via stairs, so please contact the BATS Box Office at least 24 hours in advance if you have accessibility requirements so that appropriate arrangements can be made. Read more about accessibility at BATS.
