Leaving the comforts of home, I usher myself along to Providence, showing as part of the New Performance Festival held at Auckland’s Civic Centre. In one sentence, it’s a hearty live action story-tale which leaves no oblique aspect of ‘homeless’ un-addressed.

Providence is not new to the stage. Released in 2010, it showed successfully at Auckland’s the Basement theatre before being plucked out by festival curator Stephen Bain to participate in the New Performance festival.

To begin we’re invited into the performance area by the arresting bombshell that is Lara Fischel-Chisholm, who is one of merely two actors cast in the performance. Lara’s bellowing at us, welcoming us to move our already traditionally displaced chairs to ‘wherever’ and suggesting we ‘make ourselves at home’. We do and half of the audience opts for crossed legs on the floor, and pick comfortable over comforting. My own chair tricks me into thinking I’m participation safe. I’m not, I leave that night with a mid scene ‘Pash?’ proposition downturn hanging regretfully over my head.

Lara is joined by the vivacious Regan Taylor and the duo rally us through hearty outbursts from multiple characters in a field of lamp lit, stacked cardboard. The play sails through an immense range of themes; love, desertion, recognition, academic heart ache, sexuality, maltreatment, questing, ownership, idolism, and paternity.

It becomes apparent Providence writer/director Louise Tu’u is plotting to create not creating a plot. As such, the play demands our attention to truly catch wind of the nomadic themes Louise is appraising. These slippery themes seem to reveal themselves at curious moments in the peaking emotions of a character; a young girl karate punching through a firmly closed door.

At one point the audience’s hands shoot up as we engage whole heartily in a bidding war for an invisible house. The winning bid; 400 cents, Russia, dinner for two on the moon and Buddha is accepted. Now we have two audience members in a box big enough for a bed, lounging and watching the play on their stomachs, chins in hands. This is one of many unexpected magic moments.

By the end, the boxes are gone bar a brown shred here or there, the room has enlarged and Regan’s mid scene costume change pants remain draped over one of the three tape players used during the show. It takes us all several breaths to even realise it’s home time, but when we do it’s all claps and woops. The New Zealand Herald is correct, Providence is one to catch in action.

By Vivienne Frances Long

Vivienne Frances Long is an Auckland artist and art writer.