The Barden Party and Jetpack Theatre present Butterfly Smokescreen. Aboard the Sea Breeze III in Auckland’s Viaduct from 8 June -6 August.
Step aboard one of Auckland’s most famed superyachts, grab a glass of champagne and be plunged into an evening of Hollywood high society, love triangles, drama and possibly ... murder.
‘Butterfly Smokescreen’ is the latest production from award-winning immersive theatre company The Barden Party, in collaboration with Sydney-based Jetpack Theatre.
The show promises a night of champagne, thrills, seduction, extravagance and temptation that will transport you to the roaring 20s, leaving you breathless.
Barden Party Director Laura Irish says the show began as an idea three years ago from her longtime friend and collaborator and Jetpack founder Jim Fishwick.
The year is 1924 and famed Hollywood producer Thomas Ince has been invited aboard the prized yacht of newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst. It is Ince’s 44th birthday. His guests? Film royalty Charlie Chaplin, Marion Davies and ... you.
In only a few hours, Ince will be dead and the tabloid world will be set ablaze with tales of scandal and intrigue. Guests are invited to put on their best glad rags and join the mystery as they follow characters around the five levels of the 100ft Sea Breeze III, in Auckland’s viaduct.
It was a story worthy of putting an audience in amongst it. The only issue was that it needed a yacht worthy of the tale.
“And then we got a rare opportunity to produce it and access to an incredible super yacht. It was an opportunity we couldn’t resist.”
Fishwick made their name in immersive productions as a curator of ACMI in Melbourne and then the creator of renowned Art Heist which turned a Sydney shopfront into an art gallery and then dared its audiences to steal a famous artwork.
“Butterfly Smokescreen is the piece of immersive theatre I’ve always dreamed of making and this production won’t disappoint.”
What happened to Ince? Did he see something he shouldn’t have? Did he find his lover Marion Davies alone with Charlie Chaplin? What forces were at play that night which left Hollywood tabloids with screaming headlines. Only you can find out when you step into the world of Butterfly Smokescreen.
Sea Breeze III was formerly owned by billionaire Graeme Hart and now is the pride and joy of Charlotte Devereux who painstakingly refurbished the 1976 superyacht with her partner Simon Greenwood. She jumped at the opportunity to host such an experience aboard the yacht.
“Sea Breeze III is the perfect setting for this experience. It is an exclusive, intimate show that will keep audiences talking. We can’t wait to kick off the Butterfly Smokescreen season."
Tickets for this unique immersive experience are being released soon. In Auckland for 8 weeks only. Only 30 audience members per session.
For more information and tickets visit https://thebardenparty.com/butterflysmokescreen
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PUBLISHED 16/05/23