“A smart and tender stage created by Nathan Joe, and occupied by three bodies with whole citizenships in the land of memory.” - Pantograph Punch

An Open Apology
Premiered at Auckland Fringe 2020
Part of The Basement Season’s of Duration

Winner of “Spirit of Fringe” Award

Created by Nathan Joe and George Fenn
Produced and Directed by Nathan Joe
Featuring George Fenn, Ravikanth Gurunathan and Rachael Longshaw-Park

We live in a culture of guilt. After all, we have a lot to be guilty for. This is a world where there doesn't seem to be enough space or time to say sorry.

But let’s try anyway.

Three performers juggle their apologies for four unapologetic hours, saying sorry over and over. Until it loses meaning. Until it gains new meaning. Until they’re sick of saying sorry. Until they have to find new ways to say sorry altogether.

An Open Apology is an exercise in failure. To saying sorry perfectly. To saying sorry and fucking up. To saying #sorrynotsorry. To saying sorry too late. To saying sorry before it’s too late. To friends and family. To lovers and ex-lovers. To the planet. To ourselves.

“When I walked in, I had no clue what to expect. I had walked in on an apology to a grandparent. After 10 minutes, I felt like I was in a conversation with someone I had known my entire life.” - Oscen

Director’s Commentary
One of the most rewarding theatrical projects I’ve worked on. This four hour performance stirred me in all the right ways, and left me feeling more human afterwards. Perhaps it is strange to call this a “play” but I use that term rather loosely these days. After all, I think An Open Apology is full of play. It is a semi-improvised performance that involves honesty, openness and risk-taking. I provided the prompts as the director (curator) of things to apologies to/for. The performers provided their words and memories.

Further Reading
I wrote a piece discussing all five shows that were involved in the Basement Season of Duration here.

A mini-review of the show was written by local poet Vanessa Crofskey over at The Pantograph Punch.

Artist and writer Jennifer Cheuk, who lent me their illustration for the poster image, also reflected on her experience watching the show over at Oscen. (Note: she was not otherwise involved in the production of the show and this response was unsolicited.)

Another unsolicited response from an audience member, who I have left anonymous, here.