Auckland’s Bullet Heart Club Announces Kiwi pop-rock Caberet

Auckland’s Bullet Heart Club is thrilled to announce that their hit Kiwi pop-rock cabaret Daffodils has been selected to perform at the 2016 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The company will perform at the Traverse Theatre, which is one of Scotland’s most prestigious venues.

Bullet Heart Club will put on a Benefit Gala on Friday 3 June at Auckland's Town Hall's Great Hall. The aim of the Gala is to help raise the funds needed to make the Edinburgh season of this critically claimed kiwi hit a reality.

The evening will feature a performance of Daffodils by the original cast (Colleen Davis and Todd Emerson), with special guest performances by Tami Neilson, Julia Deans, Anika Moa, Trip Pony and LIPS. Proceeds from the evening will go towards the Bullet Heart Club fund to get the show to Edinburgh.

“...a work of genius... Daffodils should play all over the country. It should play all over the world. It resonates so strongly as a piece of our own mixed-up, precious culture, it should be our new national flag.” Simon Wilson, Metro

Daffodils Writer and Bullet Heart Club Co-Director Rochelle Bright says: “Daffodils was such an unexpected breakthrough for us as a company. We didn’t know how different the show was until we read the reviews and received feedback from audiences. It’s hard to express how incredibly touching it is to hear how many people have fallen in love with my parents’ story. Taking Daffodils to Edinburgh is our chance to share our kiwi love story with the world.”

“Now we face the challenge of raising over $100,000 to make it all happen, and to give Daffodils the best shot we can. The Benefit Gala will be the largest gig we’re done to date – presenting a small-town family story on an epic stage with some of our favourite artists. Alongside the gala, we will be running a crowd-funding campaign via boosted.org.nz launching on 20 May, where anyone can donate any amount large or small. We're hoping for Kiwi support to help us get there.”

Celebrating New Zealand music and a much loved love story from our own backyard, Daffodils captures the bittersweet nuances of farm girl Rose and teddy boy Eric as they fall in love in Hamilton in the 60s: their first meeting at the lake by the daffodils, their marriage and the New Zealand pop-rock soundtrack that shapes their lives. Daffodils features the songs of Crowded House, Bic Runga, Chris Knox, The Mint Chicks, Dave Dobbyn and The Exponents to Darcy Clay, The Mutton Birds, Th'Dudes, The Senators, The Swingers & Blam Blam Blam, remixed by LIPS and Abraham Kunin.

"...the Kiwi quintessential love story is brought to life in an utterly charming... must-see show.” Paul Simei-Barton, New Zealand Herald

Premiering to rave reviews and sell-out audiences in 2014, Daffodils toured arts festivals and venues across New Zealand for 12 seasons in 2015. Now Daffodils is set to take on the world with dates in Australia this month, England’s Salisbury Festival in June and then the big one, Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Bernadette Haldane, Head of Programming at Auckland Live says: “It’s a massive undertaking to take a show like Daffodils to Edinburgh Festival Fringe and Auckland Live is delighted to be able to support the company on their journey to take this innovative Kiwi production to Edinburgh by helping them put on this fundraiser.”

“It’s the biggest festival in the world and showcases the best of the best. For Bullet Heart Club to have secured a season of their masterpiece Daffodils at the Traverse Theatre really emphasises the quality of this incredible production.”

"The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the Olympics of the theatre.”

Date: Friday 3 June, 8pm
Venue: Great Hall, Auckland Town Hall
Tickets on sale at 9am on Tuesday 10 May via Ticketmaster.

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