Celebrate 100 Years Of Wellington Repertory With Its First Production Of Its Centenary Year, Gasping By Ben Elton

What if you had to pay for the air you breathe?

Written by Ben Elton in 1990, Gasping is set in the 1990s. The play is a satire about corporate greed and environmental exploitation. At its heart is a brilliantly absurd premise: what if clean air could be bottled and sold for profit? Long before ESG, climate reporting, or sustainability disclosures became mainstream business language, the play feels both of its time and uncannily prophetic.

Director of Wellington Repertory’s production, Oliver Mander, says Ben Elton’s play is written in the typical Elton mould - fast-paced, biting and cuttingly funny. “The audience is constantly immersed in the action on stage; the pace is a feature we are accentuating with this production,” says Mander.

“Gasping highlights the importance of balance in any successful market.” says Mander. “In reality, companies operate with legislation or regulation that set boundaries for what they can or can’t do, and also have to balance the long-term needs of investors with short-term profitability. Gasping highlights a world where there is no check or balance, where actions are taken to an extreme.”

Performed by a cast of five, Gasping is a brilliantly funny, high-energy ride through boardroom spin, marketing madness, and the unstoppable pursuit of profit. With Elton’s trademark wit and rapid-fire dialogue, Gasping skewers corporate culture in a way that is both laugh-out-loud hilarious and uncomfortably close to home.

The production opens on Wednesday 18 March and runs to Saturday 28 March at the Gryphon Theatre, 22 Ghuznee Street. Tickets are available at www.wellingtonrepertory.org.nz.

© Scoop Media