ANTONIO! Sails To Adelaide in March

New NZ musical Antonio! will sail across the Tasman to Adelaide. From Edinburgh to New York, this queer punk pirate musical is making waves. At first it was just an idle thought: what if all of the queer-coded Antonios in Shakespeare's plays were actually one gay pirate searching for love? But when book writer Ania Upstill (they/them) brought music writers William Duignan (he/him) and Andy Manning (they/them) onboard, a stiff sea breeze gathered behind the sails of their pirate ship, and a new New Zealand musical was born.

Antonio! made waves at the world's largest festival, Edinburgh Fringe Fringe, with 10 four- and five-star reviews, and this summer visits Australasia for the first time. Edinburgh fringe reviewers called Antonio! “the cult classic that we all deserve” (Broadway Baby) and “A treasure chest of musical comedy” (West End Best Friend). As someone with international musical theatre experience, Manning (recently awarded New Playwright of the Year in the 2024 Wellington Theatre Awards) can't overstate the excitement of Antonio! finding such success. “The response that we got in Edinburgh was huge. It's really something to be celebrated, a new NZ musical getting that kind of acclaim.” 

Like the Elizabethan pirates behind the show's concept, the writing crew behind Antonio! came together from far-flung places. Upstill, the artistic director of Butch Mermaid Productions, is based in New York City. Duignan is based in Wellington, NZ, while Manning was based in Glasgow (now Barcelona). The three battled timezones and Zoom lag to collaborate on the first version of Antonio!, which had a season in New York in July 2023 before crossing the Atlantic for its Edinburgh season. The crew kept toiling away, and brought together a new, hotter-than-ever version for a sell out concert at the off-Broadway West End Theater in New York City in December 2024. Now, Antonio! Is coming to Australasia, casting anchor in Wellington for the NZ Fringe Festival before journeying to the Hamilton Arts Festival, Adelaide Fringe and Basement Theatre in Auckland. Featuring an all-queer cast and a raw, unapologetic sound, Antonio! brings an electrifying energy to the stage with a story of identity, freedom, and rebellion on the high seas. “Highlighting these arguably LBGTQIA+ characters in Shakespeare's canon — through punk and hard rock music no less — I mean, it's a straight-up furious 60 minutes of chaotic queer joy”, says Duignan. 

This isn't the first time that Butch Mermaid Productions will present at show at Adelaide Fringe Festival. Upstill brought their solo show, Transhumance, to the Fringe in 2020, winning a Best Weekly Award in Circus and Physical Theatre. “I only got to come for three days in 2020, and I'm really looking forward to spending a few weeks in Adelaide this time around,” says Upstill. “I remember it a really fun and funny festival, and I think audiences are going to love this irreverent approach to Shakespeare. Besides, who doesn't love some punk pirates?”

Upstill and Duignan will both appear in Antonio!, with Duignan performing the title role. They are joined by a cast of well known Kiwi musical theater talent: Jthan Morgan (she/her/ia) (Sleeping Beauty: The Pantomime, Tīwhas Matariki Spectacular), Emma Katene (she/her) (The Court Theatre's Fun Home, Destination Mars), and Henry Ashby (they/them) (Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812). Recently award-nominated director Andrew Paterson (he/him) (and the Lochburns) directs.

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