Newtown, Wellington. The home of Moon Bar, ethnic diversity, hippies, the Wellington Hospital...and a sh*t ton of cats.
Sunday around 6pm, a group of random strangers met in a park in Newtown for one of Fringe Festival's most anticipated shows. Alayne's Cat Safari. Unsure of what to expect, we were greeted by a strange man in a yellow vest who professed to be Alayne's angel investor. The craziness went from there...
Alayne's Cat Safari could be the perfect Fringe show. Held outside in the open air, it takes its direction from the streets of Newtown as we visited three cat hot spots with Alayne. A cat enthusiast, Alayne makes sure you are kept together as a group and are given fun information about cats and their favourite places to cat-nap on the way.
This show is part tour guide, part performance piece. The whole group was quickly immersed in the environment and before long, we saw our first cat. While the number started out low, we were lucky to hit a cat sweet spot on this first sunny Sunday all summer.
The result was getting to witness 12 felines, basking in the sun, as bemused locals of Newtown wondered why a group of fully grown adults were trapsing through the streets shouting 'Meow Meow!'
"The result was getting to witness 12 felines, basking in the sun, as bemused locals of Newtown wondered why a group of fully grown adults were traipsing through the streets shouting 'Meow Meow!'"
Perfect for all the family, this show has all the ingredients to make a stimulating and hilarious Fringe experience which will make you remember the wonder of the world from when you were a child and see cats in a whole new light. An excellent cast all stay perfectly in character, dressed as eccentric cat enthusiasts. Having said that, two members of our group had dressed up in Safari costumes with cat paraphernalia, including a programme to Andrew Lloyd Webbers 'Cats'. Wellington, I love you and all your slightly insane people.
The best part of the show for me was getting to walk around Newtown and see it in a whole new light. Rather than just being Wellington's bohemian inner city suburb, it was suddenly transformed into a game-park (though no cats were harmed).
Make sure you try and experience the Cat Safari. While this show is sold out for the Fringe, please DO contact Alayne asking her to hold this show in the future. It is best described as...well...purrrrfect.
"It is best described as...well...purrrrfect"
With twelve cats, I needed to document every one of them in precise detail. Hence, the natural overload of cats in this blog post. Meow!
On arriving back in the city, I stumbled upon a magical rainbow that topped off the whole experience. Possibly some magical form of internet flying cat rainbow vomiting magic. What a perfect evening to have a Cat Safari!
"On arriving back in the city, I stumbled upon a magical rainbow that topped off the whole experience. Possibly some magical form of internet flying cat rainbow vomiting magic"
<--------- I also made a cat gif of one of the actual cats from the safari. I am so post-internet!
Check out the rest of the programme at www. fringe.co.nz.
Thank you NZ Fringe for taking out some ad space here so I can keep covering awesome local events such as yours!
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