ONE was a secret Spice Girl’s fan, and the other fell in love. Both are stoked to be named Downstage Theatre’s Pick of the Fringe.
Fringe festival productions Wannabe and Back/Words will be reworked for the big stage, and enjoy a one-and-a-half week season at Downstage.
Writer Guy Langford and director Erina Daniels were surprised to win both Pick of the Fringe and Best One Man Band at the Fringe Awards for their production Wannabe.
The musical show is a throw back to boy bands of the 90s, and was inspired by Langford’s secret enjoyment of the Spice Girls.
“I was a fan by default because my sister was,” he insists. “For this show I had this idea that it would be funny to have five guys on stage in drag being the Spice Girls with helium balloons, but I eventually decided on boy bands.”
Langford wrote the songs himself, and performs them solo with the help of a backing track arranged and recorded by good friend Matt Mulholland.
“My background is barbershop singing, so I was recording all my own harmonies. It’s really four of me at the same time,” Langford laughs.
Technologically driven documentary theatre show Back/Words is the second production that scooped up the Pick of the Fringe.
Victoria Abbott and Jackie Shaw from Bare Collective say they were surprised to receive the award, because they rehearsed separately during the university holidays.
“We literally sat in front of mirrors and computer screens in separate parts of New Zealand,” laughs Abbott.
The actors perform real-life people on stage, based on interviews they conducted with people from ages eight to 80 over several weeks. The recordings play in their ear through iPods onstage, to remind them what the person sounded like.
“You get attached to the people you’ve interviewed and fall a little bit in love with them,” says Abbott.

The Fringe Festival winner are…
Best in Dance: How to be a Domestic Goddess, Best in Music: Aphelion, Best in Visual Art: The Princess and the Many Quilts, Best in Outdoor: Storytime for the Hungry, Best in Comedy: Ben Hur, Best in Theatre: Who’s Neat? You! Marketing Award: Galaxia, Best One Man Band: Wannabe, Best Production Design: A Love Tail, Most Original Concept: The Princess and the Many Quilts, Best Newcomer: A Love Tail, Stand out Performer: Isla Adamson (Ruby Tuesday), Best of Fringe: The Princess and the Many Quilts, Fringe Hall of Fame: BATS Theatre.