At the centre of this animated spectacle is the titular Bloke, a mud-on-his-boots, hard-as-nails rural farmer and the walking embodiment of the Kiwi archetype. Alongside him is his son Oliver, a young man who’s a little more sensitive, thoughtful, and modern in his worldview. Their quiet, isolated life on the farm is turned completely upside down when the horrific Wenza virus sweeps across the nation, turning ordinary New Zealanders into ravenous zombies. Accompanied by their newly adopted lamb, Lamby, Bloke and Oliver must survive the chaos that unfolds, and in the process, they start to understand one another in deeper, more heartfelt ways.

While the emotional core of the series rests in this father-son bond and slow-burning reconciliation, Bloke of the Apocalypse is anything but sentimental in its tone. The series is an outrageous cocktail of insane humour, gore-splattered zombie chaos, and beautifully over-the-top Kiwi satire. Faulks draws on the creative DNA of shows like Courage the Cowardly Dog, Ren & Stimpy, Adventure Time and Aqua Teen Hunger Force; the result is animation that feels elastic, unpredictable, and absolutely unhinged in the best possible way. You simply never know what’s coming next, and that’s half the thrill.

The real genius of the show is how Faulks takes the classic Fred Dagg-style “Kiwi bloke” and filters him through a Gen Z lens. There’s humour, admiration, mockery and affection all at once. Bloke is both an exaggerated stereotype and a loving tribute. Watching him trudge through a zombie apocalypse with the same attitude he’d take to repairing a fence line, “ah, she’ll be right”, is comedy gold. From dealing with rabid possums, to hunting for a chocolate bar for Oliver, to going toe-to-toe with the formidable She-Bloke (played with riotous energy by Anika Moa), every episode is packed with big laughs and even bigger surprises.

What’s truly impressive is that Faulks is only 21. Armed with a $500,000 NZ On Air development grant, he’s delivered a debut series that feels bold, confident, and stylistically distinct. Bloke of the Apocalypse doesn’t just work as comedy — it works as character storytelling, as cultural satire, and as a showcase for emerging Kiwi talent. It’s the kind of project that signals the arrival of a fresh voice worth paying attention to.

Bloke of the Apocalypse is wild, wicked, heartfelt, proudly Kiwi and gloriously insane. It’s knocked the bastard off, and we’re absolutely here for it.

Bloke of the Apocalypse is streaming now. Get stuck in.

Image: NZ On Air

The post ‘Bloke of the Apocalypse’ – Review appeared first on SpicyPulp.

Set in the gritty, glorious heart of Tāmaki Makaurau’s underground theatre scene, Workmates dives headfirst into the tangled lives of two best friends trying to keep their theatre dreams alive—while juggling ambition, burnout, and the kind of messy, slow-burn chemistry that’ll have you screaming, “JUST KISS ALREADY!”

Check out the full trailer for Workmates below:

Here’s the official synopsis:

Lucy (Sophie Henderson) and Tom (Matt Whelan) are best mates running a tiny, broke theatre. But when an accident forces them to shut down and Tom threatens to leave, Lucy realises she would do anything to save the theatre and keep her friend… who she might be in love with.

Written by and starring Sophie Henderson, the film is semi-autobiographical, drawn from her real-life experience running the legendary Basement Theatre alongside longtime friend and now-producer Sam Snedden. That authentic energy pulses through every frame—this is a film made by people who know the magic and the madness of the stage from the inside out.

“It was the best job I’ve ever had,” Sophie says, and you believe her. You feel it.

And while Workmates is filled with laughs and romantic tension, it was born from a much quieter, more reflective place—written during the COVID-19 lockdowns when theatres across the globe went dark. With creatives suddenly out of work and shows cancelled indefinitely, Sophie began crafting a story that captured the fragility of performance and the deep emotional investment that goes into making art. The result? A film that’s not only hilarious and swoon-worthy, but also a tribute to the resilience of the creative community.

This marks the third feature for Sophie and director/husband Curtis Vowell, following Fantail and Baby, Done. Their chemistry behind the camera is just as powerful as what plays out onscreen, and it shows. Workmates feels lived-in, authentic, and brimming with real love for art, for people, for the messy magic of it all.

Sophie stars alongside Matt Whelan, her real-life friend and frequent co-star, in their sixth collaboration. Their natural rapport lights up the screen, shaped by a friendship that’s been going strong since drama school. The romantic tension is achingly relatable—especially for anyone who’s ever spent long hours in a shared workspace wondering if that thing between you and your colleague is just work… or something more.

“The character was still called Sophie pretty close to shooting,” Sophie admits. “But the film is a true story made untrue by exaggeration.” The final version may have a different name, but the messy, passionate heart of the story is all Sophie.

The stellar supporting cast includes Aki Munroe, Arlo Green, and Zoë Robins, with comedy legends Kura Forrester, Chris Parker, and Liv Tennet popping in for extra sparkle. And just to make it even more special? Most of them are theatre kids too—friends, collaborators, and scene veterans who have all paid their dues on the Basement’s iconic stage. You can feel that love in every moment.

Key scenes were filmed at Basement Theatre and even at the historic (and long-closed) St James Theatre, giving the film a visual richness that’s both nostalgic and hopeful. And yes, production weathered its fair share of real-life drama, from Auckland’s 2023 floods to Cyclone Gabrielle, but just like the community it celebrates, the film pressed on.

So what is Workmates really about?

“It’s about being in love with someone at work you shouldn’t be in love with,” say Sophie and Curtis. “And it’s about how hard—and how fun—it is to make art at the bottom of the world.”

At its core, Workmates is a feel-good ode to passion projects, platonic soulmates, and the blurry lines between work and love. It’s also a rallying cry for every artist who’s ever stayed up too late, cried in a green room, or believed—just for a second—that a black box theatre could save the world.

This is one not to miss. Bring your mates. Bring your work crush. Or just bring yourself.

Workmates will have it’s World Premiere at this year’s New Zealand International Film Festival and will arrive in cinemas later this year.

Image: MadMan Films

The post Spicy, Sweet & Totally Relatable – ‘Workmates’ is the Kiwi Rom-Com We’ve Been Waiting For appeared first on SpicyPulp.

This isn’t your high school Shakespeare. Think Shakespeare meets Saltburn; all opulence, obsession, and dangerous allure. Director Benjamin Kilby-Henson (The Effect, King Lear) reimagines the greatest love story of all time as a fast-paced, cinematic thriller, set against the wild freedom of the 1960s, a decade dripping with rebellion, liberation, and lethal romantic energy.

Here, love is a loaded gun, and when Romeo and Juliet collide? KABOOM.

Stepping into the iconic roles are Theo Dāvid (Shortland Street) and Phoebe McKellar (One Lane Bridge), two rising stars who bring smouldering intensity and youthful defiance to Shakespeare’s doomed lovers. Kilby-Henson describes their chemistry as “flint and gunpowder,” and the pair light up the stage with an irresistible mix of fragility, fire, and full-blown obsession.

And it’s not just the leads who bring the drama. This Romeo & Juliet boasts a powerhouse supporting cast, including Ryan Carter as the mercurial Mercutio, Jesme Fa’auuga as a deadly Tybalt, and Courtney Eggleton as a scene-stealing Nurse. Miriama McDowell brings soul and gravitas as Friar Lawrence, while Amanda Tito takes on multiple roles, including Death herslef, with haunting intensity.

This production is set to sizzle with modern energy. Composer Robin Kelly is set to deliver a haunting original score that pulses like a heartbeat, while designers Daniel Williams and Daniella Salazar cloak the stage in a Milan-meets-Mod aesthetic, with sleek tailoring, bold prints, high fashion, and smoky glamour. It’s the ‘60s, but make it tragic couture.

And make no mistake, while the look is luxe and the pace is electric, Romeo & Juliet will still deliver all the heartache, horror, and heady passion that made it a classic. Underneath the spectacle lies a story of forbidden love, fractured families, and how youthful idealism is too often swallowed whole by hate.

“This is Shakespeare’s ode to love of all kinds,” says Kilby-Henson. “Romantic love, sexual love, the love between friends and family, love through faith.” And in this production, every form of love is on full display—raw, risky, and sometimes ruinous.

With death lurking in every corner, and a summer heat that could burn the whole city down, Auckland Theatre Company’s production of Romeo & Juliet is set to deliver a theatrical fever dream you won’t soon forget. It’s sexy. It’s stylish. It’s Shakespeare with a knife in its back and roses in its teeth.

Tickets are on sale now at atc.co.nz.

Image: Auckland Theatre Company

The post Auckland Theatre Company’s ‘Romeo & Juliet’ presents a stylish, seductive thriller with serious bite appeared first on SpicyPulp.

At the centre of it all is Dickie Hart: a 70-year-old South Island farmer with a dry wit, a deep love for his late wife Glenda, and absolutely no patience for Aucklanders or their ridiculous obsession with handbags. Forced to swap his peaceful rural life for a seaside apartment in Takapuna, Dickie arrives in the Big Smoke grumbling like a true-blue Jaffa-hater; moaning about the traffic, moaning about the prices, and definitely moaning about the wobbly world of apartment body corporates.

But it’s in this fish-out-of-water setup that Grainger truly shines. With his rich stage presence and razor-sharp comedic timing, he turns Dickie into an irresistibly loveable grump. There’s a twinkle in his eye as he delivers one-liners about Auckland’s absurdities, taking cheeky jabs at Smith & Caughey’s demise, “handbags, handbags, and more bloody handbags,” and offering an outsider’s wry guide to Auckland life that had the audience in fits of laughter. His character impressions, whether it’s nosy neighbours, clueless city folk, or uptight bureaucrats, are gold, each one distinct and dripping in personality.

But beneath the chuckles is real emotional weight. Act II shifts tone as the pandemic hits. Dickie loses Glenda to COVID, the walls of the apartment close in, and that trademark southern stoicism starts to crack. The loneliness becomes palpable. The jokes soften. And suddenly, the man who once found Auckland unbearable is clinging to the ghost of a life left behind.

Yet it’s here that End of Summer Time soars. Hall’s script doesn’t wallow, it uplifts. Through a quiet, measured rediscovery, Dickie slowly climbs back. A visit from a friend, a swim at the beach, a hot Takapuna summer, it’s these small moments that breathe life back into him. He trims the beard, washes the dishes, and opens himself up to life again. By the play’s final beats, Dickie’s evolution is nothing short of inspiring. From grieving widower to beach-walking local, he embraces his new world; and we love him all the more for it.

Quigan’s direction keeps things lively, colourful and true to the uniquely Kiwi flavour of the material. The transitions between comedic banter and heartfelt confession are seamless, and the pacing never drags despite being a one-man performance. There’s an intimacy to the staging that pulls you into Dickie’s world, and Quigan makes excellent use of voice, lighting and sound to create a full experience with just one man and his memories.

And it goes without saying, Roger Hall is a national treasure. This script may be inspired by his own journey moving to Auckland to be closer to grandkids, but what he’s crafted in End of Summer Time is universal. It’s a gentle yet deeply funny meditation on letting go, moving forward, and embracing life’s later chapters with open arms and a sunhat.

End of Summer Time is an ode to resilience, wrapped in laugh-out-loud Kiwi wit and anchored by a truly touching performance from Andrew Grainger. This is classic Hall: warm, wise, and wickedly funny, and an unmissable night at the theatre.

The post Auckland Theatre Company Presents: Sir Roger Hall’s ‘End of Summer Time’ – A Hilariously Heartfelt Kiwi Yarn from a Grumpy Old Farmer appeared first on SpicyPulp.