Mixit presents another inspiring summer performance to Auckland audiences with In Borrowed Clothes – with maps that don’t match, on 23 & 24 January 2027 at Pitt St Theatre.
A group of young people aged between 15 – 25+, from former refugee and migrant backgrounds (who now call Aotearoa home) come together this summer. Led by a team of senior arts leaders and emerging artists, they will use drama, dance and music to share the challenges and celebrations that are part and parcel of joining a new community.
In a world where there’s growing pressure to present a polished, stylish and successful version of yourself (particularly on social media) it’s a heavy burden to constantly project as someone you have to hide your true self behind. Stepping into borrowed clothes can be a poor fit when it means pretending to be someone you are not.
Imagine arriving from elsewhere with the wrong clothes, no local skills, just some old paper maps and maybe some advice from an uncle who visited NZ once in his youth. It creates plenty of confusion as you try to navigate your way into an unfamiliar place.
A group of young people bring their best selves, bundles of borrowed clothes and suitcases of maps to share how they're finding their way through a world that's built on false impressions, in an environment where everyone is dealing with the pressure to present as image-perfect.
They will be led by an interdisciplinary creative team of senior arts practitioners, mentoring and working together with emerging artists, including producer Wendy Preston MNZM (Mixits co-founder and former Director), co-directors Margaret-Mary Hollins (senior theatre practitioner) and Kaviesha Abeysinghe-Perera (current Mixit Director), choreographer Caleb Heke, an up-and-coming contemporary Māori dance maker, and musician Mel Bailey AKA Kloos, a low-fi alternative Hip Hop artist.
They’ll also be joined working alongside Mixit Alumni who will hold creative and technical support roles.
Throughout the year, Mixit brings together young people from former refugee, migrant and local backgrounds and uses creative mediums as a means to engage and develop social and life skills. Every summer an annual public performance is presented, and this year’s showcase includes participants from Aotearoa, Afghanistan, Congo, India, Myanmar, Pakistan, Turkey, Somalia, Sri Lanka, and Sudan.
The performance is fully devised with participants contributing their own ideas, moves, lyrics and experiences. The full team will hit the ground running in early January and, through an immersive creative process, produce the final outcome to be presented in a series of three public performances.
www.mixit.co.nz
IN BORROWED CLOTHES – WITH MAPS THAT DON’T MATCH
TIMES: Jan 23rd 1pm and 5pm, Jan 24th 5pm
WHERE: Pitt St Theatre, 78 Pitt St, Central City, Auckland
TICKETS: $10 to $30 (pay what you can)
BOOKINGS: Email accounts@mixit.co.nz. Bookings are recommended as seating is limited.
Avoid parking hassles, catch the train. Pitt St Theatre is immediately opposite the Karanga-a-Hape station exit in Beresford St.
