Barbarian Productions Presents:
Speed is Emotional
Created & Performed by Jo Randerson
PERFORMANCE | TE TŪ
Jo Randerson
Elliot Vaughan
Geronimo LaHood
Thomas LaHood
Caspar Randerson
Pollyanna Fergusson
PRODUCTION | TE TUARĀ
Sound Design & Operation
Costume Design
Lighting Design
Lighting Operation
Direction
Production Management
Stage Management
Producer
Dramaturgy
NZSL Consultants
Elliot Vaughan
Steven Junil Park
Bekky Boyce
Janis Cheng
Isobel MacKinnon
Jo Kilgour
Jack Gittings
Sally Barnett
Anya Tate-Manning, Daniel Emms, Natano Keni
Rāhera Turner, Laura Haughey
Big Barbarian thanks to:
Tama Waipara, Dolina Wehipeihana, Vanessa Stacey, Lisa Tomlins, Sam Scott and whānau, Luke Buda and whānau, Jthan Morgan and the Tīwhas, PAYPA, Laurie Foon, Karen O’Leary, Stevie Hancox-Monk, Hannah Kelly, Ralph McCubbin-Howell, Tamatha Paul, Regan Taylor, Carrie Green, Dr. Zoe Hawkins, Dr. Rosie Edwards, Christian Penny, Jane Keller, Vida Gibson, Sylvia Rands, Owen McCarthy, Jade Musther, Alex Dickson, Frankie Berge.
Speed is Emotional was created with funding from Creative New Zealand.
The Premiere Season of Speed is Emotional was presented in collaboration with SILO Theatre.
The NZSL integrated performance version of Speed is Emotional was supported by Arts Access Aotearoa and Foundation North.
Jo Randerson
Jo Randerson ONZM (they/them) is an Arts Foundation New Generation Laureate, and the founder and artistic director of Barbarian Productions. They are an award-winning playwright, performer and writer (including a Robert Burns Fellowship, Bruce Mason Playwriting Award, and Auckland Fringe ‘Unf**k the World’ Award). Jo has published four books of short fiction and poetry, several plays, and a new nonfiction work Secret Art Powers which is flying off the shelves. Their short film Hey Brainy Man! won the NZIFF Patron’s Choice Award (co-directed w. Loren Taylor). In 2023 they received the Topp Prize for Comedy.
Creation & Performance
Elliot Vaughan
Elliot Vaughan (he/him) is a composer-performer based in Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Aotearoa. He was the 2024 CNZ/NZSM Composer-in-Residence. He makes exploratory concerts, composed theatre, pop songs, performance art, and contributes to collaborative projects. He holds composition degrees from SFU (Vancouver) and Te Kōkī—NZSM. He plays with Moth Quartet and Eigenface.
PERFORMANCE & SOUND DESIGN
Steven Junil Park 박준일
Steven Junil Park 박준일 (he/they) is a Korean born multi-disciplinary artist based in Ōtautahi. He is known for his work under the name 6x4 where he produces all manner of functional objects from recycled, repurposed, or vintage materials, focusing on the medium of clothing to address questions of identity and place.
COSTUME DESIGN
Bekky Boyce
Bekky Boyce (they/them) is a non-binary freelance production designer and operator based in Tāmaki Makaurau. They have worked in theatre and dance since 2019, after graduating from Massey University. Recent lighting designs include A Slow Burlesque (Silo Theatre), What Happened to Mary Anne? (Pride Festival) and production designs for No time to Dry (Lucy Dawber). Bekky regularly operates for Te Pou Theatre and has worked on productions such as Kōpū, He Huia Kaimanawa, and The Handlers. Nominated for Best Lighting Design at the 2022 Wellington Theatre Awards, they have been Technical Manager for the Tahi Festival since 2021.
LIGHTING DESIGN
Thomas LaHood
Thomas LaHood (he/him) is a graduate of the Bont’s International Clown School (Ibiza) Autumn Academy 2006. He is an experienced clown with a history of performance including the touring children’s shows Tale of a Dog (Capital E, 20089), and Caterpillars (2015 - 2017), as well as frequent commercial acting roles. He worked for 4 years as a Clown Doctor at Wellington Public Hospital and has taught clown at Whitireia, Toi Whakaari, Victoria University and independently. He has been playing the drums for about a year.
PERFORMANCE
Geronimo LaHood
Geronimo LaHood (he/him) is a first year Bachelor of Arts at Te Heranga Waka Victoria University of Wellington and an avid violin student. He works part-time at Baron Hasselhoff’s Chocolate Emporium in Berhampore, and at Arohanui Strings+. He loves being a part of his parents’ art, although given that he was born on the international day of vaudeville, he didn’t really have a choice.
PERFORMANCE
Caspar Randerson
Caspar Randerson (he/him) is a year 10 student at Wellington High School with a Level 1 Award in Graded Examination in Music Performance for Grade 2 Piano from Trinity College. He’s currently in rehearsal to pay a zombie in the WHS Shakespeare Society production of Romeo & Juliet, and an ensemble member in the school production of Guys & Dolls. He has recently discovered that he loves playing sport, especially volleyball.
PERFORMANCE
Jackson Gittings
Stage managementJackson Gittings (Jack, he/him) is an artist and designer from Te Awanga. Working over the expanded fields of digital art, theatre, and radio, Gittings brings a considerate poise into any space of enquiry. He is the co-founder of Mouthfull Online Independent Radio Station.
Jo Kilgour
Jo Kilgour is a Tāmaki Makaurau based Production Manager, Technical Director and Lighting Designer with extensive experience both nationally & internationally.
She has worked as Technical Director of Christchurch Arts Festival, Taranaki Arts Festival & Auckland Arts Festival, and in Production Management roles for New Zealand International Festival of the Arts, The New Zealand Dance Company, Whakapaupakihi: Piksies Melody Ltd, Waiwhakaata; Reflections in the Water: Eddie Elliot, Once The Musical: Peach Theatre Company, Don Giovanni: Wellington Opera, Merenia Gray Dance Theatre & Autaia: Hawaiki Tū Productions.
Production management
Sally Barnett
Sally Barnett (she/her) has over twenty five years of arts management experience, curating and managing projects end-to-end for major venues, local government organisations, not for profit arts organisations, community organisations and corporate clients.
Sally has worked in New Zealand as CE of Flock Charitable Trust, Co-Director of the Hamilton Gardens Arts Festival, General Manager for The Conch, Producer of Development Programmes for Auckland Live and Director of the Auckland Fringe. She has also worked internationally at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Big in Falkirk, Hong Kong Fringe Club and on major NZ arts and cultural events including The New Zealand International Arts Festival, World of Wearable Arts and Cuba Street Carnival.
Producer
Freya Barnett
This is Freya’s first theatre show. She loves exploring makeup and being part of the Barbarian team.
Makeup assistantNZSL Integrated Performance Team:
Pollyanna Ferguson
Pollyanna was born into this world wrapped in visual language (NZSL) and has always felt most alive under the lights. While her main role is as a teacher of Deaf - nurturing language, identity, and confidence every day - she continues to follow her passion for acting.
She has performed in Australia and the USA, and worked with Tim Bray Theatre Company teaching young Deaf people through theatre, Equal Voices Aotearoa, and several small Wellington theatre companies. Now, in this bold new chapter, she is acting alongside Jo - stepping into something different. Not interpreting, but truly performing within Jo's world, interweaving her presence into the show.
Performance
Rāhera Turner
Rāhera Turner (Waikato-Tainui, Te Patupō, Ngāti Tūwharetoa) is an NZSL Creative Consultant who maintains an ongoing relationship with Equal Voices Arts. She works alongside Deaf and hearing artists to ensure NZSL and visual language choices on stage are led by first-language users.
Rāhera is passionate about elevating signed languages in theatre and strengthening opportunities for Deaf performers and audiences. She delivers Deaf Awareness workshops and consults with arts and government organisations to improve access, inclusion, and culturally grounded practice across the sector.
NZSL Creative consultant
Laura Haughey
Dr Laura Haughey is an award-winning theatre maker, dramaturg and creative access consultant whose work reimagines access as a site of artistic possibility. She established the Deaf and hearing theatre company Equal Voices Arts, collaborating with Deaf artists to create cross-cultural, cross-linguistic productions accessible to D/deaf and hearing audiences.
Her devised works have been performed across Europe and Aotearoa, and she has taught internationally in universities and conservatoires. She was recently awarded a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowship from the European Commission to develop accessible embodied mindfulness-based performer training practices. Her consultancy develops innovative, inclusive approaches to creative access.
Creative ACCESS ConsultantE ora ana tātou! We are Barbarian.
We live and work in Wellington, Te Whanganui-a-Tara, in Aotearoa New Zealand. We love people, music, trees, costumes, dancing and parades. We are makers of theatre, but not as you know it. We’re about making magic happen in unexpected places, filling life with art and art with life. For Barbarian, art is the work we do every day to bring people together. We make live performance because we love what happens in the air between us when we meet face to face.
Founded by Jo Randerson in 2001, Barbarian has evolved as a powerful creative force, with partner Thomas LaHood, a small team of dedicated staff and a large horde of independent artists, performers, designers, makers, and technicians. We are driven by our belief in radical fun, courageous expression, fluidity, generosity and participation – that’s what keeps our play real for us and our audience. Barbarian works out of the Vogelmorn Bowling Club, now a revitalised community space with a bar, a café, a ginger beer brewery, and a toy library. It’s our turangawaewae - our place to stand. It’s both a physical and a spiritual home for us and all are welcome. Come visit us! – barbarian.co.nz
