Concrete Playground

The glamour and nostalgia of 1940’s Hollywood on stage?  Um, yes please.

Drowning in Veronica Lake is a one woman show that captures the mood and sultry je ne sais quoi of the sassy screen siren Veronica Lake. The show comes with rave reviews from previous performances at arts festivals nationally and internationally.

In 1940s Hollywood, Veronica Lake set the standard for self-destructive celebrities. Smart, sexy, and typecast early in her career as the ice-cool femme fatale, she was thrust into the limelight at an early age. Naïve and unprepared she left in her wake a polarised industry who either loved or loathed her.

40 years after a rapid descent into scandal, alcoholism and a premature death, she is trapped somewhere between Paramount and Purgatory, wrestling with stardom, booze, men and her spectacular decline into obscurity.

‘Perfectly titled, paced and pitched to reflect the rise and fall of a real Hollywood icon, the performance by Alex Ellis as Veronica Lake is simply stunning - a triumph of voice and nuance’ - Waikato Times.

*As a special treat, on August 25th, enjoy a double feature: the critically acclaimed show and Sullivans Travels, the 1941 film that shot Veronica Lake into the Hollywood eye-line, with the indulgence of a complimentary glass of wine and box of Jaffas.