The Birthday Girl | Toi Whakaari Double Bill Season

Heitiki is just your average Kiwi seaside town, except it somehow managed to miss out on the housing boom, while its industry is on the verge of closure. That is until one of its daughters, billionaire Eloise Bisou returns to take refuge from a world in upheaval. But is she here to bless the town with her millions or burn it down for good?

Events of the past have stoked the fires of Eloise’s revenge. Now, twenty-five years later she has her knife out for one man, but also the town that let her down. And she’s got all the money in the world to fuel her revenge and sharpen her knife.

The Birthday Girl by the 2023 Adam NZ award-winning playwright Albert Belz is a witty tragi-comedy with a distinct Aotearoa flair, inspired by Durrenmatt’s The Visit and originally commissioned by University of Auckland, New Zealand. Accomplished practitioner and Toi graduate Carrie Green returns to direct this season.

Celebrating Aotearoa storymakers and showcasing the graduating students of 2023, Toi Whakaari is proud to present its Double Bill Season of and what remains by Mīria George, directed by Regan Taylor, and The Birthday Girl by Albert Belz, directed by Carrie Green.

Runtime 90 mins.