It’s just a few weeks until the 2026 General Election in New Zealand and what better way to get into the mood than seeing Tadpole Productions’ latest play The Surprise Party. Written by Dave Armstrong, it is a story of the rise of a left-wing political party from obscurity to power and the consequences of unadulterated power.
It opens in a cheap motel where a coterie from the POP party have gathered on election night to see the results come in. Their leader is Doug Morris (Stephen Papps) an embittered and idealistic man who for several years has been the party’s only MP. His right-hand woman and aspiring politician is Tracey Turner (Alison Quigan), a moderately savvy political animal with ambition and a desire to do good. The others in the group are perhaps a little weirder. There’s Sam Sasina, (Brayden Cresswell) a Marxist-loving barista; Alison Pasi (Shauntelle Jones), a fearsome unionist and bus driver; Leon Brookman (Ben Porter), a petrol station attendant and conspiracy theorist; and finally Zoe Maitland (Chloe Thomsen), a millennial vegan with over-the-top-ideas on the environment.
As the night wears on and it looks more and more like the party will not only gain more MPs but possibly win the election, Doug realises what a disaster a victory will be. Both he and Tracey know that their extended list of candidates includes fraudsters and sex offenders, and some very dodgy policy.
Sure enough, able to govern alone, the newly crowned ministers create chaos and within a year, the party is at 12% in the polls. But things begin to look up and all of them contemplate a second term in office. This is where things really become interesting. In order to really make a difference both personally and politically, the younger members of the government realise they have to embrace conservative monetarist-style policies and the unity dissolves.
At first glance, this play is obviously a satire, almost a farce, really, about how people behave in positions of power. A kind of Yes Minister for the modern era. Yet a closer look at the characters, the ideas, and the behaviour of this group reveals a hilarious yet uncomfortable truth. Politics is full of this kind of nonsense. It may not always be obvious, and it can be couched in euphemisms, but it’s there alright. The constant pressure to get results, the lobbying, the inability to get unity in a country that has people from all backgrounds and places seems insurmountable. But fundamentally maybe that’s because people with power tend to impose their views rather than really connect with people.
This cast is superb and the script they deliver is chock full of jokes and references to real policies and ideas, particularly from the past three years. While the government in the play is a dystopian seeming left-wing one, the point being made is applicable to politicians from all parts of the spectrum. In this social media age, where the loudest people and those able to manipulate facts are the ones likely to gain power, this play is a poignant wake-up call with plenty of laughs to get that message across.
THE SURPRISE PARTY
8-18 October 2026
The Pumphouse Theatre – Takapuna, Auckland
