Destination Beehive: Imagine if elections sold out (it’s a stretch, but work with us here)

Imagine, if you will, that elections were even more of a performance than they already are.

If in order to have your vote count, you had to keep an eye on the Beehive’s website, and keep track of when the date was announced. You had to check in with your friends and family, and make sure the date was one you could get along to. Organise a babysitter, book in at a restaurant for dinner, dress up a little bit, go along and watch a song and dance from all of the candidates and then at the end, register your vote. And if you failed to get organised and heed the warnings - ‘The election is selling out! Limited votes left! Book yours now!’- well then, you would have no say on the make-up of our totally serious and entirely respectable body of representatives.

Lucky for you and for every New Zealander, voting is nowhere near as limited as tickets left for Destination Beehive. There’s no limited bookings, no date wrangling you need to play along with, and you can definitely bring your kids with you while you give the government two ticks. You can vote at an early voting booth, you can vote from overseas, heck - you can vote having read or watched absolutely nothing from any of the candidates (we do not encourage this but dammit, it’s possible).

But for those of you who DO enjoy a bit of a song and dance, and found the imagination game above to be rather appealing, you’ve not got much time left - at time of posting, 10 of the remaining 13 performances of Destination Beehive are already SOLD OUT. Imagine if you missed out...

Get in quick! To try to get tickets to a performance of Destination Beehive, on until Election Day, 20 September, call the Circa Box Office on 801-7992 or visit www.circa.co.nz. 

Destination Beehive: Newest Electorate Hotly Contested

The brand new electorate of Port Nicholson, located in the heart of Wellington City, has proved to be a highly contestable area, with no clear leader coming through in local polls. Despite Wellington's reputation as a liberal Labour stronghold, it appears that the newest subdivision of the population has managed to encompass the entire political spectrum, with candidates from National, Labour, the Greens, NZ First, Conservatives, and Internet Mana all in with a fair chance of election day satisfaction.

Given such a high likelihood of a surprising outcome, it's no surprise that live television election special Destination Beehive will focus on this curious new development in the political landscape. With experienced political reporters Katrina Coleman and Tina Fisher at the helm, this special promises to deliver up-to-the-minute analysis and focussed face-time with party leaders and candidates on the policies and promises that matter to every day New Zealanders. 

Exclusive new digital technology with allow the live studio audience the opportunity to vote on the issues directly, and potentially sway the small but significant electorate.

We went out to the Port Nicholson voters for some insight on what's important to them - join Destination Beehive's live studio audience to see how it all plays out!

What's important to me as a father is the dumbing down of our children by our education system. Children are struggling at basic literacy and numeracy skills, which is limiting their potential for success when they finally enter the job market. Is that good enough? Clearly not. Even with rudimentary literacy, those children are still potential competitors for me in the future. I'd like to see policies that restrict the intellectual development of our youth, and that encourage the use of their bodies for manual labour and road surfacing.

David Napier, 31, Port Nicholson

I'll totes be voting for who has the best personality. If there's one thing the media has taught me this year it's that policy is irrelevant.

Cathy McTavish, 35, Port Nicholson

I always vote green because we need to look after our planet. Who cares about taxes if we keep having super storms which knock out power and basic services for days on end?

Hannah Solo, 32, Port Nicholson

My election issue is: preserving my right to walk around topless

Nadine Bonaparte, 28, Port Nicholson

Vote 1 for the bogans!

Vodka Marie, 60 something, Port Nicholson

Destination Beehive opens Friday, 29 August and runs until Election Night, 20 September. The Thursday, 28 August $25 Preview is nearly SOLD OUT and Opening Night is completely full! Tickets are going quickly for the whole season, so book soon to avoid disappointment. www.circa.co.nz or 801-7992.