The Nocturnalists series shines a light on Auckland after dark. Chefs, comedians, performers and punters \u2013 Nocturnalists are spirited members of Auckland\u2019s nighttime scene. In this series, they take us on a tour of their favourite spots and all this city has to offer after 5pm. Up first is comedian Chris Parker.<\/p>\n
Photos by Sophie Miya-Smith shot on location at Q Theatre and Basement Theatre.<\/p>\n
When Chris Parker moved to Auckland from Christchurch he landed at Basement Theatre. \u201cThose first couple of years were the most formative experience of my career for sure, and personal life as well.\u201d He\u2019d perform there, work the bar at Q Theatre next door, and spend all his time in that block. It\u2019s still one of his favourite places in the city, he tells Emma Gleason over coffee at Open on Karangahape Road, as he shares his favourite haunts and fun ideas for a good night out in T\u0101maki Makaurau.<\/p>\n
Emma: OK, let\u2019s say you\u2019ve just finished a show, where are you going to eat?<\/p>\n
Chris: If I\u2019ve watched a show, I\u2019m running to Sue\u2019s Dim Sum on Lorne Street. When you perform, the trick is to find the hot pocket of the audience, and you breathe oxygen into them, and it ignites the audience around them \u2013 Lorne Street is that, it has energised the city around it. Sue\u2019s Dim Sum is really good. The spring onion noodle is great there.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Is there anywhere on that Basement Theatre block you love for a meal?<\/p>\n
Tanuki\u2019s Cave is surely the best spot to eat in the city. When has it ever been disappointing? I think it was the first place I ever ate out when I first moved to Auckland and it still stands up.<\/p>\n
Main haunts: Q Theatre, Basement Theatre and Tanuki\u2019s in the distance (Photos: Sophie Miya-Smith)<\/p>\n
Where do you spend most of your time at night in the city? Where are your haunts?<\/p>\n
I\u2019m coming into town for shows basically. So I\u2019m usually in that quad \u2013 the building (next door to the Sunday School building) has the Comedy Festival offices, The Classic, The Basement Theatre Studio and The Basement, which is over 100 years old. I think it used to be a grain store\u2026 I\u2019ve spent so many hours in that building. That\u2019s what always pulls me in. So I\u2019m kind of around there most of the time. I\u2019m honestly in Metro Centre and Aotea Square a lot. And then, if I need to eat, I love Chancery Lane for really good late-night eats.<\/p>\n
Where are you hanging out in Chancery? It\u2019s always heaving eh?<\/p>\n
Heaving! It\u2019s got a real energy there. Pocha has that good fried chicken, you get that cheese corn thing, some beers.<\/p>\n
Yes! You\u2019ll be in Chancery at 10.30pm and you\u2019ll feel like you\u2019re in an overseas city where people eat dinner really late. Where else has that quality?<\/p>\n
Oh my god, this is my major unlock. Mid-town, off High Street: Mezze Bar.<\/p>\n
Mezze Bar is an absolute classic. You can get a coffee, a chocolate cake, a wine, and they\u2019re open morning to night.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s so good to have Mezze up your sleeve. Because you never know when you\u2019ll need it, and the food is so good. And they\u2019re so nice there. And it\u2019s actually the perfect date spot.<\/p>\n
What do you say to people who ask what\u2019s happening in Auckland at night?<\/p>\n
That\u2019s a really good question. I\u2019d say a lot happens in Auckland, but I think more can happen. I think the CRL is going to be really game-changing. It\u2019s just that Auckland\u2019s kind of got her braces on, and she\u2019s on Roaccutane \u2013 but we\u2019re going to have a hair-down, glasses-off reveal soon, and we\u2019ll be like \u2018oh my god\u2019. I love seeing that beauty through the construction. I can see the potential of it all. And that\u2019s my Christchurch mentality coming through, because that city was under construction for 10 years.<\/p>\n
Backstage at Q (Photos: Sophie Miya-Smith)<\/p>\n
What\u2019s your most memorable night out in the city ever?<\/p>\n
There have been many nights at Basement Theatre. That\u2019s a genuine point of culture in the city, that theatre.<\/p>\n
Do you think the Auckland comedy scene would be what it is without Basement?<\/p>\n
Absolutely not. That theatre is a great argument against \u2018nothing happens in the city\u2019. I\u2019m going to a show there tonight. I went to a show there last week, and depending on what the artists want to do, there\u2019s a pay-what-you-want model. That venue is such an easy night out. I\u2019ve had many a party night there, and then gone on to Family, partied until the early hours of the morning\u2026You can sit out on Basement\u2019s steps \u2013 it\u2019s quite a fashionable little spot, and you can get a nice drink.<\/p>\n
Those steps are almost like a theatre themselves, because the carpark acts almost as\u2026<\/p>\n
An amphitheatre! It is! And Waihorotiu<\/a> [the buried stream] still runs underneath.\u00a0<\/p>\n Have you been part of any historic Auckland nights?\u00a0<\/p>\n Snort for sure. I did the final Snort, and I did 10 hours of improv. 10 shows back-to-back. I think what feels historic is whenever I\u2019ve done a show at the Kiri Te Kanawa, that theatre is so big, and I can\u2019t believe I get to perform there\u2026 you\u2019re bringing, sometimes, like 2000 people into the city. I wish at the end of the night I could say \u2018and make sure you go to Mezze!\u2019 Opening Camping, which is the play that I did with Tom and Kura and Brynley [comedians Tom Sainsbury, Kura Forrester and Brynley Stent] also felt historic. We brought that back to Q Theatre [in 2024] and we did four weeks, sold out, smash hit (I love to call it that). But 2016 was when we debuted it at Basement, and I\u2019ll never forget that night. We didn\u2019t know what we were doing, and it was the first time that all four of us had worked together. It was just this cult frenzy, that laughter was crazy, and then that whole week just sold out.\u00a0<\/p>\n Bring it back again! What venues are on your professional bucket list?<\/p>\n I\u2019m dying to perform at The Civic. I\u2019ve performed in there, but only at The Wintergardens. I also love the Town Hall.\u00a0<\/p>\n So beautiful.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve had a couple of amazing nights watching Marlon [Williams] perform there over the years. I went to high school with him, and used to go watch him play at Wine Cellar to, like, 30 people. Then it was quite a fast jump to the Town Hall and, now, wherever he wants.<\/p>\n Who do you see out and about at night that\u2019s a celebrity to you, or very Auckland?<\/p>\n I do feel like Sam Te Kani<\/a> is the Fran Lebowitz of Auckland. Like, he\u2019s seen it all and he\u2019s got the sharpest takes. I\u2019d give him that crown.<\/p>\n Who\u2019s our Carrie Bradshaw?<\/p>\n I think it would be Johanna Cosgrove<\/a>. Or Prairie. I think Prairie [Hatchard-McGill]<\/a> is Auckland\u2019s It Girl.<\/p>\n Where\u2019s the best place for people watching?<\/p>\n Probably here, this back table [at Open].<\/p>\n And the most cinematic place after dark in the city?<\/p>\nBasement\u2019s steps: \u201cA fashionable little spot\u201d (Photos: Sophie Miya-Smith)<\/p>\n
Chris at Q (Photos: Sophie Miya-Smith)<\/p>\n