Described as an ‘absolute must-see’ and Winner - Best in Theatre – Melbourne Fringe Festival 2025, this auto-tune rock opera is brought to you by re:group performance collective, the acclaimed team behind Coil, UFO and POV.

Set in Wagga Wagga in the early 2000s, AUTO-TUNE is a raucous work of “gig theatre” that follows Michael, a teenage Silverchair fan who discovers he has a strange superpower. The same way auto-tune technology perfects pitch, Michael finds he can time-travel, auto-tuning his life to rid it of dumb statements, awkward pauses and cringe jokes. But when this music-mad weirdo makes the biggest mistake of his life, will his auto-tune superpower save him?

Told through an audiovisual set of 17 banging songs and live video captions, this innovative and genre defying performance feels like discovering your new favourite band on the side-stage of a music festival.

In a pitch perfect world where algorithms seem to be the answer, AUTO-TUNE is a fifty-five minute romp into a messy, sweaty universe that proves otherwise. It is a regret-filled love letter to millennial culture - Nokia 3315s, teen drinking, Limp Bizkit and questionable decision-making - featuring eclectic and energetic songwriting and a compelling narrative about the value of mistakes.

Suitable 15+.  Coarse Language, Flashing Lights, Loud Noise, Adult Themes, Haze.

Credits

Text: Mark Rogers
Director/Designer: Solomon Thomas
Musician/Performers: Ashley Bundang, Liam 'Snowy' Halliwell, Mark Rogers
Creative Team: Mark Rogers, Solomon Thomas, Malcolm Whittaker, Steve Wilson-Alexander, Carly Young
Lighting Designer: Kelsey Lee
Creative Producer: Malcolm Whittaker
Photo credit:  Lucy Parakina

About re:group performance collective

re:group performance collective is an independent theatre company comprised of dear friends who work together to make live cinema and contemporary performance.

They are Mark Rogers, Solomon Thomas, Malcolm Whittaker, Steve Wilson-Alexander and Carly Young, based between Sydney and Wollongong.

Their growing, award winning body of work has been made and presented extensively across Australia, in both regional and metropolitan contexts, as well as in cahoots with major organisations and festivals, including Sydney Opera House, Sydney Theatre Company, Belvoir St Theatre, Griffin Theatre Company and RISING Festival.

A re:group performance collective production. The 2026 tour is supported by the NSW Government, Creative Australia, and Arts on Tour.  AUTO-TUNE was commissioned by Sydney Opera House and further developed with the support of Brand X, Crush Collective, Intimate Spectacle and the University of Sydney’s Department of Theatre and Performance Studies.

Waverley Council's artistic program supports the free expression of ideas. All artists, panellists and guests reflect and speak their own views.

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