The PumpHouse Theatre is stoked to welcome the newest member of our team, Tash Lay! As our new Venue Hire Coordinator, she’s the mastermind behind bookings—helping artists, theatre-makers, and event organisers bring their creative visions to life on our stage.

But who is Tash beyond the emails and scheduling hustle? We had a kōrero with her to learn more—have a read and get to know her!

Tell us a bit about you! You as a person, your background in the arts, and what brought you to The PumpHouse Theatre?

Tash: I probably have a slightly less-than-conventional introduction to the world of live performance – my parents aren’t theatregoers at all so my introduction to theatre was through bootleg recordings of musicals on YouTube. I come from a stage management background but as I started working in arts administration, I found that it fit my skillset better and it’s what I’ve been doing since. I initially discovered The PumpHouse through a friend of mine who’s heavily involved and I’ve kind of just been hovering around ever since! I’m also a theatremaker, and I am currently working on a new show that takes place almost entirely in the dark.

What excites you most about being the Venue Hire Coordinator?

Tash: I love making things happen and helping people make things happen – I’m also a big nerd and find building systems and improving processes really satisfying.

What’s your favourite way to spend a day off?

Tash: A big lie-in is non-negotiable, and I need an activity that takes me outside the house or I go a bit loopy. It’s usually catching up with a friend from outside the theatre world – I try to avoid talking shop on a day off – and a movie at my favourite local repertory cinema, the Hollywood in Avondale.

Do you have a theatre show or performance that’s stuck with you?

Tash: I got to see the play NASSIM by Nassim Soleimanpour (of White Rabbit Red Rabbit fame) at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2023 and it’s really stuck with me since. The play features a different actor every night who doesn’t get to see the script until the performance itself, and I find that sort of inventiveness in form so exciting. It’s elegant yet unpretentious, and at its core, it’s a heartfelt letter to his mother, who has never seen and will never be able to see any of his plays performed.

Essential workday fuel: coffee, tea, or something else entirely?

Tash: I’m not fussy but ideally a big yuzu & blackcurrant sugar-free V. I’m not sponsored by them, I swear.

What is something about you that people may be surprised to know?

Tash: I went to law school for a hot minute before I decided to run away with the theatre! I also did a bit of figure skating as a tween and won a couple medals at a competition.

What’s your go-to song for getting pumped up?

Tash: 212 by Azealia Banks.

If you had a superpower that made your job easier, what would it be?

Tash: Mind control. Too easy!

What’s your earliest theatre memory?

Tash: I must have seen another show before it, but the first show I have a vivid memory of seeing was Proudly Asian Theatre’s production of Lantern by Renee Liang at the Musgrove Studio, which was a pivotal moment for me as an Asian creative living in Aotearoa. I remember I’d accidentally booked tickets for the matinee but showed up for the evening show haha. It was a sold-out show but they kindly let me sit in the house seats instead.

In the movie about your life, who plays you?

Tash: Honestly, I’d probably just use it as an excuse to hang out with someone I’ve always wanted to meet – so obviously, I’d pick Paul Mescal.

What do you love about theatre?

Tash: There’s something magical and deeply human in gathering together to share stories, in performer and audience experiencing the work together in real-time, night after night, that you just can’t replicate with recorded media.