AUTO-TUNE STRIKES THE RIGHT CHORD

Nearly everyone over the age of 15 knows the feeling of wishing they could edit an awkward moment, and AUTO-TUNE turns that universal experience into a highly entertaining, thought-provoking rock opera.

Presented as part of HOTA's Winter Season, re:group performance collective’s AUTO-TUNE sits somewhere between a pub gig, coming-of-age story, live music video, and philosophical thought experiment. Set in Wagga Wagga during the mid-2000s, it follows teenage Silverchair devotee Michael, who discovers he possesses a peculiar superpower: the ability to "auto-tune" moments from his own life by travelling back a few seconds to erase mistakes. It is a clever metaphor for an age increasingly obsessed with optimisation, perfection, and editing ourselves into more acceptable versions.

The premise may sound playful, but AUTO-TUNE quickly reveals itself to be a deeply cerebral work. Beneath its driving guitars, nostalgia-soaked humour, and millennial references lies a meditation on regret, memory, and the uncomfortable truth that our mistakes are often the very experiences that shape us. Rather than offering easy emotional payoffs, the production invites audiences to wrestle with these ideas long after the final chord has faded.

Mark Rogers delivers an engaging central performance as Michael, capturing both the earnest intensity of adolescence and the obsessive desire to edit one's mistakes. Rogers never asks the audience to laugh at Michael; instead, he invites empathy for a teenager desperately trying to engineer a flawless existence.

Liam "Snowy" Halliwell provides an excellent counterbalance as Michael's best mate, bringing warmth, humour, and an effortless naturalism. Ashley Bundang is equally compelling as the band's keyboardist and the mutual object of both boys' affection, giving the character of Brooke Torinni a quiet confidence that prevents her from becoming merely the centre of a love triangle.

Musically, the trio impresses throughout. The score embraces the raw energy of early-2000s alternative rock while feeling entirely original. The songs rarely function as conventional musical theatre numbers. Instead, they operate like a live concert, driving the narrative forward with relentless momentum. It feels less like watching a rock opera and more like stumbling across an exceptional indie band whose songs happen to tell a story.

The simplicity of the set enables the audience to focus on the storyline. Live video captions and projected text become active storytelling devices rather than accessibility afterthoughts, producing a theatrical vocabulary that feels fresh rather than gimmicky.

Written by Mark Rogers and directed by Solomon Thomas, the 55-minute gig-culture production wastes no time. AUTO-TUNE features 17 songs with memories that collapse into one another, making time feel fluid.

This is not a show that hands audiences neat answers. Those expecting a straightforward rock musical may find themselves surprised (in a good way) by its philosophical ambitions. It is a work rich with intelligence, humour, and emotional resonance.

HOTA's Black Box Theatre proves an ideal home for AUTO-TUNE. The proximity between performers and audience creates the atmosphere of an underground gig while allowing every subtle shift in expression to land with precision. It's exactly the kind of ambitious contemporary work that makes HOTA's Winter Season such an exciting programme— work that pushes theatrical boundaries without sacrificing entertainment.

Ultimately, AUTO-TUNE reminds us that life is not meant to be pitch-perfect. The awkward conversations, bad decisions, and missed opportunities we would gladly rewrite are often the moments that define us most. In celebrating those imperfections, re: group performance collective has created a production that is both intellectually stimulating and unexpectedly moving.