AroView: Sophie Henderson and Matt Whelan bring a genuine chemistry to this salty-sweet rom-com set around the Auckland fringe theatre scene, and shot on location around the Basement Theatre on Queen Street.

The charming Henderson is effortless as a reckless version of herself, and as scriptwriter knows the struggles of this creative world intimately, her savvy script doubling as a barbed critique of the arts funding model in Aotearoa. Following their collaboration on Fantail (2013), she re-teams with director (and real-life partner) Curtis Vowell to build a convincing world that is frequently fraught with backstage dramas and romantic yearning. Especially recommended for creators, curators or consumers of the arts. ★★★★

“It’s about being in love with someone at work you shouldn’t be in love with,” say Sophie and Curtis. “And it’s about how hard—and how fun—it is to make art at the bottom of the world.”

Sophie Henderson is also writer of The Justice of Bunny King, while Curtis Vowell previously directed the rom-com Baby Done.

“Spicy, sweet and totally relatable, Workmates is the Kiwi rom-com we’ve been waiting for.” ~Samuel Hames, SpicyPulp

“Workmates is stuffed full of little touches and details that might even reward a second viewing… I laughed out loud when I was supposed to, and I cared about how it might all turn out.” ~Graeme Tuckett, The Post