Review: 35mm

By Talia Carlisle Everyone is talking about 35mm, and it’s not a measurement, but a movement it seems, from the sound of new fans I’ve talked to. 35mm is a musical written by Ryan Scott Oliver on at Gryphon Theatre until Saturday, which incorporates music, original choreography and a live band led by musical director […]

Review: The Coven on Grey Street

The first thing that grips me as soon as I walk into Circa Two is Lucas Neal’s gorgeous set design for this show – a huge pohutakawa that stretches up and across the entire stage, a white picket fence, and the outside edge of a traditional weatherboard kiwi house. Cicadas chirp (beautiful sound design by […]

Review: Fifty Shades of Ray

Reviewed by Talia Carlisle. On a rain-splattered Wellington evening, I find myself refuge in BATS Theatre’s Studio space where paper “worries” are hung on string across the small stage. An eager smattering of audience members buzz in excitement, waiting for Ray Shipley to enter, fresh from a popular Christchurch season with a well-crafted set ready […]

A photo of a man and woman, standing, smiling and gesturing wildly, in front of a woods backdrop.

Review: Into the Woods

Image credit: Maeve O’Connell. Reviewed by Talia Carlisle Not dissimilar to the high fashion of the Met Gala, I adorned my best tiara and lavender frock, ready to descend Te Auaha’s stairs to Witch Music Theatre’s Into The Woods. There isn’t a more magical staircase to a fairytale full of laughter. If the eye-catching advertising […]

Review: Concept for a Film

A Beautiful Harmony of Theatre, Music and So Mush Spore.   I loved the novel format of storytelling that ‘Concept for a Film’ delivered. The scene opens with Max Barton, sitting at a desk that faces the audience, reading out the script for a film. These readings are intermittently dispersed with many disruptions including phone calls […]

Review: The Sensemaker

Produced by ‘Woman’s Move’ from Switzerland and co-directed by choreographers Elsa Couvreur and Iona D’Annunzio. The Sensemaker starts as a clever and understated comedy that uses dance, movement and sound as its main devices. Theatre like this is at its best when minimal and perfectly timed, which is a key strength of The Sensemaker. The […]

Review: The Culture

The Culture, starts before the performers come on stage with a montage of video footage of news articles on systemic and political misogyny. This sets the scene for the everyday ways women are disadvantaged that are so embedded, that they often go unnoticed. The newsfeed soon fades out, the lights come up, and Will and […]

Review: U R Here

Reviewed by Nadia Freeman U R Here is an invitation to take things a little less seriously, to forget about the business of adulthood and be playful. Set away from the day-to-day rhythm of urban living. Barbarian Productions draws us out to Martin Luckie Park in Berhampore. On arrival, my group is welcomed by 80’s […]

Review: End of the Rainbow

Judy’s return something to talk about By Talia Carlisle Pour the champagne because Judy Garland has come to town. Peter Quilter’s smash hit show End of the Rainbow opened to loud belly laughs, big smiles and plenty of cheers at the Wellington Opera House this weekend. While the audience and stars were dressed to impress, […]

Review: Professor Wild Returns

  I’ve never seen a show at the zoo before, but that’s where Professor Wild Returns takes me for my first review of NZ Fringe 2023. Another entry in the incredible Austin Harrison Theatrical Universe, this solo show resurrects Harrison’s segment ‘Professor Wild’ from What Now in 2009 as a full-length show for adults, set amongst the climbs of […]