Review: Jingle Elves: The Musical

Reviewed by Talia Carlisle. The tinsel is untangled, the star perfectly in place at the top of the tree. The only thing left is to make your way to BATS theatre to watch Pōneke’s own Pāua Ballads totally f*ck Christmas up – their word not mine! There are naughty elves and a secretive Santa, squabbling […]

Review: Venus Rising

The Royal New Zealand Ballet is back for their final offering this year, a trio of celestial ballets within the show Venus Rising. I’ve been waiting to see this show for a couple of years now, for it’s been delayed twice by COVID, so it was an absolute delight to finally catch it at its […]

Review: Pudgy Mediocre White Men Solve Your Problems

A whiteboard greets us at the top of the stairs of BATS’ Dome Theatre. 10am – Dancing with Craig (R18). It reads. 1.45pm – Knitting with Craig (R18), then 8pm – Dave & Bryan Impov Thing. And that is what we’re here to see (though I am particularly taken by the concept of 12.45pm – Autopsy for Beginners.) We’re at […]

Review: Title & Deed

Reviewed by Lox Dixon. Presented as a part of TAHI Festival, 2022. I’m going to make an earnest effort to mention the writing as little as possible in this review because that’s not really the point and everyone probably knows by now that Will Eno is a phenomenal writer. That said, the beauty of this […]

Review: Effy

Reviewed by Lox Dixon. Presented as a part of the TAHI Festival, 2022.  Effy is a piece of physical theatre performed by a masked actor, and featuring no verbal communication. The show takes place in what ostensibly looks like a public park. A rubbish bin sits on one side of the stage, an old wooden […]

Review: HATCH

Reviewed by Jules Daniel. Presented by TAHI: New Zealand Festival of Solo Performance, HATCH is an opportunity for five emerging student artists from Te Auaha, Toi Whakaari: NZ Drama School, and Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington to showcase and develop their work further. The mahi of a program with a kaupapa to […]

Review: Krishnan’s Dairy

Review by Talia Carlisle. A wise man once told me that real loves grows, and so does my love of Indian Ink’s now legendary tale of Krishnan’s Dairy that wound up its final season in Wellington this week. The production is a well polished gem in the crown of creative team Jacob Rajan and Justin […]

Review: Back to Square One?

Reviewed by Shona Jaunas Back to Square One invites you into conversation between 95 year old Inga’s living room in Denmark and her grandson, Anders Falstie-Jensen in New Zealand. It starts with the audience all writing their names on the stage front in chalk which immediately brings us into the space; we are all involved […]

Review: Skin Tight

Skin Tight is my favourite ever play and I’ve been wanting to see it performed since I first read it. Circa Theatre did not disappoint with their iteration of this show; a gloriously evocative piece with incredible staging, performances and movement. The play is not just a love story to its characters – and the highs […]

Review: Celestial Nobodies

Before I even start this review, let me just stress how well the cast of Celestial Nobodies performed under pressure last night, the audience space was quite challenging for multiple reasons and they held the show well with composure and poise – no mean feat considering it was opening night as well! Celestial Nobodies sold out during the […]