Review: Big Dumb Cats

We are all just big dumb cats, stumbling around on two legs, expecting our feline overlords to hunt food for us to keep us alive. Daniel John Smith’s Big Dumb Cats is part cat facts, part family parable, and all great comedy with a poignant message. Smith’s in the midst of an exciting office fashion […]

Review: Mincing

Mincing is a joy and I absolutely loved it. Jimini Jolly Snr (Tom Sainsbury) runs the best butchery in Timaru, alongside his wife Marge-Irine (Kura Forrester), their son Jimini Jnr (Chris Parker) and their daughter Nicole (Brynley Stent). Jimini Jnr is off to New York to go to tap school, Marge-Irine is on a jaunt […]

Review: Token African (Urzila Carlson)

With a few little observations to warm up the crowd, Urzila, “doesn’t pick on people,” she says, and reinforces that she can’t see anyone in the crowd because of the raised seating at Te Auaha’s Tapere Nui theatre. She rolls into talking about Wellington, students, and how nobody in their right mind would ever continue […]

Review: The Blair Witch Projector

After a few minutes of technical issues – which may have been an actual ghost in the theatre, who knows! – we’re brought into this show by James Mustapic talking about being unemployed, to which several people in the audience cheer in unfortunate acknowledgement (myself included). Mustapic is going to do a “proper stand-up show”, […]

Review: The Mournmoor Murders

As The Wellingtonista’s resident super-fan of afternoon murder mystery television for old people, I was unbelievably excited to get the chance to see The Mournmoor Murders, Maria Williams and Alice May Connolly’s excellent satire of that whole genre. And it was fantastic! Detective Thompson (Williams) and Detective Constable Detective Agent Cooper (Connolly) must unearth dark […]

Review: Uther Dean Reads 300 Haiku

Uther Dean Reads 300 Haiku is indeed that. 300 haiku in a row. But what the title doesn’t tell you is the wandering narrative Uther tells through the 300 haiku. “These haiku were written by Peter the Poet,” he says. Yes, we agree, though I’m not convinced. Peter is desperately in love with Janine, who is a […]

Review: Hamlet (Summer Shakespeare 2019)

Summer Shakespeare’s Hamlet has been a show I’ve been looking forward to for a very long time, and I can definitely say that it didn’t let me down. Directed by David O’Donnell, and starring Stevie Hancox-Monk as a female Hamlet, the show brought Hamlet back to life for me in a very good way. Hamlet is a fantastic play but […]

Review: A Slightly Isolated Dog’s Santa Claus

Santa Claus brings A Slightly Isolated Dog’s usual charm, wit and innuendo to BATS’ Random Stage for the telling of a tale about a Santa Claus who is rather tired of putting up with naughty people’s bullshit. I shall not go too far into the plot of this sixty-minute show – to save you all from […]

Review: Puss in Boots

Circa Theatre’s Christmas pantomime this year is Puss in Boots. It’s a tale as old as time, if that tale were set in the wilds of Te Aro and Karori and featured many dick jokes, jabs at Gareth Morgan and fantastical dance numbers. It’s 2018. Or there abouts. Camilla Miller – a grieving widow woman – […]

Review: Actual Fact

Reviewed by our fantastic guest reviewer, Shannon Gillies (@dashrightin) on Twitter! The audience arrived warm and willing to be entertained – and they were. Actual Fact explored story telling. Not in a way that is generally celebrated in our society – such as I’m an adventurer, sportsperson, a politician – listen to or read of […]