Black Dog Relief – A Cabaret for Robbie Tripe

On Sunday 6th September at San Fran, in a one night only performance to raise money and awareness for the Mental Health Foundation, Wellington’s performing arts fraternity band together to honour a beloved friend and colleague. This tribute is their way of honouring a talented member of the performing community, who left us after losing his battle with the Black Dog. Actor Robbie Tripe, […]

Review: Stutterpop: the Queen’s speech

Stutterpop written and performed by Sam Brooks is entertaining mixture of lipsyncing and storytelling which explores Brooks’ love life, and his love for life. He walks onto the stage looking fabulous in a long hooded cape. It’s whipped off to reveal a glittery top and sparkling heels leaving him looking a little like classic Eddie Izzard. […]

Review: Young & Hungry 2015 season

The Young & Hungry festival of new theatre provides young people with the opportunity to gain practical experience working in a theatre under pressured timeframes. Actors, technicians, designers, & directors have all been mentored through the programme. The three shows in the 2015 season are quite different in style but uniformly entertaining. How to catch a […]

Review: the beautiful ones

Hana (Awhimai Fraser) was sent away from the club in disgrace by owner Mr Sir (Tanemahuta Gray). She promises boyfriend, Ihia (Manuel Solomon), that she will return on a particular night if he dances from dawn to dusk. But she is frightened by his father Sir Sir, (Nathan Gray) and unsure as to how she […]

Review : Long ago, long ago

Ella (Susie Berry) has a new job working on a psychic hotline. Audrey (Isobel MacKinnon), her sister, is a postgraduate student investigating the links between fairytales from different countries. Their brother Ben (Jack Buchanan) is interested in making machines; in tangible objects rather than computers. Audrey comes to live with Ella while her flat is […]

Two shows in Wellington

Reviews of Second afterlife by Ralph McCubbin Howell, and Not in our neighbourhood by Jamie McCaskill.

Ahi Kaa Festival

Celebrating Matariki with the best of Maori theatre and dance, the inaugural Ahi Kaa Festival officially opens tonight. In a city where some theatre practitioners think it’s okay to use blackface on stage because ‘it’s what the audience of the theatre form would have expected’ it is welcome. This festival will show off truly innovative work […]

Review: Lysistrata

War has been going on forever. Lysistrata convinces the women of Greece and the known world to withhold sex from their husbands (and lovers, occasional shags, one-night-stands etc) in order to force the men to broker world peace. The women agree and despite being tempted hold true to their promise. Will the men come together […]

Review: Wings

Quinn (Victoria Seymour) and her younger sister Bambi (Hannah Botha) are on a road trip to their mother’s funeral. They haven’t seen each other since Quinn left home suddenly 10 years ago. On the way they stop in a remote part of the Waikato to pick up their other sister Mo (Lydia Buckley-Gorman). Quinn doesn’t […]

Review: Don Juan: an adaptation of the play by Moliere

Before we’re in the theatre the performers come to us. “Allo” they cry in their French accents “You are looking gorgeous tonight!” They sweep us before them into their seedy world. It’s part cabaret, part shabby theatre, part sophisticated storytelling, part improv. It feels like a troupe of travelling actors has arrived in town and […]