Review: Pōhutu

Pōhutu is a multidimensional contemporary dance piece that thrives in liminal space. Drawing parallels between Choreographer Bianca Hyslop’s grandmother’s diagnosis of Alzheimers and the geothermal landscape she grew up in, it’s an unsettling and utterly beautiful work. The beginning and end sequences draw gasps from the audience. The middle sequences contain some of the most […]

Review: Over My Dead Body: Little Black Bitch

This is the world premiere of the play by Jason Te Mete. The script shared the Adam New Zealand Play Award for Best Play by a Māori Playwright in 2018. It is a theatrical representation of one way depression can manifest. It starts with a mihi from Te Mete (also director and musical director) welcoming […]

Review: System

A sparse set – two walls, some tape on the floor –  is given character by lighting (Natasha James) and projection effects (Jason Wright). Flickerings along the edges of furniture, spinning triangles, water on the base of the wall, clearly defined shadows. A light rectangle becomes something to investigate. The score (Jason Wright) is an […]

Review: Water

Based on the true story of Carl Hans Lody, a WW1 German Spy. He was caught then executed inthe Tower of London four months into World War I. This new play, from award-winning writer, Mark Langham, centres Lody’s story and his reasons for becoming a spy. Stephen Lloyd-Coombs is a personable and charming Lody. Around […]

Review: Yesterday, in space

The good spaceship Yesterday is the first rocket ship to launch from Aotearoa New Zealand and we get to come along for the ride! Her new crew are determined to show us a good time. What a pity they’re stuck in the middle of professional rivalries, confusing personal relationships, and an asteroid belt… All those […]

Review: Coffee Bean-Queen Machine

Paja Neuhoferova wears a blue floral pattern full skirt, a short navy jacket with the blue floral fabric on the front, a headband with small flowers. As we arrive she is sitting on the counter. The accordion she plays is a deep glossy red. It sounds jaunty. Eighteen of us are tightly packed in to […]

Review: Blonde Mountain Wolf Man

Craig Geenty comes from a large and extended family. They’re gregarious. They like a bit of a drink. They’ve been whispering about a family secret for years. Great-grandfather Joseph is still officially missing after disappearing on his way back home after making a delivery in town in 1921. Did he crash? Did he run away? […]

Review: Side by Side by Sondheim

A revue of ‘most adventurous composer’ Stephen Sondheim’s works. Originally performed in 1976 the musicals represented in this revue are from the early part of his career. (Some of the musicals mentioned in the show’s promotional material do not feature.)  He explores the themes of love, relationships, and marriage. Performed by Julie O’Brien, Matthew Pike, […]

Review: Why are we still here?

Four women on the run break into an abandoned theatre to shelter from a terrible storm. The group’s leader, Benny, is the first to notice they’re not alone – there are two others in the building. It takes the group of women a little while to discover that the ‘others’ are ghosts but by then […]

Preview: All Good

Parekura and Ra re-unite on a night out in the town. Their past rekindles an old kind, odd romance for each other again. They enjoy the night and end up back at Parekura’s whare where her father, Chief, awaits the return of his only daughter not expecting to see her infamous friend as well. Chief concedes to Parekura’s demands […]