Two plays on now in Wellington – one a story pre-conception, the other a story post-death. Both are very good. Review: Lungs A couple are thinking about having a child. They’re pretty sure they’re good people but a whole new person is a pretty big responsibility. What about climate change? What about their carbon footprint? […]
PlatonicRomantic Featuring lead vocalist Moana Ete, and accompanied by the rhythm section of Slade Butler and Marcus Gurtner A Girl Named Mo debuted ‘Mud & Stardust‘ during Fly my Pretties’ August shows. A cool mix of R&B + electronic and one of the prettiest songs I’ve listened to for a while. Each performance will be […]
The New Zealand Improv Festival is at BATS Theatre all this week. See some of the country’s best practitioners and companies in unscripted theatre that’s devised before your face. That’s right – no scripts, no set plays. Here’s how it works – each show will have a frame for the show the improvisers will create. […]
Performer Hayley Sproull tells her story of a “white wahine’s deeply disengaged bicultural heritage”. Recognising that her Nana’s death meant a loss of connection to her Māori heritage this is a “comedic exploration of her embarrassed ignorance.” (Quotes from the programme.) An elegant set in white pegboard – on one side a whare shape, on […]
Alec and Mary McPherson run a little cafe in scenic New Zealand called House of Mince. Mary is a little tired of the monotony of their life but she’s happy enough. Then a man known as Donkey Boy visits London-based crime lord Vic Snow, and Alec and Mary’s lives won’t be the same. Written by […]
First up, a brilliant interpretation of a Shakespeare’s Richard II. Richard II is a few years into his kingship and is starting to flex his power. After some dubious decisions regarding his empire he takes the chance to seize land after the death of John of Gaunt thus setting Gaunt’s child, Bolingbroke, against him. Richard […]
A dizzying physical poem of theatre, dance, and stagecraft, Red Leap’s Dust Pilgrim comes at you with intriguing immediacy and lingers like an ingenious, puzzling dream. Devised by the company and directed by founding members Kate Parker and Julie Nolan, the show takes audiences on the journey of Panuelo, a girl whose arrival foreshadowed the disappearance of water […]
Opening last night at Circa Theatre SolOTHELLO, is a riotous one man retelling of Shakespeare’s Othello. (An unofficial British Council representative described it as the first time he’s seen Othello performed as standup comedy.) The mix of original text, Te Reo Māori, colloquial English, and stylised movement used by the four characters conveys the essence […]
Eight companies perform eight productions over three weeks in the Kia Mau festival of theatre and dance. Matariki is the perfect time of the year to indulge your senses with world class theatre and dance hosted by BATS Theatre, Te Papa, and Circa Theatre. First up (tonight!) is Versions of Allah presented by contemporary indigenous theatre […]
An exuberant onstage cartoon, Indian Ink Theatre Company’s The Elephant Thief begins in a jail cell and ends in… space, or the afterlife, or some other such vague spoiler. It’s an outsized feast of imaginative staging and potential pachyderm puns, anchored by a winning performance by company newcomer Vanessa Kumar. The show’s setting is a […]