Review: A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Delve into the sublime, surreal and a little bit sexy this Halloween with the Royal New Zealand Ballet’s rebirth of their iconic ballet A Midsummer Night’s Dream. A co-production with the Queensland Ballet and first performed in 2015, this stunning performance combines the late Liam Scarlett’s choreography with Felix Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream score […]
Review: Hine Te Rēhia
It’s a chilly winter day in Pōneke, but the joy from the audience surrounding me and my theatre-going companion could warm the most cynical of souls. We’re here to see Hine Te Rēhia, a gorgeous piece of theatre by Auckland-based Tutatara Collective, and the mood in the room is unbelievably high. Forgive my lack of […]
Review: I Want To Be Happy
I must confess, I’ve always been a fan of Joel Tobeck, so when I saw his name in the cast for ‘I Want To Be Happy,’ I was keen to check it out. Coupled with the promise of a surrealist premise exploring the parallel lives of a lab scientist and his guinea pig, I couldn’t […]
Review: Female Lady Women Comedians
Review by Talia Carlisle Is it a bird, is it a plane, no it’s Samantha Hannah leading a super all-female all-funny line-up of comedians that share a striking resemblance… but definitely aren’t all the same person… *wink!* Having been nominated for both Best Comedian, and Best MC at last year’s Wellington Comedy Awards, it makes […]
Review: Concept for a Film
A Beautiful Harmony of Theatre, Music and So Mush Spore. I loved the novel format of storytelling that ‘Concept for a Film’ delivered. The scene opens with Max Barton, sitting at a desk that faces the audience, reading out the script for a film. These readings are intermittently dispersed with many disruptions including phone calls […]
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: 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 […]
Preview: Ubu sux
It’s citizen versus everything in this totally original, entirely reimagined adaptation of Alfred Jarry’s classic avant-garde satire Ubu Rex. Grotesque, ridiculous and deeply profound, this irreverent adaptation of Ubu Rex draws from a huge range of source material to amplify the messages from Jarry’s original narrative. The live show is multimedia in every respect, with […]
Preview: Girl in the loft
Girl in the loft is a solo show by Katherine Wyeth. It’s the story of a childhood growing up at The King’s Head Theatre, London. “My life began as a theatre kid growing up at the world-renowned King’s Head Theatre in London. I was lucky to experience a unique childhood growing up in the theatre… […]
Preview: Routine Magic-Magic Routine
Routine magic – Will Aloysius abandon ritualistic powers acquired during his 10 year social isolation? Magic routine – Can YouTube Influencer Ant Hill find sufficient inner harmony to open a life-changing envelope? This pair of plays, utilising the same set and actors, tell two timely and compelling stories. Routine Magic, shortlisted for the Adam NZ Play […]