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? […]
James and Bullseye Bella
While the Wellingtonista is what we do on the side of our day jobs, it turns out that almost all Wellingtonistas have a side hustle on the side of the side. Case in point: our fearless leader only went and wrote a bloody book didn’t he? So I had a chat to him. Hey […]
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: 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: 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 […]
Review: NZSO Baroque Series — Water Music
Telemann: Water Music “Hamburger Ebb und Fluth” (TWV 55:C3) Händel: Water Music (HWV 348–350) St. Paul’s Cathedral, Wellington Friday 1 Feb 2019 Listening to the two “Water Music” suites by Telemann and Handel fill the echoing expanse of St. Paul’s, I wondered how it is we find reverberation so attractive. Is it a cultural association […]