Preview: I am not Margaret Mahy
Witch, jungle child, bewildered student, detective, librarian, shark: iconic writer Margaret Mahy defied the norm at every turn, embodying aspects of her characters in the many lives she lived. Jane Waddell’s stage adaptation of Mahy’s essay ‘Notes of a Bag Lady‘ reveals the woman behind the stories: her witchy ways, her bag-lady tendencies and her […]
Review: The Big Show
The Big Show is a 100-minute extravaganza with three UK comedians who you may or may not have heard of. (The comedy world is big, okay?) Despite my utter obliviousness to whom two out of three of them were, this three-act show was a whole lot of fun. Ian Smith Acting as our MC for […]
Review: Andrew Maxwell – Showtime
Andrew Maxwell is baffled by New Zealand. And fair enough too. As he so lovingly puts it, our news cycle is a mad mess of fallen trees and cats on buses. We spend far too much time caring about things that aren’t global political conflicts and Trump. Why should we worry about global politics when […]
Review: Problems
Boris and Stephan are guarding their Great Leader as he takes his customary mid-morning nap. He’s overslept and is due at a briefing. Should they wake him up? The Great Leader’s Wife says yes. The Great Leader’s General says no. As time ticks on something has to give… From a simple premise the new play […]
Review: Uther Dean – My Fat/Sad
Guest review by Emma Maguire Uther Dean is sad and he wants you to know it. My Fat/Sad is a comedy and a tragedy, a balance between joy and seriousness, and a show with more of a duality to it than you might be expecting. In my desperate quest to avoid spoilers, I’ll leave the […]
Review: Wilson Dixon’s What a Country
Guest review by Emma Maguire When I glance around the theatre before What a Country and notice that I’m definitely the youngest person in the audience I realise that I might be slightly out of this show’s demographic. I also hate country music. But that’s alright, because Wilson Dixon’s What a Country manages to transcend […]
Review: Still life with chickens
Mama is at home with a bedridden Papa, ticking through life with constant rounds of washing, gardening, and meal making. Her family doesn’t visit as often as she’d like so she spends a lot of time in her garden. When a cheeky chicken starts scratching around Mama is quite upset. The chicken gradually wins her […]
Preview: My fat/sad
My Accomplice present Uther Dean in My fat/sad as part of the 2018 New Zealand International Comedy Festival. A 2017 Raw Comedy Quest national finalist, critically acclaimed playwright, and diagnosed depressive, Uther has written for Power Rangers, Shortland Street and Radio New Zealand. This time, he’s turning his simultaneously analytical and hilarious eye inwards. From […]
Pig & Pinot – we’re as happy as pigs in mud
As you’re no doubt aware from watching Shortland Street, it’s duck-hunting season. Usually this means that Cloudy Bay would be doing duck & pinot noir pairings around the country, but this year they’ve decided to do something a little different and possibly a little more accessible – pinot noir & prosciutto – “bringing you the […]
Review: You do you babes – Donna Brookbanks
Guest review by Emma Maguire We are welcomed into the BATS Studio by a woman dressed in a black cloak. Illuminated by the light of flickering (electric) candles, we’re baptised by water poured from a menstrual cup, and we recite the single person’s prayer. All the single ladies… now put your hands up! Donna Brookbanks’ […]