Review: The Transgender Agender
I’m here on the ground at Wellington’s Fringe Bar to catch a show at the tail end of the 2024 New Zealand International Comedy Festival — The Transgender Agender. This lineup of fabulous trans and/or non-binary comedians made much merriment on the last Saturday of this year’s NZICF, much to the joy of their sold-out […]
Review: Femme Natale — The Queen Years
Reviewed by Talia Carlisle The talented team behind Femme Natale have worked their butts off to bring a magnificent sketch showcase of parents’ inner adult desires to BATS Theatre. After returning from Edinburgh Fringe with a new lease on parenthood, their new iteration of Femme Natale is refreshingly hilarious and important to share in a […]
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: The Sensemaker
Produced by ‘Woman’s Move’ from Switzerland and co-directed by choreographers Elsa Couvreur and Iona D’Annunzio. The Sensemaker starts as a clever and understated comedy that uses dance, movement and sound as its main devices. Theatre like this is at its best when minimal and perfectly timed, which is a key strength of The Sensemaker. The […]
Review: Best on Tap Stands Up
The Fringe Bar is packed to the gills for Best on Tap Stands Up, a little out of the ordinary for a Sunday crowd, but this is a Fringe show and this is a Fringe crowd, and Best on Tap are an excellently well-established performance company, so perhaps I shouldn’t be surprised. More well-known as […]
Review: Limits
Reviewed by Nadia Freeman Photo credit: David Vagg This is no typical dance number meant to distract and delight you with sparkles and clap-along numbers. Limits sits in the realm of theatre that is to challenge its audience and give them a chance to view what it might be like to step into the shoes […]
Review: Professor Wild Returns
I’ve never seen a show at the zoo before, but that’s where Professor Wild Returns takes me for my first review of NZ Fringe 2023. Another entry in the incredible Austin Harrison Theatrical Universe, this solo show resurrects Harrison’s segment ‘Professor Wild’ from What Now in 2009 as a full-length show for adults, set amongst the climbs of […]
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 […]
Review: Dying Swanologues
Tutus and trauma: a delicious slice By Talia Carlisle It’s never too late to join the ballet bandwagon, unless that wagon is the Tempest season of Dying Swanologues at BATS Theatre, in which case you have sorely missed out. The short and sweet season from July 5–9 was made shorter with two last minute cancellations […]
Kia Mau festival!
The Kia Mau Festival started last week and is already racing along. It’s a treat to see Māori and Pasifika excellence in live performance — here’s what’s on this week. All I See at Circa Theatre The explosion of grief causes memories to ricochet around her. Memories begin to bleed into her reality. Time collapses. […]