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 […]
Presented by Tuatara Collective, HINE-TE-RĒHIA is a multilingual theatre experience coming to BATS Theatre in July. Devised, created and performed by an all-female BIPOC cast, this exciting show promises to leave you gasping in awe of their talent. I had the chance to interview Jason Te Mete (previous deviser/director), Tāwera Ormsby (co-Kaiwhakahaere of Tuatara Collective) […]
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 […]
This show was incredibly popular and got reviewed multiple times during the Improv Fest! Check out a variety of those reviews below. – Reviewed by Thalia Kehoe Rowden In an intense, moving 60-minute show, the cast of four take inspiration from real-life journal entries – unseen until the performance – and invent and explore the […]
Reviewed by Rebecca Stubbing. Friday the 13th was the perfect occasion for NO SLEEP, a joyfully chaotic improv show presented at this year’s New Zealand Improv Festival. The show began at 9:30pm on the wonderful Stage at BATS Theatre, and the slightly sleepy audience were immediately reassured by the performers not to worry, we were […]
Reviewed by Talia Carlisle. On a rain-splattered Wellington evening, I find myself refuge in BATS Theatre’s Studio space where paper “worries” are hung on string across the small stage. An eager smattering of audience members buzz in excitement, waiting for Ray Shipley to enter, fresh from a popular Christchurch season with a well-crafted set ready […]
A whiteboard greets us at the top of the stairs of BATS’ Dome Theatre. 10am – Dancing with Craig (R18). It reads. 1.45pm – Knitting with Craig (R18), then 8pm – Dave & Bryan Impov Thing. And that is what we’re here to see (though I am particularly taken by the concept of 12.45pm – Autopsy for Beginners.) We’re at […]
Reviewed by Lox Dixon. Presented as a part of the TAHI Festival, 2022. Effy is a piece of physical theatre performed by a masked actor, and featuring no verbal communication. The show takes place in what ostensibly looks like a public park. A rubbish bin sits on one side of the stage, an old wooden […]
Reviewed by Jules Daniel. Presented by TAHI: New Zealand Festival of Solo Performance, HATCH is an opportunity for five emerging student artists from Te Auaha, Toi Whakaari: NZ Drama School, and Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington to showcase and develop their work further. The mahi of a program with a kaupapa to […]
Shift Your Paradigm Reviewed by Lox Dixon Shift Your Paradigm (No Chairs Required) begins by welcoming us into the Dome space at BATS Theatre, for a chair seminar. The stage is sparse. Two cheap desks are set up, one to either side of stage, and an object (presumably a chair) covered by a sheet, sits […]