Reviewed by our fantastic guest reviewer, Shannon Gillies (@dashrightin) on Twitter! The audience arrived warm and willing to be entertained — and they were. Actual Fact explored story telling. Not in a way that is generally celebrated in our society — such as I’m an adventurer, sportsperson, a politician — listen to or read of […]
I saw four improv shows last night as part of the New Zealand Improv Festival. In the interests of brevity, here’s a joint review of all four. Austen Found Penny Ashton’s Austen Found is a perambulation into the world of one of Jane Austen’s lost musicals — in this case, the story of one Victoria Sandybottom, who […]
I leaned over to my theatre-going companion just before the start of this show and pointed at one of the audience-made spaceships lying on the floor of BATS’ Random Stage. “That spaceship looks a lot like a dildo,” I remarked, presciently as always, and he agreed. The audience, in an ode to predictability, chose it. […]
Parekura and Ra re-unite on a night out in the town. Their past rekindles an old kind, odd romance for each other again. They enjoy the night and end up back at Parekura’s whare where her father, Chief, awaits the return of his only daughter not expecting to see her infamous friend as well. Chief concedes to Parekura’s demands […]
I’m not entirely sure how to describe this show. Part costumed-wonder, part avant-garde art piece, (A Smidge of) Pidge is a black comedy about identity and anxiety and pigeons. I think. Sherilee Kahui dances about BATS’ Propeller Stage for an hour dressed in an elaborate pigeon costume. She drinks wine, shares gingernuts, and recreates an iconic scene from Love […]
Hank of Thread presents (a smidge of) Pidge, a black comedy about identity and the anxiety that is inextricably tied to it. The show fuses clowning, song and dance to show the myriad ways that we are all simultaneously the same and different, ultimately celebrating the absurdity of it all. Written by Sherilee Kahui […]
This isn’t a break up show. It’s about marine science. So begins the blurb for this production coming up at Bats Theatre from July 10–14. A play about whales seems to be very very timely for Wellington right now, but this one has been in the making for a long time. “Four years ago, my friend […]
Poto Manawa has a new flat. She took a quick trip to pick up a few things from her Mum’s place…and now her relatives won’t stop phoning her. They want her to come to a whānau hui. She’s reluctant to return to the homestead although she can’t quite remember why. Until Paia comes along to […]
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 […]
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’ […]