The Wellingtonista

Random stuff about Wellington since 2005

Circa Theatre

Review: Dungeoning and Dragoning

by Emma Maguire July 27, 2020

The show is exactly thus – four great actors playing Dungeons and Dragons on stage, led by an eminently likeable DM. I must admit I had my qualms when coming to this show, as I’ve always found playing D&D to be more fun than watching it, but the cast is excellent, the mood appropriate, and the […]

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Review: Peggy Pickit Sees the Face of God

by Sophie September 21, 2019

  Liz and Frank have spent the past few years achieving the sort of anaemic existence that passed for middle-class success for my parents’ generation.  Careers, a house, a child.  Carefully curated shelves of books and knick-knacks in the living room.  This living room is the stage for a reunion dinner party; two old friends […]

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Review: The Pink Hammer

by Emma Maguire September 8, 2019

Circa One has been turned into a man-cave, complete with a nude calendar – permanently set to July – a fridge full of beers and a Ryobi power drill for The Pink Hammer, being performed until early October. The show itself is a critique of Kiwi masculinity (of a sort), a bit of feminist fun […]

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Preview: Peggy Pickit Sees the Face of God

by librarykris September 6, 2019

‘Peggy Pickit Sees the Face of God’ by Roland Schimmelpfennig is opening at Circa Theatre next week. A New Zealand premiere appropriate for our modern lives, this play examines colonialist attitudes over freshly baked bread, and discusses quarantines and vaccinations while sharing drinks – it’s irony, of a sort. Are we doing enough to help […]

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Review: Side by Side by Sondheim

by librarykris February 26, 2019

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, […]

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Review: Puss in Boots

by Emma Maguire November 19, 2018

Circa Theatre’s Christmas pantomime this year is Puss in Boots. It’s a tale as old as time, if that tale were set in the wilds of Te Aro and Karori and featured many dick jokes, jabs at Gareth Morgan and fantastical dance numbers. It’s 2018. Or there abouts. Camilla Miller – a grieving widow woman – […]

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Review: Uneasy Dreams and Other Things

by Emma Maguire October 20, 2018

Directed by Sara Brodie. Written by Lori Leigh. Uneasy Dreams and Other Things is a glorious, hilarious (in some places) piece of theatre, inspired by Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis.  However, instead of turning into a giant bug overnight, our reluctant heroine, Samantha (Lydia Peckham), grows a penis. She spends the entirety of the play trying to deal […]

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Preview: Medusa

by librarykris September 19, 2018

With a head of poisonous snakes and a murderous gaze, Medusa has come to epitomise female monstrosity. Caravaggio painted her. Shakespeare wrote about her. Freud had a bloody field day. The original myth of Medusa follows the fate of the beautiful maiden Medusa who is turned into a monster by the goddess Athena after she […]

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Review: Modern Girls in Bed

by Emma Maguire September 3, 2018

What would you do if you found Kate Sheppard in your bed? I’ll be honest, I don’t really know, but Modern Girls in Bed attempts to find out. Ally (Maria Williams) and Petra (Isadora Lao) are two young women holding their own Bed-In together, not for Peace, but to improve the dreariness of their lives. They intend […]

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Review: The Dinner

by Emma Maguire August 11, 2018

  Take one part absurd comedy, one part awkward dinner with your parents, and a dash of glorious manicism, and you have The Dinner, a unique improv show currently being played at Circa Theatre. Being performed for the first time outside of Europe, this play brings together five dinner guests (four friends, and a new […]

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