Review — Oddacity
Oddacity promised an “award-winning, best-of spectacular with a cast of international luminaries performing stylish acts”, under the beautiful skylight in Bats’ Heyday Dome. I wasn’t sure what to expect, knowing the theatre wouldn’t suit aerials or acrobatics, but I hoped for clowns. I was not disappointed in that sense. Oddacity is usually Sachie Mikawa, Trent […]
Review: Dr Drama Makes a Show
It was weird for me to go to a show at 93 Kelburn Parade, having completed my own humble BA at Vic almost 20 years ago. In fact, #93 was the site of at least one audition and more than a few rehearsals for me. It’s had a bit of a facelift, now being an […]
Review: The Human Voice (La voix humaine)
TW: Suicide Jean Cocteau wrote La Voix Humaine in 1928 as a one-act play. Francis Poulenc set it to music 30 years later, despite having already known Cocteau well for years, and gave the reason for the delay as having needed more life experience to do it justice. During those years he struggled with depression […]
Four Nights In the Green Barrow Pub — Review
Four Nights In the Green Barrow Pub is the third of Cassandra Tse’s shows I’ve seen, and each one was wildly different from the others. M’Lady had me in stitches, The Aliens, in tears. Four Nights, though, took me down memory lane. Having a hundred noisy musical Irish cousins of my own, I was probably […]
Blackbird Ensemble Performs Björk: All Is Full Of Love — Review
Blackbird Ensemble are “NZ’s most exciting chamber orchestra”, and Thursday’s homage to Björk supported that claim more than competently. A collection of strings, horns, percussionists, and Claire Cowan’s multi-instrumentalism brought director Cowan’s arrangements to vibrant and emotional life. The musicians were more than just that; in their glowing boiler suits they became part of a sensory […]
Review: Peggy Pickit Sees the Face of God
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 […]
Review: Rigoletto
Verdi’s Rigoletto is a classic, and deservedly so. The story was based on a Victor Hugo play, adapted somewhat to avoid censorship. Hugo, by all accounts, was not at all happy that his play was being plagiarised (and by an Italian!) until he attended and was amazed by a performance. Musically it was rather revolutionary, […]
Don’t feed dogs chocolate — put it in beer instead
Guest post by Krystle, thanks Krystle! Coffee, chocolate, and beer…these are a few of Wellingtonians’ favorite things — and thanks to a collab, you can now drink a fusion of all three. Local legends Black Dog Brewery and Wellington Chocolate Factory have teamed up to produce the Bean Me Up Mocha Stout. You may be […]
Review: NZSO Baroque Series — Water Music
Telemann: Water Music “Hamburger Ebb und Fluth” (TWV 55:C3) Händel: Water Music (HWV 348–350) St. Paul’s Cathedral, Wellington Friday 1 Feb 2019 Listening to the two “Water Music” suites by Telemann and Handel fill the echoing expanse of St. Paul’s, I wondered how it is we find reverberation so attractive. Is it a cultural association […]
Review: The Blender (Sundays with BaseJump Improv)
With a dash of insanity, a smidge of ridiculousness, and a lot of Wellingtonian wit, BaseJump Improv’s new show The Blender is a wild ride for your Sunday evening. We don’t tend to see Sundays as a ‘going to theatre day’ but with a show running at roughly forty-five minutes long, this piece is easily manageable between […]