 reviewed by Laurie Atkinson (The Dominion Post) 9 Feb 2010 |
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Overly long adaptation saved by young actor “If it were half as short, it would be twice as good,” said a friend after seeing Tanya Ronder’s adaptation of DBC Pierre’s Man Booker Prize-winning satirical novel about Vernon, an innocent young, white trash Texan, whose only friend has massacred sixteen of their schoolmates. [more] |
 reviewed by Laurie Atkinson (The Dominion Post) 9 Feb 2010 |
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Question marks over play dealing with men’s issues What’s in a Man? is the sort of show that might well be performed as a non-threatening introductory warm-up session at a seminar on men’s issues. It’s light and amusing but deadly serious in its intent. It’s designed to make you feel you’re not alone and problems can be discussed in the open. [more] |
 reviewed by Lyne Pringle 8 Feb 2010 |
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Awesome costumes, whimsical beauty and delight Empress Stilt Dance under the direction of Emily Buttle continues to forge new directions; in this instance the debut of Kahuku at the Festival of Elements in Porirua on Waitangi day. This 15-minute piece (still in development) explores the interface between stilts, aerials, stilt acrobatics and dance. [more] |
 reviewed by Janet McAllister (New Zealand Herald) 8 Feb 2010 |
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Rediscovering Pinter’s wily psychological traps Leaving for work, a buttoned-up English banker asks his housewife: "Is your lover coming today?" Harold Pinter teasingly sets the scene for his caustic 1963 send-up of middle-class sexual mores with this matter-of-fact question. The wife's polite answer is: "Yes". [more] |
 reviewed by John Smythe 8 Feb 2010 |
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I want to get it, not duck it Despite being hugely popular in its time (if the seven quarto editions published before the first folio are anything to go by), the full three-hour play – as performed for this year’s VUW Summer Shakespeare – cannot be said to be one of William Shakespeare’s more profoundly insightful comedies. [more] |
 reviewed by Ewen Coleman (The Dominion Post) 5 Feb 2010 |
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Action-packed show is not for the faint-hearted Although this year’s Fringe Festival doesn’t officially start till next week, Bats Theatre has got in early by labelling its current productions as part of their Fringe programme. And if Anya Tate-Manning’s production of Pirates vs Ninja is any indication of what is in store then it bodes well for a great Festival, at BATS at least. [more] |
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reviewed by John Smythe 5 Feb 2010 |
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Bizarre dark satire finally delivers the goods It would be comforting to write off DBC Pierre’s Man Booker Prize-winning satire, bodly adapted for the stage by Tanya Ronder, as a paranoid fantasy … But ‘reality’ television proves how bizarre Americans can be, especially in the southern states, and as the story unfolds what initially seems far-fetched takes on an unnerving sense of credibility. [more] |
 reviewed by Nik Smythe 5 Feb 2010 |
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BUCKEN AY Hailing from Otago’s world-obscure province Corstorphine*, these Buckwhips are a somewhat twisted travelling family musical act. Inevitable comparisons: the lackadaisical air the band carries echo the Conchords; their siblinghood brings to mind the Osmonds, with a touch of A Mighty Wind for good measure. [more] |
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reviewed by John Smythe 5 Feb 2010 |
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Trite, contrived and unconvincing When it comes to shows about what it is to be a man, Geraldine Brophy’s The Viagra Monologues, which played at Bats three years ago, is a hard act to follow (so to speak). Using it as a yardstick, What’s in a Man? fails to shape up. It even falls short of the standard the same team set with their first show together, What is Humour?, in last year’s Comedy Festival. [more] |
 reviewed by Laurie Atkinson (The Dominion Post) 4 Feb 2010 |
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Dealing with the currency of life Three short plays by three young playwrights and all on the same subject is something of a novelty, particularly as the subject is one that, Roger Hall apart in The Share Club and After the Crash, our playwrights have barely touched on. The subject of the plays is money. [more] |
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