 reviewed by John Smythe 18 Apr 2012 |
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If you want shock and awe, don't miss it Throughout the 90 minute performance we are constantly reminded we are watching a bunch of rag-tag actors in a roughly-dressed theatre telling us things we should already know, but probably don't, about New Zealand's activities in other people's wars; specifically the 'war against terror', waged largely in Afghanistan and Iraq even though the Taliban and Al Qaeda have no nationality. [more] |
 reviewed by John Smythe 19 Apr 2012 |
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A fabulous and timely flashback An L-shaped stage backed with chicken wire and grey paper features a monkey bar. That's about it for set design. The 'tribe' mooches on in dark grey overalls stamped with numbers: is this to be The Seminal Rock Opera Hair as Performed by the Inmates of a Detention Facility Under the Eye of a Rifle-toting Guard?Apparently. [more] |
 reviewed by John Smythe 20 Apr 2012 |
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Sensitive and challenging subject explored with great integrity Lucrece: An Adaptation of Shakespeare’s the Rape of Lucrece is the starting point – and focal point, when it's on – of an audio-visual art installation project at the Toi Poneke Gallery until 11 May. ... Director Fiona McNamara (who conceived the whole project), has worked with two performers – Ally Garrett and Isobel MacKinnon – and a range of designers to evoke the first third of Shakespeare's epic poem. [more] |
 reviewed by John Smythe 27 Apr 2012 |
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Some good discussion-starters but could be more entertaining As a collaborative theatre production between students from Toi Whakaari: NZ Drama School and young people from School’s Out, Wellington (a hangout/support group for young people identifying as queer, lesbian, gay, transgender, takatapui, fa'afafine, genderqueer, androgynous, bisexual, pansexual, intersex, curious, unsure, questioning, and their friends), the community from which the material is sourced is clear. [more] |
 reviewed by John Smythe 29 Apr 2012 |
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A curiously uplifting 'entertainment' It's not part of the comedy festival but A Memory, A Monologue, A Rant and A Prayer, written by world-renowned authors and playwrights, and performed by our own actors and politicians, is insightful, true, moving, amusing and only on three times (Sat, Sun, Mon); the maximum allowed for a V-Day Event. [more] |
 reviewed by John Smythe 30 Apr 2012 |
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Proving we live in a resource-rich world for play-making Once more and EnsembleImpact quartet of actors ... is out on the road to introduce Kiwi schoolkids and regional communities to a rich treasure trove of New Zealand play writing ... This year, In Spite of Himself dips into all nine plays that Tim Spite's multi-award-winning SEEyD Theatre Company* has devised and performed since the germinal SEEyD took root in the 2000 Fringe Festival. [more] |
 reviewed by John Smythe 7 May 2012 |
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A rare opportunity, not to be missed Sir Ian reminds us that "All the world's a stage" in opening IAN MCKELLEN ON STAGE – with Shakespeare, Tolkien and you! then goes on to connect his world to ours so closely that his two-hour show feels like a cosy chat, albeit peppered with some delectable renderings of classical texts. He even roves in the foyer during the interval, getting to know us 'up close and personal'. [more] |
 reviewed by John Smythe 9 May 2012 |
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A romp for the initiated The fans who filled Bats for the show's Wellington debut certainly expressed delight but this time I can't help but wonder what someone uninitiated in the idiosyncratic humour of Medlock and Musgrove and/or Sainsbury would make of this. Very little transcends the display of consciously corny comic performance. [more] |
 reviewed by John Smythe 24 May 2012 |
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It’s like a present I cannot open ‘Fourth wall’ theatre is alive and, well, present in a very literal sense, at Bats. Cling film shrouds all four walls of the stage but the one we face is mercifully clear. Within its confines 20 young people … exist. Hermetically sealed, as it were. [more] |
 reviewed by John Smythe 4 Jun 2012 |
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Salutary revival of a frighteningly topical modern classic It is simultaneously impressive and depressing that this play, written 65 years ago about the relationship between war and capitalism, remains so relevant in the context of financial corruption in high places and the USA war machine’s continuing exploits. [more] |
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