 reviewed by Richard Mays 13 Mar 2012 |
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Gut-wrenching tour of duty Twenty years on and this play still packs a mighty wallop. And what a privilege it is to be walloped. Direct from the New Zealand International Arts Festival 2012 in Wellington, Michael James Manaia carries the searing clout of a napalm drop. [more] |
 reviewed by Aidan-B. Howard 13 Mar 2012 |
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Short on dynamics if you know your Williams In short, the cast needs to push the differences and absurdities of interrelationships more, but they seem to hold back and give us a ‘nicer’ storyline. [more] |
 reviewed by Brenda Rae Kidd 13 Mar 2012 |
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An exhilarating ensemble to watch For twenty minutes I am not sitting in Founders Theatre, Hamilton - awestruck - rather in a rehearsal studio, somewhere, New York. Final Dress is a game-changer. The stage is stripped right back to the skeleton, giving the audience a peep into territory usually reserved for cast and crew. Boundaries are challenged, reversing the spectator-spectated construct. Very brave stuff as traditionalists may consider this distracting. [more] |
 reviewed by Aidan-B. Howard 12 Mar 2012 |
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Adventurous eloquence and eeriness It is difficult to consider a piece which is fifty minutes of cello playing with visuals projected on three areas around the cellist to be ‘theatre’ in its traditional sense. However, when we consider that an instrument well played has character and personality and music well organised has a storyline, we do find many of the elements of theatre. [more] |
 reviewed by Janet McAllister (New Zealand Herald) 12 Mar 2012 |
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Pinter’s Party a refreshing outing At first glance, the John Parker set for this excellent (potent pause) production looks merely 1950s realist. However - fittingly for a Harold Pinter play - not all is as it seems: the lamps suspended over the action are shaped like hand grenades. [more] |
 reviewed by Ryan Brown-Haysom (Salient) 12 Mar 2012 |
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Sight gags, flair for words and genuine human warmth But how to describe him? Gonzo pundit? Cod philosopher? Idiot-savant? Perhaps it’s sufficient to say that Richard Meros is one of the most intelligent and entertaining figures in the often-underwhelming world of home-grown New Zealand satire. [more] |
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reviewed by Laurie Atkinson (The Dominion Post) 12 Mar 2012 |
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Always clever and beautifully produced visual commentary A large screen, a couple rocks of schist and some tussock are the simple set. The projections are even better than when Richard Meros lectured us on wanting to be Helen Clarke’s lover; they are an often bitingly witty and an always clever and beautifully produced visual commentary on contemporaryNew Zealand. [more] |
 reviewed by Laurie Atkinson (The Dominion Post) 12 Mar 2012 |
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Images that linger Long after I have forgotten all about what happened in a play I will often retain a particular image from it; with A Play about Love it will be jam jars. [more] |
 SPACE BITCHES at BATS reviewed by Ryan Brown-Haysom (Salient) 12 Mar 2012 |
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A farce wearing its heart on its sleeve By the time this review reaches your grubby wee hands, the Fringe Festival – a rare opportunity to see up-and-coming talent treading the boards, producing weird, off-beat, and fabulously fun theatre – will already be over. Which is a shame, because if you didn’t see Space Bitches you missed a treat. [more] |
 reviewed by Richard Mays 10 Mar 2012 |
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Wonderfully fluent 'Ado' makes a real splash Palmerston North’s Victoria Esplanade Rose Gardens fishpond doesn’t just provide a pretty setting for this 10th anniversary production of the current Summer Shakespeare cycle, it’s an intrinsic part of the action. It’s swum in, waded across, bathed in, floated upon and very nearly pissed in, while ‘wet hugs’ from fully clothed dowsed characters add to the comedy. [more] |
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