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Christchurch Arts Festival 2011
HE REO AROHA at Old Boy’s Theatre, Christ’s College
reviewed by Alan Scott (The Press) 20 Aug 2011
A magical piece of theatre
He Reo Aroha is one of those magical pieces of theatre where, out of nothing but a bare stage, a couple of chairs and two guitars, the actors create a whole world of love, heartache and laughter, of regret, forgiveness and hope. [more]

GLORIOUS at BATS
reviewed by Laurie Atkinson (The Dominion Post) 19 Aug 2011
When comedy turns screwball
Glorious is a strange hybrid. It’s a faux 1930s comedy of manners, a screwball comedy and a love letter to movie stars like Katherine Hepburn and James Stewart who appeared most famously in Philip Barry’s The Philadelphia Story. It is also the first attempt as far as I know at a screwball comedy by a New Zealand playwright. [more]

REASONS TO BE PRETTY at The Basement, Lower Greys Ave
reviewed by Stephen Austin 18 Aug 2011
Characters well realised
Neil LaBute’s writing always puts me in mind of a younger fresher David Mamet, taking everyday conversations of urbane well-read blue-collar types and snatches of overheard everyday dialogue and imbuing them with huge significance and piquancy while keeping them as truly intimate as they might have been when first discovered. [more]

6 LITTLE PLAYS 4 CHRISTCHURCH at BATS
reviewed by John Smythe 18 Aug 2011
Not a hard ask; a pleasure, in fact
A critic asked to review a show that�s been made to raise funds for a deserving cause is confronted with a moral dilemma: What if it�s awful /offensive /disgraceful /a waste of everyone�s time? Who am I hurting if I discourage people from going? [more]

GLORIOUS at BATS
reviewed by John Smythe 17 Aug 2011
“More matter with less art”
“Love,” Jimmy the waiter tells Gloria, the glamorous daughter of the rich lawyer who has hired him to serve at his party, “is over-rated.” And marriage is "meaningless.” The lives of her and her kind, he opines, are "pointless". And so is this play. [more]

THE FACTORY – A PACIFIC MUSICAL at Mangere Arts Centre
reviewed by Nik Smythe 15 Aug 2011
The Great Niu Sila Musical ?
Some time ago an industry friend pointed out to me that the definitive Great Kiwi Musical was yet to be written (despite numerous attempts) and that whoever manages it will have a goldmine on their hands. Since then I’ve kept my eye out for it. Of course it largely depends on what the agreed criteria to earn such a title might be ... [more]

THE FACTORY – A PACIFIC MUSICAL at Mangere Arts Centre
reviewed by Paul Simei-Barton (New Zealand Herald) 15 Aug 2011
Emotional Journey hits high notes
It was a big night in South Auckland – while David Tua was seeking redemption in his battle with Monte Barrett, the Kila Kokonut Krew delivered a knockout blow with the opening of a musical celebrating the joys and disappointments of the Pacific Island immigrant experience. [more]

Photo: Michael Smith
CALENDAR GIRLS at Civic Theatre
reviewed by Paul Simei-Barton (New Zealand Herald) 15 Aug 2011
One to mark on your calendar
Superb cast have great fun breathing life into their sharply drawn characters The Auckland Theatre Company should be fairly confident it has hit on a winner with a production that might be described as Coronation Street meets The Girls of the Playboy Mansion. [more]

THE GRUFFALO at Bruce Mason Centre
reviewed by Lexie Matheson 14 Aug 2011
Your kids will have a blast
The dilemma for anyone staging such a well-known story, particularly one with such evocative illustrations, is to fulfil the expectations of an audience deeply entrenched in the lyricism of the text and the extraordinary imagery of the book. Either that or they must enable us to suspend our disbelief and simply accept what is being presented for what it is. [more]

Photo: Michael Smith
CALENDAR GIRLS at Civic Theatre
reviewed by Candice Lewis 13 Aug 2011
A nice play with a soothing effect
The audience are lapping it up, and the couple on my right are laughing in all the right places. A subject that could have been milked for misery is treated with a light yet respectful touch, and there are moments when my mum and I do get tears in our eyes ... [more]
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