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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]

PLAY ME DEADLY! at The Basement, Lower Greys Ave
reviewed by Stephen Austin 2 Mar 2012
Fun for the actors
It can always be tricky making something intentionally 'bad'. Somewhere between the script and the production itself, a fine line needs to be worked between the truth of the characters and the ridiculousness of the shoddy production values. [more]

THE BRAVE at Q, 305 Queen St
reviewed by Stephen Austin 21 Apr 2012
Direct, passionate bravery
Massive Company are a professional group of deviser/performers who take a personal stance to their work. They are asked to truly bring themselves to the process, and ultimately the performance, to enrich, enliven and entertain with vast amounts of truth, raw visceral movement and deep powerful articulation of the personal to explore universals. [more]

LENNY HENRY: CRADLE TO RAVE at ASB Theatre, Aotea Centre
reviewed by Stephen Austin 25 Jun 2012
Faultless showmanship keeps audience immensely amused
Lenny Henry, by now, is a household name to anybody who keeps even mildly up-to-date on their popular comedians. We’ve seen him play countless roles in myriad personas, from chefs to (more recently) Shakespearean twins. Although he has played a few musically inclined characters in his TV shows (Delbert Wilkins, anyone?), what has been little known for a long time is that before he started down the path he is now on, he had high aspirations to actually be a musician, but ... [more]

BIG MOUTHS at The Basement Studio, Lower Greys Ave
reviewed by Stephen Austin 10 Oct 2012
Strong characters could go further
I’ll keep this brief, since that seems to be the order of business for this company. Two solo works, by Toi Whakaari graduates Phoebe Hurst and Emma Fenton. [more]

BATTLE OF THE BASTARDS at The Basement, Lower Greys Ave
reviewed by Stephen Austin 28 Apr 2013
Full-on physicality illuminates the fascinating world of words
Ladderman’s style is affable and warm, and he welcomes us with some of his characteristic fast-paced patter and juggling moves before launching us headlong into an hour-long Cliff Notes version of the world of the masculine heart of The Bard’s most tragically political writings. [more]

SPOONFACE STEINBERG at The Forge at The Court Theatre
reviewed by Melissa Miles 21 Jun 2006
Exquistely crafted writing
Spooonface Steinberg by Lee Hall, performed at Court Two in Christchurch last month, was all that its hyperbole heralded it to be – uplifting, funny, and moving: a triumph for the A Different Light Theatre Trust. [more]

PLENTY at Silo Theatre
reviewed by Nik Smythe 27 Jun 2006
Elegant fading of Empire
One of the advantages of opening with the last scene in the story ... is that we have an opportunity to deconstruct the ensuing tale told in flashback. [more]

A NIGHT OF FRENCH MAYHEM at Herald Theatre, Aotea Centre, The Edge
reviewed by Nik Smythe 10 Jul 2006
Classical France meets present-day Auckland in Gall-fest
As a concept it is fairly ambitious and the Rebel Alliance works hard in the face of its main problem: the risk that the work itself may become the very pretentious crime it seeks to avenge. [more]

MILO'S WAKE at Dog's Bollix Irish Pub
reviewed by Nik Smythe 25 Jul 2006
'Corpse' generates mirth and exhumes demons
If you don’t normally read play reviews, maybe find them over wordy and a bit of a wank, then perhaps you won’t read all of this. But do go and see Milo’s Wake, you’ll love it. [more]

See also reviews by:
 Terry MacTavish
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