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TREASURE ISLAND at TAPAC Theatre, Western Springs
reviewed by Sian Robertson 10 Jul 2009
An authentic swashbuckling adventure
A noisy, rascally pantomime, this production covers all the mandatory panto traditions (song, dance, cross-dressing, subtle sexual innuendo for the mums and dads, modern political/pop-culture commentary, animal costumes, audience involvement) ... [more]

Photo: Michael Smith
GOD OF CARNAGE at Maidment
reviewed by Sian Robertson 27 Jul 2009
Tulips, vomit and insults fly
Two couples meet to discuss a scrap between their two sons, which resulted in some broken teeth. Middle-class bohemians Veronique and Michel Vallon have invited Alain (a lawyer) and Annette Reilles (in ‘wealth management’) to their home to try and resolve the issue in an enlightened manner. Cracks soon start to show ... [more]

DINNER PARTY MONEY at Wallace Trust Gallery, 305 Queen Street
reviewed by Sian Robertson 12 Aug 2009
Interesting scenario lacks chemistry
Dinner Party Money is a callous study of people using each other for their own social and material ends. Winnie (Helen Burns) is a wealthy middle-aged patron of young, struggling (mostly gay male) artists. She invites a poet, a fashion designer and a painter to dinner, and tries to play them off against each other. [more]

JACK AND THE BEANSTALK at Bruce Mason Centre
reviewed by Sian Robertson 29 Sep 2009
Two thumbs up for embellished traditional story
This production of Jack and the Beanstalk is a silly, vibrant, larger-than-life fairytale romp ... Jack’s main preoccupation is telling jokes, in fact his greatest aspiration is to be funny. He tells jokes frequently throughout the show – awful, predictable jokes, most of which delight the children. [more]

THE AWKWARD MONOLOGUES at Te Karanga Gallery
reviewed by Sian Robertson 22 Feb 2010
Collectively offensive, laugh-out loud funny, voyeuristically embarrassing and sometimes uncomfortably intimate
A series of ten-minute monologues, on the theme of awkwardness, showcases the work of seven mostly-new writers. For some it’s their theatre-writing debut. Many of them have a background in other writing fields, such as journalism or film. [more]

THE SINFUL MONOLOGUES at Te Karanga Gallery
reviewed by Sian Robertson 26 May 2010
Bitterly, laugh-out-loud funny
The format is the same as for The Awkward Monologues, which showed at Te Karanga Gallery in February this year: seven ten-minute pieces by seven different writers, played by seven actors. These monologues are an evolutionary step in a very good direction. [more]

SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET at Maidment
reviewed by Sian Robertson 6 Jun 2010
Vividly interpreted commentary on the grimness of life in Victorian London
My expectations of Peach Theatre Company’s production of Stephen Sondheim’s acclaimed musical thriller were based on having seen the Tim Burton film, which I didn’t like. What it lacked that this production has, is a Sweeney Todd you can sympathise with. [more]

TAPE at The Wine Cellar, St Kevins Arcade (K Rd)
reviewed by Sian Robertson 9 Jun 2010
Gritty and witty psychological roller coaster
The Wine Cellar, with its scruffy intimacy and comfy couches, is the perfect venue for a play that takes place entirely in a trashed hostel room. We get up close and personal with three high school friends as events bring them together into a fraught and joyless reunion ten years on. [more]

TALK at Musgrove Studio, Maidment Theatre
reviewed by Sian Robertson 24 Jul 2010
Wincingly funny portrayal of blatant self-interest and petty-mindedness
Talk is a sadistically smooth satire of the interwoven lives of nine characters and they way they communicate ... Talk is the theme of the play – how words shape the world and the interactions that make up our lives. [more]

THOM PAIN (BASED ON NOTHING) at Herald Theatre, Aotea Centre, The Edge
reviewed by Sian Robertson 26 Sep 2010
Ennui and bitterness with brilliant linguistic moments
Thom Pain walks onto the stage and tries, unsuccessfully, to light a cigarette in the dark. He reads us something – in the dark. He discusses our collective human plight and whether the lights are likely to come on. He talks to us as though we’re in a therapy session. At times he’s mundane, at times profound ... [more]
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