 THE BALLAD OF PONDLIFE MCGURK at Bruce Mason Centre reviewed by Lexie Matheson 10 Mar 2013 |
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An unforgettable journey The Ballad of Pondlife McGurk is the sort of name you’d like to have made up, too. It has an air of something schoolyardy about it; something a bit smelly, a bit confrontational; something us oldies might consider a bit Richmal Crompton. [more] |
 HUMMINGBIRD at The Basement, Lower Greys Ave reviewed by Lexie Matheson 10 Mar 2013 |
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A brittle chamber work of genuine maturity It’s a chamber work, a work of enormous delicacy and made by people who, it seems, know exactly what they’re doing. The subject matter is equally fragile. It’s about surviving loss and don’t we all know how close to the edge we get in situations like this, how unprepared we are for someone’s passing, how our behaviour must sometimes seem bizarre to others while we can’t see the problem for ourselves. [more] |
 MY BOYFRIEND GOT A BEATLE HAIRCUT at BATS - Out Of Site - Cnr Cuba & Dixon reviewed by John Smythe 10 Mar 2013 |
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Insightful edification A brief clip of Debbie Reynolds singing the theme song in Tammy establishes the influence of Hollywood musicals but it’s photos of John Lennon and Paul McCartney, and their manifestation from the clothes rack as Rochelle’s mentors that give us access to “goody two-shoes” Rochelle’s aspirations. [more] |
 THE MAN WHO PLANTED TREES at Concert Chamber - Town Hall, THE EDGE reviewed by Lexie Matheson 10 Mar 2013 |
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Blunt messages and delicious silliness The narrator takes us into some interesting metaphysical areas as he realises that the shepherd isn’t engaged in his project simply for personal pleasure but has a far greater plan and the belief that, whenever you take on a life changing project, there will always be a line-up of people finding reasons why you can’t do it. [more] |
 GIZZA HOON at BATS - Out Of Site - Cnr Cuba & Dixon reviewed by Virginia Kennard 10 Mar 2013 |
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A night out on the town As it is the premiere of the work and at the Fringe, I assume this was a work in progress, with material having been set aside for now in order to round out the point of this piece. Certainly there is a glimpse of irony from Melissa Phillips’ angsting heartbroken character as her friends ineffectually rally to make her feel better. Her compelling stage presence and the physical energy of Gina Andrews and cool factor of Amber Kimble (despite her manic grinning or because of?) are noteworthy. As are the amazing legs of all performers, if my neighbour’s responses were anything to go by. [more] |
 RHINOCEROS IN LOVE at Maidment reviewed by Nik Smythe 10 Mar 2013 |
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Cerebral, impassioned, increasingly visual Zhang Wu’s distinctively avant-garde set design is a felicitous platform for accomplished Mandarin playwright Liao Yimei’s first script, written in 1999, now a cult classic. Her script is at first very wordy with mainly static visual elements such as leading love-interest/monomaniacal obsession Ming Ming as she first appears, seated and blindfolded, as protagonist Ma Lu, an earnest and sensitive Rhinoceros keeper at the local zoo, imparts a verbose diatribe of passionate declarations and cerebral philosophising. [more] |
 reviewed by Lindsay Clark 10 Mar 2013 |
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Ordinary folk recall that extraordinary day This collection of quake stories, as told by survivors, may seem a particularly appropriate confirmation that the new Forge, The Court's studio theatre, is back in the business of bringing us new work, especially from New Zealand writers. Without the event, The Forge would probably be wedged in its Arts Centre corner still. [more] |
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TONGAN MORRIS MEN at Musgrove Studio, Maidment Theatre reviewed by Tania Kopytko 9 Mar 2013 |
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A wonderful and funny journey The story was a wildly unbelievable ruse which created the juxtapositions for all this exploration and a wonderfully funny but at times poignant tale. Morris dance needed a “Jonah Lomu” to survive: an English teacher and Morris dance master, Mr Stalk, was sent to New Zealand to find one. The students of St Bernard’s year 13 decided to complete NCEA by taking an easy dance paper, but to their horror found that the usual teacher had been replaced by the Morris dance master. [more] |
 SKY DANCER at Town Hall reviewed by John Smythe 9 Mar 2013 |
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Keeping the story secret … Why? The programme’s “Kia ora” message from Stephen Blackburn, Creative Producer with Capital E National Theatre for Young People, includes this: “The gestation of this project goes back five years to when the then Education Manager at the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and I, discussed over a coffee the idea of creating an orchestral piece that might supplant works such as Peter and the Wolf in the repertoire for New Zealand orchestras to introduce young audiences to the magic that is orchestral music.” [more] |
 THE GUILT SNIFFER at The Basement, Lower Greys Ave reviewed by Glen Pickering 9 Mar 2013 |
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Enjoyable silliness Mark Prebble and Marion Short have written a witty and wonderfully ridiculous script that plays on all the Detective drama stereotypes and pokes fun at Police clairvoyant reality TV shows. It has all the usual characters, is full of puns, one-liners and never takes itself too seriously. [more] |
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