 BRAIN POWER at BATS reviewed by John Smythe 22 Feb 2007 |
|
Extraordinary imaginings How splendidly profligate, to gather a cast of eighteen – fifteen on stage, two on video only, one musician aloft – to manifest the feelings and other conceptual drivers that activate the brain of one comatose man ... [more] |
 THIS IS NOT A MEDICAL SATIRE at City Gallery cinema reviewed by John Smythe 23 Feb 2007 |
|
Radical surgery required The title tells us: This Is Not A Medical Satire. Fair enough. So what is it? Actor/playwright Estevez Gillespie has imagined four scenarios involving doctors whose professional practice is warped by formative childhood experiences ... [more] |
 FLEET at BATS reviewed by John Smythe 24 Feb 2007 |
|
Theatre as church Clad in hooded garb with mystical insignia on their tunics, the ensemble of five enter in processional mode, intoning what sounds like a Hebrew chant as they carry a white sheet between them. The lift it, it billows, floats, falls and crumples. They dance … [more] |
 LOST GIRLS at BATS reviewed by John Smythe 25 Feb 2007 |
|
Hard to get hooked Before Patrick Graham’s Lost Girls – directed by Thomas Sainsbury – starts, you have to know that it is about girls who have been abducted and murdered or remain on the missing list. Otherwise the everyday banality of the scenarios played out by three hard working and very capable multi role-playing actresses – Eve Gordon, Kirsty Hamilton, Elizabeth Tierney – is at risk of seeming just that: banal. [more] |
 PORCELAIN GRIN at BATS reviewed by John Smythe 26 Feb 2007 |
|
Visual surprises and delight Shaping up to be a highlight of the Fringe, I sense in my bones that Porcelain Grin will shine when solo performer Brooke Williams gets the pitch of the BATS space. [more] |
 DELIVER US at BATS reviewed by John Smythe 28 Feb 2007 |
|
Rothwell confirmed as world class playwright ‘Comedy of Menace’ meets ‘Gothic Horror’ meets ‘Jacobean Revenge Tragedy’ meets ‘Greek Tragedy’ in Paul Rothwell’s Deliver Us ... As with Golden Boys (2004/06)and Hate Crimes (2005), Rothwell brings the dark heart of middle class New Zealand to light. In this case the focus is on private, hidden and unresolved grief. [more] |
 LIFE'S A DRAG at Paramount reviewed by John Smythe 1 Mar 2007 |
|
A drag all right Life’s a Drag pretty well lives up to its name. The idea’s okay, if unoriginal: pre-recorded onscreen interviews with Brendan Goudswaard and his drag queen alter ego Ellie Kat reveal that she became so star struck she thought she could go it alone – but of course she can’t. [more] |
 A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM at Muritai School Yard, Eastbourne reviewed by John Smythe 1 Mar 2007 |
|
The old make it new again Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, directed by Florence McFarlane, is set in Athena Village, a retirement home. It works surprisingly well, with clues to the interpretation offered in the programme. Sir Jasper Theseus owns the home, his fiancée is Head Nurse Hippolyta and Ms Egeus, from Social Welfare, regards the ‘inmates’ as her possessions. [more] |
 FIGHT OR FLIGHT at BATS reviewed by John Smythe 3 Mar 2007 |
|
Quirky comedy With fear being the major political tool of the century it is essential and inevitable that theatre addresses it. Fight or Flight, devised by Brave Theatre, exploits the theme for character-based physical comedy, through three woman passengers and a male flight attendant on an international flight. [more] |
 THE ORDERLY at BATS reviewed by John Smythe 3 Mar 2007 |
|
Winning characterisations and versatile switches As an exercise in making us realise there is more to most people than meets the eye, or ear, in their daily working lives, The Orderly succeeds. Conversely if you have ever wondered who gets involved in weekend re-enactments of ancient battles – Saxons v Vikings and the like, at an A&P show or similar – this play offers some insight. [more] |
| << Prev | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 | 47 | 48 | 49 | 50 | 51 | 52 | 53 | 54 | 55 | 56 | 57 | 58 | 59 | 60 | 61 | 62 | 63 | 64 | 65 | 66 | 67 | 68 | 69 | 70 | 71 | 72 | 73 | 74 | 75 | 76 | 77 | 78 | 79 | 80 | 81 | 82 | 83 | 84 | 85 | 86 | 87 | 88 | 89 | 90 | 91 | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99 | 100 | 101 | 102 | 103 | 104 | 105 | 106 | 107 | 108 | 109 | 110 | 111 | 112 | 113 | 114 | 115 | 116 | 117 | 118 | 119 | 120 | 121 | 122 | 123 | 124 | 125 | 126 | 127 | 128 | 129 | 130 | 131 | 132 | 133 | 134 | 135 | 136 | 137 | 138 | 139 | 140 | 141 | 142 | 143 | 144 | 145 | 146 | 147 | 148 | 149 | 150 | 151 | 152 | 153 | 154 | 155 | 156 | 157 | 158 | 159 | 160 | 161 | 162 | 163 | 164 | 165 | 166 | 167 | 168 | 169 | 170 | 171 | 172 | 173 | 174 | 175 | 176 | 177 | 178 | 179 | 180 | 181 | 182 | 183 | 184 | 185 | 186 | 187 | 188 | 189 | 190 | 191 | 192 | 193 | 194 | 195 | 196 | 197 | 198 | 199 | 200 | 201 | 202 | 203 | 204 | 205 | 206 | 207 | 208 | 209 | 210 | 211 | 212 | 213 | 214 | 215 | 216 | 217 | 218 | 219 | 220 | 221 | 222 | 223 | 224 | 225 | 226 | 227 | 228 | 229 | 230 | 231 | 232 | 233 | 234 | 235 | 236 | 237 | 238 | 239 | 240 | 241 | 242 | 243 | 244 | 245 | 246 | 247 | 248 | 249 | 250 | 251 | 252 | 253 | 254 | 255 | 256 | 257 | 258 | 259 | 260 | 261 | 262 | 263 | 264 | 265 | 266 | 267 | 268 | 269 | 270 | 271 | 272 | 273 | 274 | 275 | 276 | 277 | 278 | 279 | 280 | 281 | 282 | 283 | 284 | 285 | 286 | 287 | 288 | 289 | 290 | 291 | 292 | 293 | 294 | 295 | 296 | 297 | 298 | 299 | 300 | 301 | 302 | 303 | 304 | 305 | 306 | 307 | 308 | 309 | 310 | 311 | 312 | 313 | 314 | 315 | 316 | 317 | 318 | 319 | 320 | 321 | 322 | 323 | 324 | 325 | 326 | 327 | 328 | 329 | 330 | 331 | 332 | 333 | 334 | 335 | 336 | 337 | 338 | 339 | 340 | 341 | 342 | 343 | 344 | 345 | 346 | 347 | 348 | 349 | 350 | 351 | 352 | 353 | 354 | 355 | 356 | 357 | 358 | 359 | 360 | 361 | 362 | 363 | 364 | 365 | 366 | 367 | 368 | 369 | 370 | 371 | 372 | 373 | 374 | 375 | 376 | 377 | 378 | 379 | 380 | 381 | 382 | 383 | 384 | 385 | 386 | 387 | 388 | 389 | 390 | 391 | 392 | 393 | 394 | 395 | 396 | 397 | 398 | 399 | 400 | 401 | 402 | 403 | 404 | 405 | 406 | 407 | 408 | 409 | 410 | 411 | 412 | 413 | 414 | 415 | 416 | 417 | 418 | 419 | 420 | 421 | 422 | 423 | 424 | 425 | 426 | 427 | 428 | 429 | 430 | 431 | 432 | 433 | 434 | 435 | 436 | 437 | 438 | 439 | 440 | 441 | 442 | 443 | 444 | 445 | 446 | 447 | 448 | 449 | 450 | 451 | 452 | 453 | 454 | 455 | 456 | 457 | 458 | 459 | 460 | 461 | 462 | 463 | 464 | 465 | 466 | 467 | 468 | 469 | 470 | 471 | 472 | 473 | 474 | 475 | 476 | 477 | 478 | 479 | 480 | 481 | 482 | 483 | 484 | 485 | 486 | 487 | 488 | 489 | 490 | 491 | 492 | 493 | 494 | 495 | 496 | 497 | 498 | 499 | 500 | 501 | 502 | 503 | 504 | 505 | 506 | 507 | 508 | 509 | 510 | 511 | 512 | 513 | 514 | 515 | 516 | 517 | 518 | 519 | 520 | 521 | 522 | 523 | 524 | 525 | 526 | 527 | 528 | 529 | 530 | 531 | 532 | 533 | 534 | 535 | 536 | 537 | 538 | 539 | 540 | 541 | 542 | 543 | 544 | 545 | 546 | 547 | 548 | 549 | 550 | 551 | 552 | 553 | 554 | 555 | 556 | 557 | 558 | 559 | 560 | 561 | 562 | 563 | 564 | 565 | 566 | 567 | 568 | 569 | 570 | 571 | 572 | 573 | 574 | 575 | 576 | 577 | 578 | 579 | 580 | 581 | 582 | 583 | 584 | 585 | 586 | 587 | 588 | 589 | 590 | 591 | 592 | 593 | 594 | 595 | 596 | 597 | | Next >> |