 GRIMACE at Downstage Theatre reviewed by John Smythe 15 Mar 2011 |
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Well-paced fun fit for the purpose The title bemused me: what has a circus show for children got to do with pulling a face in pain or disgust? In retrospect I can concede Deborah Pope and her Awkward Theatre Company have aced the Grimms (and rolled the Dahl, for that matter). [more] |
 THE WHALE’S TALE at Ilott Green by Capital E (Shed 6 if wet) reviewed by John Smythe 16 Mar 2011 |
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Madness with a purpose The ingenuity of this manifestation must be acknowledged. It spurts water, ups a periscope; its eye – the one we can see – closes, opens and rolls; its huge mouth opens, its tongue lifts; its pectoral fin moves, its tail lifts … It is even able to poop out people! Unseen puppeteer Jamie Bishop does a wonderful job of animating this creature and making us believe. [more] |
 BOATS at Capital E reviewed by John Smythe 16 Mar 2011 |
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Ordinary objects ingeniously used Pitched at ages 4 to 10, according to the brochure, Boats has both adventure and romance, playing as it does with the male sailor’s age-old emotional conflict between his love of the sea and love of a woman. [more] |
 HEAR TO SEE at Opera House reviewed by John Smythe 20 Mar 2011 |
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Presentation tail wags storytelling dog “Amazing visuals,” is the buzz in the foyer after the world premiere of Hear to See. And the music. And the sound. All stunning. The performers, seen and unseen, do a great job too. It’s the story, such as it is, that has people grumbling. [more] |
 UP DOWN BOY at Ilott Theatre reviewed by John Smythe 21 Mar 2011 |
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A quietly powerful performance The title is a play on words relating to the central character’s Down Syndrome. Matty – winningly played by Nathan Bessell – is about to leave home for a college, which in British terms (the production comes from Bristol) means a residential vocational training facility. But he is not exactly helping his mum ... [more] |
 A CURIOUS GAME at Ilott Green by Capital E (70 Cable St if wet) reviewed by John Smythe 22 Mar 2011 |
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Whacky musical squares The concrete floor of 70 Cable Street – the wet-weather venue for this second ‘Born in a Taxi’ contribution to the festival – looks most uninviting but today’s busloads of children don’t seem to care. They buzz in anticipation. [more] |
 2 DIMENSIONAL LIFE OF HER at NZ Portrait Gallery, Shed 11, Queen's Wharf reviewed by John Smythe 22 Mar 2011 |
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Pretentiously obscure or a valid discussion-starter? This work of audio-visual animation, puppetry and performance art is unusually abstract for a children’s festival show. [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 MAN WHO PLANTED TREES at Downstage Theatre reviewed by John Smythe 12 Mar 2013 |
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Abuzz with creative life-force The Man Who Planted Trees is presented in a wonderfully relaxed yet whimsical style and tone. Pitched, according to the Capital E National Arts Festival brochure, at 7-14 year olds, this is a story, play and production that respects its audience and doesn’t play down to them. [more] |
 THE MAGIC CHICKEN at Soundings - Te Papa reviewed by John Smythe 13 Mar 2013 |
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Meticulously timed brilliance The titular chicken, which happens by this restaurant on yet another quiet day, lays golden eggs in good-old folk-tale fashion. But when a customer turns up, and Chicken is there on the menu and that’s what he chooses, what are the Chefs supposed to do? [more] |
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