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AVENUE Q at Fortune Theatre
reviewed by Terry MacTavish 22 Aug 2011
Potty-mouthed hilarity with immense charm
At last, a New Zealand production of the hit musical that is a riotous, giggle-till-you-wet-your-knickers adult send-up of Sesame Street. All who grew up with Sesame Street’s sing-along tunes and easily absorbed life-lessons, innocently accepting furry monsters as one of the many races that make up New York, are sure to relish this cutely subversive parody. [more]

New Zealand International Comedy Festival 2010
AVENUE Q at The Civic – THE EDGE®
reviewed by Paul Simei-Barton (New Zealand Herald) 17 May 2010
Cute glove puppets hold nothing back
Opening with the eternal question – ‘what do you do with a BA in English?’ – Avenue Q dispenses a bright and breezy antidote to the pressures of life in the big city. [more]

Photo: Michael Smith
AWATEA at Maidment
reviewed by John Smythe 22 Jul 2012
Rare opportunity to see great Kiwi classic enhanced by innovations
Given opening night’s standing ovation, a waiata of appreciation (the Nagti Porou song ‘Paikea’) led by East Coasters in the audience, and a Maidment foyer alive with visceral post-show appreciation, the most important thing to say is “Go!” [more]

Photo: Michael Smith
AWATEA at Maidment
reviewed by Paul Simei-Barton (New Zealand Herald) 23 Jul 2012
Mason’s work still relevant in superb retelling
Committed cast delivers moving piece on deception in rural Maori community ATC has stumbled on to a winner with its lovingly crafted revivals of Bruce Mason's seldom-staged studies of rural Maori communities of the 50s and 60s. [more]

Photo: Michael Smith
AWATEA at Maidment
reviewed by Sharu Delilkan (Theatre Scenes - Auckland Theatre Blog) 22 Jul 2012
Awatea Shines Brightly
You knew the writing was on the wall the minute you walked into the theatre. I’m of course referring to the beautifully chalked letters that 'panoramically' filled the backdrop of the entire stage. So dramatic, intriguing and utterly effective was this device ... [more]

Hamilton Gardens Arts Festival 2011
AWAY at Camellia Lawn, Gate 2, Hamilton Gardens
reviewed by Gail Pittaway 1 Mar 2011
From realism into magic and back again
... Michael Gow’s play, on the surface, is simply about getting away, in itself a theme ripe for comedy, as road movies and holiday sketches will attest. But this Shakespearean prologue and the later epilogue from King Lear signal greater levels of meaning to be revealed. [more]

AWHI TAPU at Downstage Theatre
reviewed by John Smythe 16 Jul 2011
A subtly subversive confrontation
The first impression is that we are gathering in a rural shed in the back of beyond for a bit of a singalong. As we arrive the bros and one sista are trotting out some old standards with a guitar and bongo drum ... Hey, what else is there to do in this town? [more]

AWHI TAPU at Downstage Theatre
reviewed by Laurie Atkinson (The Dominion Post) 18 Jul 2011
Truly remarkable revival
When Awhi Tapu was first presented at Circa 2 eight years ago it was given a simple production with a symbolic misty setting representing both the thriving but troubled past and the bleak present of the dying small mill town, Awhi Tapu (pop. 200), in the Ureweras. [more]

AWHI TAPU at TAPAC Theatre, Western Springs
reviewed by Nik Smythe 23 Jun 2011
Considerable emotional impact
The doors open and the audience is invited in warmly by the playful beany-clad Sonny (Tola Newbery), instantly creating a sense that we are a part of this community. The impression is enhanced as the cast of three male and one female young adults wail out classic standards to a nylon string guitar while the patrons duly seat themselves. [more]

AWHI TAPU at Centrepoint
reviewed by John Ross 31 Aug 2009
Challenging, daring and warmly recommended
Awhi Tapu, once a thriving Urewera timber-milling village and Maori community, has been fading away, so we’re told, ever since the mill was shut down. Still, the characters here have been so strongly held by their pasts within it that this ghostly fixation does much to dictate their imperatives in the present and visions of a desirable future. [more]
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