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THE THIRTY NINE STEPS at Centrepoint
reviewed by John Ross 12 Sep 2011
Thriller comedy balance enjoyably achieved
It’s mid-1914, with war seeming increasingly likely – but will Britain be absolutely dragged ‘into the abyss’? Will the gallant Richard Hannay and his ally the elegant Mrs Urquhart thwart a fiendishly ingenious conspiracy devised by some dreaded Huns, to bring that about? You might well ask. [more]

HITS OF 83 at Centrepoint
reviewed by John Ross 6 Nov 2011
Ingenious production of thin plotlines
If you just love song-and-dance shows, you’ll love this one. So long as the songs, the singing and the routines are good enough, it’ll be a box of fluffies. [more]

Photo: Te Rawhitiroa Bosch
MICHAEL JAMES MANAIA at Centrepoint
reviewed by John Ross 16 Mar 2012
A performance of huge variety, subtlety, inventiveness and energy
Portraying one Maori man’s life, this is also an exposure of the horrific impacts of warfare upon the lives of those involved in the on-the-ground fighting, whereby even the men who come home alive and without visible wound-injuries are all-too-often damaged for the rest of their lives. [more]

ENLIGHTENMENT at Centrepoint
reviewed by John Ross 11 Jun 2012
Fluctuating emotional dynamics in high quality production of a seriously good play
We clearly have a visceral desire for answers, yet abiding questions are far more fascinating. One has to admire a playwright with the courage to resist the tempting expectation to provide a tidy story, with a denouement, a closure, which are denied here to the audience just as they are to the central characters. [more]

THE TEMPEST at Te Marae O Hine, The Square
reviewed by John Ross 5 Mar 2013
Playful use of Steampunk
How does this highly challenging play come across, when mounted outdoors, in three separate venues, within our city’s Square? With all actors using headset mikes? With much of the cast costumed in Steampunk-style mock-Victorian garb? With the central character Prospero rendered as female ... [more]

MANAWA at Centrepoint
reviewed by John Ross 7 Mar 2013
Striking contrasts
This is outstandingly Jamie McCaskill’s play. Not only did he write it but he delivers an electric performance in the lead role of the young career gaol-bird Jimmy King, as well as doing bit parts. [more]

Photo: Stephen A'Court
KYLIÁN: NEW ZEALAND SCHOOL OF DANCE GRADUATION SEASON, PROGRAMME 1 at Te Whaea National Dance and Drama Centre, 11 Hutchison Rd, Newtown
reviewed by Jan Bolwell 24 Nov 2010
Dancing with integrity, flair and artistry
In the past Kylián choreographies have appeared in the school’s graduation season alongside a variety of other classical and contemporary works. Here at last is an opportunity for the audience to immerse themselves in the aesthetic of one of the world’s finest dance makers. [more]

If Marilyn can read it all the way through ....
BLOOMSDAY! at Thirsty Dog Tavern, Corner Howe St & Karangahape Rd
reviewed by Dean Parker 17 Jun 2012
McGlone and Henare bloom midst the hookers
“With winter upon us, many of you we know have been wondering—what are the compensations for living in New Zealand? We’re at the bottom of the world, we’re as far away from every interesting place as possible, it costs us a fortune to go anywhere, we have the highest cost of living in the universe, we have wages so low we can compete with China, we have public holidays so pitifully few that other countries have to embark on austerity programmes to get down to our level ..." [more]

STRANGE RESTING PLACES at Auckland Museum
reviewed by Kathryn van Beek 18 Mar 2007
Motley crew of sweet characters
If only all plays began with an Italian man handing out free cups of freshly brewed espresso! In this play about culture there is no shortage of Maori and Italian hospitality, from the offerings of food and music to the poignant insights we are given into the lives of the characters. [more]

STRANGE RESTING PLACES at Christchurch Art Gallery, Te Puna o Waiwhetu
reviewed by Lindsay Clark 29 Jul 2007
Music and charm carry the day
It begins with song and black Italian coffee for those in the front row. Well, you share the coffee because of course it is war time and such things are scarce. The performing space is like a makeshift camp temporarily, before the story gathers momentum and it becomes whatever the moment requires ... [more]
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