 reviewed by John Smythe 3 Apr 2011 |
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A mesmerising ‘train wreck’ of epic and comic proportions It is fascinating be in a theatre foyer alive with the smiling, excited faces of an audience who have just witnessed – over three-and-a-half hours (including 2 intervals) – the inexorable decimation of the Weston family. [more] |
 reviewed by John Smythe 13 Apr 2011 |
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True heart obliterated by a buffeting storm of over-acting The central relationship, between honeymooners Samantha and William – played by Sophie Henderson and Curtis Vowel, who also co-wrote I Heart Camping – is beautifully nuanced to let pinpricks of doubt escape from the airbed of their newly-wed love. [more] |
 reviewed by John Smythe 14 Apr 2011 |
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Funny, poignant, insightful, educational and musical Ah, the efficacy of telling your own story in your own voice; of distilling personal experience to an essence that humans recognise! It’s the authenticity that makes it such a valued gift on so many levels. If that sounds a bit earnest, rest assured Paul Barrett’s Tic Tic is not. [more] |
 reviewed by John Smythe 16 Apr 2011 |
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Yet another winner Fourteen years ago Alannah O’Sullivan’s adaptation of Spike Milligan’s Badjelly the Witch launched KidzStuff Theatre for Children. Now it is resurrected in a new production dedicated to co-founder Lewis Rowe, who died last year. [more] |
 reviewed by John Smythe 20 Apr 2011 |
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Couldn’t see the play for the Acting As produced here, it’s hard to see the purpose of the play beyond its being a vehicle for a high-energy performance, lots of it very camp, most of it very loud. It’s all great fun and wonderfully surreal but that doesn’t mean the complexities of human psychology and emotional behaviour cannot be explored ... [more] |
 reviewed by John Smythe 27 Apr 2011 |
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Plenty to ponder Given Long Cloud Youth Theatre has established its brand in its first three years with some fairly torrid fare,* The Book of Everything rates as one of the more subtle explorations into the darker side of human existence. [more] |
 reviewed by John Smythe 29 Apr 2011 |
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Random displays of acting When Toi Whakaari: NZ Drama School third year students develop their 20-minute solos, the major objective of the exercise is to showcase their acting skills. But when that piece is expanded into a one hour play the actor needs to be serving something beyond a display of talent. [more] |
 reviewed by John Smythe 4 May 2011 |
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If this is the answer, what was the question? There is no programme as such but the promo flyer promises “New style, interactive theatre which revolutionises the audience experience.” Does it deliver on that promise? No. It’s an extended revue sketch. [more] |
 reviewed by John Smythe 6 May 2011 |
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Dramatically structured, dynamically paced, sublime musical interludes This ‘gang of seven’ is on the cusp of adulthood and manhood, finishing high school, facing adult responsibilities – or not – and reverting to juvenile status games and playfulness as a defence mechanism, which makes for comedy with an edge of threat. [more] |
 reviewed by John Smythe 15 May 2011 |
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Potent and provocative play well placed in election year Somewhere in the middle of nowhere a skeletal house, stripped for renovations, is occupied by a brother and sister – Leon and Juliet – and their younger boarder, Ian. Leon, who obsessively digs holes instead of completing the renovations, is childish in his supposedly playful malevolence towards Ian. Ian is childish in his idealistic love for all living creatures ... [more] |
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