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CHALK at BATS
reviewed by John Smythe 24 Aug 2011
Chalk one up to love
“I want my daughter to see this,” a young mother said on her way out. For all the joy Chalk offers those who love to watch versatile young actors create multiple roles with wit and skill, it is confronting the realities of an aging population that has the most profound effect. This play delivers on its purpose. [more]

Photo: Michael Smith
ON THE UPSIDE-DOWN OF THE WORLD at Downstage Theatre
reviewed by John Smythe 25 Aug 2011
Provocative at a very personal level
Sustained applause greeted the Wellington premiere ... After 95-odd minutes of not quite knowing where to place ourselves in relation to a quaintly Victorian yet deeply committed woman’s observations and actions, we are left stimulated and powerfully engaged with its potently relevant themes. [more]

Photo: Vanessa Fowler Kendall
SLOUCHING TOWARD BETHLEHEM at BATS
reviewed by John Smythe 1 Sep 2011
Highly entertaining, insightful and thought-provoking
Using ‘popular people’s theatre’ conventions with flair, 11 actors cover 47 named roles plus umpteen extras, brilliantly integrating tireless ensemble work with concisely defined characters, some of whom recur while others are caught in a glimpse. [more]

SKETCH at BATS
reviewed by John Smythe 8 Sep 2011
Too good an idea not to be a full length play
The quests for engagement, connection, communication – if necessary through confrontation, provocation and/or shock – are ever-present in arts practice, and in life, and so it is with Kate Morris’s Sketch, directed by Eleanor Bishop. [more]

I, GEORGE NEPIA at Circa Two
reviewed by John Smythe 8 Sep 2011
A superbly natural taonga
It takes supreme skill and a quiet confidence to distil this life-story, involving iconic moments of rugby history, down to a 75 minute solo performance, abetted by some equally simple and very effective design elements ... [more]

FALLING SPARROWS HERE OR THERE at Zeal (above Bodega)
reviewed by John Smythe 28 Sep 2011
Deeply simple fun with angst
Sarah Delahunty and her 1st Gear Productions senior troupe have created a dynamic hour of theatre that almost defies description because to put what happens into words will almost inevitably diminish it. But hey, that’s my job so I have to try. [more]

BIG LOVE at Studio 77, VUW
reviewed by John Smythe 5 Oct 2011
Diversity unified in timeless tale
Big Love is a New Zealand production influenced by Asian theatre practice of an American playwright’s relatively comedic reworking of an ancient Greek tragedy which is thought to be the earliest surviving play of the western world. [more]

IPHIGENIA 2.O at Te Whaea - Basement, 11 Hutchison Rd, Newtown
reviewed by John Smythe 3 Feb 2013
Well-wrought production hits many moments of truth
Greek drama pits human fallibility against the ruthlessly absolute rules of the Gods (for which we may substitute the forces of nature in this more scientific age). American writer Charles Mee’s Imperial Dreams trilogy has re-contextualised tragedies by Euripides by way of exposing the nature of modern warfare’s impact on society. [more]

SPACED OUT! at Circa Two
reviewed by John Smythe 10 Oct 2011
A bit too predetermined?
The premise of this Spaced Out Improvisors holiday show is that Captain Bob is rocketing off to some planet or other but his Mother is preparing his birthday party and he’ll be in trouble if he’s not back in time. [more]

THE NZ IMPROV FESTIVAL 2011 at BATS
reviewed by John Smythe 12 Oct 2011
Something of value will always materialise before our very eyes
My spontaneous response to the opening night of this year’s NZ Improv Festival at Bats is that the must-see show, so far, is Rebecca De Unamuno is… OPEN TO SUGGESTION, and there is only one more chance, on Friday 14 October (8pm). More on her una muno ... [more]
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