Aotearoa New Zealand professional theatre & dance: reviews, news and your views.
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The Fox
Wellington
09/07/2025 - 19/07/2025
"Works best in the interplay between the three characters together..
The Tantrum
Wellington
02/05/2023 - 05/07/2025
"Compelling and delightfully entertaining for all ages..
"The little people in the audience were enthralled..
The Ballad of Briar Grant
Wellington, Auckland, Palmerston North, Hastings, Christchurch
08/07/2025 - 09/08/2025
"Rich territory, skilled acting, killer quips..
Quiet Rituals
Wellington
01/07/2025 - 01/07/2025
"Cathartic and celebratory, yet deeply reflective all at once...
"Solos from brave physical dancers...
The Sound Inside
Wellington
05/07/2025 - 02/08/2025
"During and after this entrancing play, we empathise, enquire and muse..
Outliers
Wellington
05/07/2025 - 05/07/2025
"Dipping into the cosmic vastness of improvisatory space...
Get Your Sandwich Out Of My Inbox
Wellington
04/07/2025 - 04/07/2025
"Dynamic, humorous dancing of dystopian and wild workplace...
Koolish Zein
Wellington
02/07/2025 - 03/07/2025
"Forging vibrant collaborations and captivating performances...
The Heidi & Sean Show
Wellington
28/06/2025 - 04/07/2025
"Playful and immersive – builds to a real sense of awe and exhilaration..
The Shedding of Velvet
Wellington
02/07/2025 - 03/07/2025
"The power of performance, light and sound in an intimate, unconventional and absorbing dance solo of multiple creatures...
La bohème
Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch
29/05/2025 - 06/07/2025
"A visual feast and excellent performances...
"An opera of relevance to modern to NZ..
More reviews
All The Things I Wish I Could Be
Wellington
01/07/2025 - 12/07/2025
"Joyful, funny, fast-paced, full of heart..
Thin Paper, Autonomous Synapses, Nomads, Tokyo(ing)
Auckland, Wellington
19/10/2024 - 01/07/2025
"The entrancing universe of Yamasaki and Footnote creating a hypnotic and extraordinary dance piece...
"Poetically sums up the core question driving this work: how do we become who we are?..
The SpongeBob Musical: Youth Edition
Christchurch
01/07/2025 - 13/07/2025
"Talented cast and crew never put a foot wrong in standout production...
Mr and Mrs Macbeth of Moonshine Valley Road
Palmerston North
28/06/2025 - 20/07/2025
"Dial ‘M’ for magnificent mumming, mirth, marital mayhem and the Scottish Play..
Taniwha
Auckland
26/06/2025 - 13/07/2025
"Bold, of international festival standard, lush in its creative offering..
The Home Inside
Wellington
26/06/2025 - 05/07/2025
"Fantastic craft in delivering a story of big emotions and building resilience..
Black Faggot
Christchurch, Auckland
17/05/2025 - 29/06/2025
"Jake Tupu and Gideon T. Smith shine in Victor Rodger's gay classic. Highly recommended...
"Often-silenced voices and stories given centre-stage..
Saint Joan
Auckland
25/06/2025 - 05/07/2025
"A cracker of a production, relevant and interesting, with many contemporary messages..
Wannabe Academy
Wellington
24/06/2025 - 25/06/2025
"Has the audience engaged and laughing the entire time..
SURVIVE
Auckland
24/06/2025 - 28/06/2025
"From Tapa Cloth to Power Ballads: a theatrical triumph putting queer Māori and Pacific stories centre stage...
Pele - Goddess of Fire
Auckland
02/12/2023 - 19/06/2025
"A spectacular dedication to Hula through strong, fluid, soft and fiery performances...
"Spiritual essence, ancestral stories..
END OF SUMMER TIME
Christchurch
21/06/2025 - 16/08/2025
"Engaging performance delivers both the laughter and deeper feelings of 'golden years' transitions...
End of Summer Time
Auckland
17/06/2025 - 05/07/2025
"Enthusiastic applause for Grainger's masterful performance, for Sir Roger, and director Quigan..
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Headlines
Tuesday July 8, 2025
Moe mai rā Tim Bray QSM
Moe mai rā Tim Bray QSM By Richard Hills > Birkenhead and Northcote Community Even though we knew he was unwell it is still such shocking news that Tim Bray QSM has died, far too young, at the age of 61. The North Shore community, the arts community and the wider Auckland community mourn the loss of a true creative hero, someone who dedicated most of his life to others and was so successful at it too.
Tuesday July 8, 2025
Moe mai rā, Rodney Bane
"Rodney Bane was a stalwart of the Wellington theatre community who will be sorely missed. BATS owes Rodney and David Austin eternal gratitude for forming BATS Theatre and keeping it alive for ten years before the current establishment took over. They had a vision of making theatre more accessible for emerging artists and providing a platform for practitioners to experiment and build their careers. A vision which is still at the heart of the BATS Kaupapa."
Deadlines
Saturday June 14, 2025
Performance Arcade 2026
Performance Arcade 2026 is coming, get involved! The Performance Arcade returns to Wellington Waterfront from 19 February to 1 March 2026 with a new programme of performance, live art, and music. In the meantime we are working at assembling our lineup of artists and musicians, as well as the team to make it all work. If you are interested in being involved, then please consider these opportunities below.
Wednesday May 28, 2025
THEATREMAKERS AWARD
Have you made a show for a recent fringe festival and want to keep going with it? Built a story from the ground up with mates? Want to road-test some new ideas for the 2.0 version of your newly fabricated devised tour de force?
Views & Q's
Saturday June 21, 2025
Comment posted to review of END OF SUMMERTIME in Auckland
John Smythe June 21st, 2025 With Dicke sharing his experience as a newcomer to Auckland, I don't think audiences outside Auckland will have any problem inderstanding tha pay. They certainly didn't in Wellington - see: https://www.theatreview.org.nz/production/end-of-summer-time/
Sunday February 16, 2025
CatGPT reviewed by ChatGPT
Comment posted to Deb Rea’s review of CatGPT I was so astonished by the ChatGPT that I asked Deb how it came about. She replied: “I spent about a minute making sure it understood that I was talking about the show. Then it wrote one that I didn't like so I asked it to try to match L3NT1Ls personality more. Then it wrote one
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