Dione Joseph

Filter by:

Dione Joseph is a writer, director and dramaturge. She has an academic and practical background in live performance and her work has an emphasis on culturally and linguistically diverse communities.
Over the past ten years she has directed a range of productions including new dramas by contemporary writers, classics and their adaptations, experimental works, musicals, comedies and community-based theatre productions in the USA, New Zealand and Australia. She has also been active as a stage critic for both dance and theatre and has engaged with a variety of topical issues as an arts journalist.
Dione has also held various residencies and fellowships in the UK, China, Mexico, Canada and the USA and is the recipient of numerous awards for theatre including the Lorna Stirling Theatre Award (2012), a Creative Young Stars Australian government grant (2013), the Ian Potter Cultural Trust Award (2013) and has been invited twice as a guest scholar and Artist in Residence to the University of Saskatchewan (2014/15).
She is the first New Zealander to have been awarded a place at the prestigious Lincoln Centre directors’ lab in New York (2014) and was the only New Zealand critic to have been shortlisted for the Allen Wright media award at Edinburgh Fringe Festival (2014). In the past Dione has been a senior theatre critic at Australian Stage, arts editor at Melbourne City Newspaper and features writer at Aussie Theatre.
Currently based in Aotearoa New Zealand, Dione writes for Theatreview, The Big Idea, DANZ (Dance Aotearoa NZ) and her reviews can also be found on Radio NZ. 

Dione Joseph's reviews

YOURS TRULY

Auckland, Waiheke Island, Hamilton

26/02/2016 - 16/07/2016

"Superior literary flourishes..

"Definitive horrific exposé..

More reviews
BADJELLY THE WITCH

Auckland

09/07/2016 - 23/07/2016

"Smart, whimsical, larger-than-life..
PURAPURAWHETŪ

Auckland

06/07/2016 - 16/07/2016

"It is the Mana that shines through..

"One of New Zealand’s most absorbing plays..
Manaia - short works premiere season

Auckland

05/07/2016 - 09/07/2016

"New works in development..

"Manaia-connected choreographies..

More reviews
TRANSFER

Wellington, Auckland

29/06/2016 - 07/07/2016

"Experiemental and traditional dance works face to face..

"Unforgettable dance experiences..

More reviews
LA VIE DANS UNE MARIONETTE

Auckland, Havelock North, Wellington

28/02/2013 - 25/03/2017

"Impeccable timing, grace and skill..

"Exhilaratingly funny, sad and heart-warming..

More reviews
MEDEA

Auckland

16/06/2016 - 09/07/2016

"Reworking turns classic tale of vengeance on its head..

"Poignant and well-executed..
Wahinetoa

Auckland

15/06/2016 - 16/06/2016

"Celebrating Pasifika women's choreography..

"Rich and absorbing personal narratives..
THE ELEPHANT THIEF

New Plymouth, Hamilton, Wellington, Nelson, Auckland

05/12/2015 - 02/07/2016

"Stealing the Show..

"Immensely talented cast but play feels lost and confused..

More reviews
Mana Wahine

Auckland, Wellington, Hamilton, Rotorua, Dunedin, Napier

15/02/2014 - 26/06/2016

"Two years after debut, Mana Wahine still an unforgettable performance..

"Embracing the inherent power of mana wahine as a collective force..

More reviews
ICE AGE LIVE! A Mammoth Show on Ice

Auckland, Wellington, Hamilton

13/05/2016 - 29/05/2016

"Over-stimulation detracts from engagement..

"Makes the world of the film tangible and immediate..

More reviews
MOVE

Auckland

21/04/2016 - 04/06/2016

"Significant cultural tāonga..

"Pasifika youth acknowledged and affirmed..
WHITE/OTHER

Auckland

12/04/2016 - 21/04/2016

"Smart theatrics..

"White Noise..

More reviews
SEVEN DEADLY MONOLOGUES

Auckland

06/04/2016 - 09/04/2016

"Memorable moments in monologues of varying quality and strength..
THE WHOLEHEARTED

Hawkes Bay, Wellington, Auckland

18/03/2016 - 27/09/2017

"Leaves us feeling more full of life than when we arrived..

"So Many Soapboxes, So Little Time..

More reviews
LITTLE CHILD OF MIRACLE

Auckland

29/03/2016 - 01/04/2016

"A thing made-with-joy..

"Yet to deliver on its promise..
THE JAMES PLAYS

Auckland

05/03/2016 - 05/03/2016

"Scotland plays no games..

"Two Critics with the Egos of Three Kings..

More reviews
NOT IN OUR NEIGHBOURHOOD

Wellington, Invercargill, Christchurch, Auckland, Dunedin, Palmerston North

01/03/2014 - 24/06/2017

"Devastating yet wanted more..

"The importance of this work cannot be overstated..

More reviews
THE TEMPEST

Auckland

01/03/2016 - 13/03/2016

"Solid theatrical fare punctuated with comic relief..
IF THERE’S NOT DANCING AT THE REVOLUTION, I’M NOT COMING…

Auckland, Wellington, Edinburgh, Scotland, Nelson, Invercargill

02/09/2015 - 10/05/2018

"A riot – in every sense..

"Uplifting despite harsh message..

More reviews
THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA

Auckland

11/02/2016 - 05/03/2016

"Phantom of the Civic a lavishly romantic spectacle..

"Succeeds in the quality of its talents..

More reviews
PUZZY

Auckland

09/02/2016 - 13/02/2016

"Poetry from the Puzzy..

"Brave, engaging and necessary..