Couch Soup

Paramount, Wellington

28/02/2006 - 04/03/2006

NZ Fringe Festival 2006

Production Details


Directed by David Foote


A mini-festival of one-page plays, running the gamut from maet-esque to surrealist folly … a night of eclectic theatre … a new and entertaining theatrical experience … think of it as the theatrical equivalent of a quality chocolate sampler box.


Caroline Hastings
Ross McLeod
Stephanie Christian
Peter Young


Theatre ,


1 hr

32 mini-plays

Review by Ewen Coleman [Reproduced with permission of Fairfax Media] 03rd Mar 2006

At the Paramount, another somewhat unusual piece of theatre: four actors performing 32 plays each no more than a minute long all within the space of an hour.  Are all from Waikato University and although the piece has a student feel to it it’s nevertheless an original and innovative concept that for the most part works. 

Each sketch shows in some way or another different aspects of human nature – sex, love and relationships feature predominantly throughout.  While some are silly and tedious others are clever, witty and pithy, often with clever use of word play similar in style to Becket or Pinter. 

Its also obvious by the confident and slick way the four actors, Caroline Hastings, Ross McLeod, Stephanie Christian and Peter Young perform each piece that along with director David Foote that they have had considerable in put in the production as well as performing it.

Although each piece is too brief for any substantial character development and too often the same type of character appears in one sketch after another, there are moments when each actor excels in a particular piece, making this interesting and diverse piece of theatre well worth seeing.

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