Theatreview: The New Zealand Performing Arts Review & Directory

Pina Bausch tribute Wn 7/7 [more]
RNZB + Tamsin Cooper [more]
BATS PlayPit 6 July [more]
BATS THEATRE QUIZ 9/7 [more]
Creative Science Writing comp, d/line 22/9 [more]
Ethnic arts participation survey, by 6/7 [more]
COMEDY FEST. UP 50% [more]
Cirque Du Soleil auditions, Sydney, Oct 26-28 [more]
Paolo's 'Global' donation request [more]
Write Out Loud Dunedin, new d/line 24/8 [more]
Dance Strategy blueprint: respond by 17/7 [more]
Whero's New Net tours North Island [more]
The Basement: submissions for 2010 by 27/7 [more]
For more news click the 'News' link

STARLIGHT EXPRESS at TSB Bank Arena, Queens Wharf
reviewed by John Smythe 2 Jul 2009

Thrill-a-thon of sound and movement
It’s a Cinderella set-up in essence but – being a boy’s story – it is primarily focused on a race between trains from different nations. The loco-contenders are all male while most of the service cars that hitch up for the ride are female, which is where the love interest comes in. [more]

See also reviews by:
Ewen Coleman (The Dominion Post);

THE COUNTRY WIFE at Globe Theatre
reviewed by Helen Watson White 29 Jun 2009

Curly-wigged artifice, witty circumlocution and downright intrigue
Midwinter revels in Dunedin, begun with an impressive lantern procession in the Octagon, continue in the Globe’s lively production of a Restoration favourite, dating from London’s winter season in 1675. [more]

See also reviews by:
Barbara Frame (Otago Daily Times);

TAMA MA ON TOUR at Maidment
reviewed by Sue Cheesman 26 Jun 2009

Powerful journey from boyhood to manhood
Tama Ma has five sections presented as an “autobiographical dance journey” performed by Taane Mete and Taiaroa Royal. Bodies honed and mapped by years of extensive dance training, their performance extols power, skill and artistry. [more]

See also reviews by:
Terri Crawford

THE MUCKS : A COMEDY at Basement Theatre
reviewed by Nik Smythe 24 Jun 2009

Short, bleak and questionable
Sean and Debbie Muck are siblings struggling in London’s east end at the lower end of the class spectrum, to say the least. The play opens with Sean eating baked beans from a fancy dessert dish and mentioning important engagements with Hello! Magazine and the various obligations that beset the fabulous celebrities they fantasize about being. [more]

LEFT AND RIGHT at The Auckland Performing Arts Centre: TAPAC
reviewed by Celine Sumic 19 Jun 2009

Colourful knits – done and undone
Left and Right is a non-linear work that addresses the order of things both tangible and intangible with an abstract, hieroglyphic grace. A tableau vivant quietly in action is already in progress as we enter the theatre. [more]

See also reviews by:
Bernadette Rae (New Zealand Herald);

CAROL & NEV at Basement Theatre
reviewed by Sian Robertson 16 Jun 2009

Deadly life meets living death
Nev (Phil Ormsby) is on his way to his daughter’s wedding when the ghost of his dead wife Carol (Alex Ellis) shows up. Carol’s been dead for 20 years and, judging by his reaction, it’s not an everyday occurrence for her to materialise before him. [more]

THE CLEAN HOUSE at Circa One
reviewed by John Smythe 14 Jun 2009

Bringing lightness to dirt, dust and death
The Clean House is a play that touches us in different ways and gets people talking afterwards, or it did after Circa’s opening night. Everyone I spoke to was surprised by it, in a positive way. [more]

See also reviews by:
Laurie Atkinson (The Dominion Post);
Lynn Freeman (Capital Times);

I LOVE YOU, YOU’RE PERFECT, NOW CHANGE! at Court One
reviewed by Lindsay Clark 14 Jun 2009

Underlying truthfulness gives disarmingly witty show real bite
The Rasmussen-Marrett team is a well established one and here again they produce the classy, vibrant work they have made their hallmark. From fresh and dynamic choreography to knock-out musical punch, they take every opportunity to find the plus factor. [more]

FOUR FLAT WHITES IN ITALY at SKYCITY Theatre
reviewed by Candice Lewis 14 Jun 2009

Funny and insightful with tragic underpinnings
Two couples, one sparrowy, intellectual, sparse in joy and money, the other wealthy, peacock-bold and brash with ignorance, decide to travel to Italy together. Politics, education, clothing, money, and sex all serve to illustrate the divide between the couples. [more]

See also reviews by:
Paul Simei-Barton (New Zealand Herald);

THE RAFT at Downstage Theatre
reviewed by John Smythe 13 Jun 2009

Humour and humanity modulate intense drama
There are two in the play. The literal raft, made of 40-gallon drums and timber, is corroding and rotting out in the West Coast lake where the likewise disintegrating Alymer family has long since had a bach. The human raft is Mark ... [more]

See also reviews by:
Laurie Atkinson (The Dominion Post);
Lynn Freeman (Capital Times);

TE KARAKIA at Blak Dramatics
reviewed by Denis Peel 13 Jun 2009

Festival highlight keeps audience spellbound
... Te Karakia, left me again feeling that this company is making a wonderful job of mastering the fragile art that is theatre. Festivals in the bush need a very special type of theatrical style and design to succeed in a big muddy tent, away from the comforts of the modern high tech theatrical environment. [more]

See also reviews by:
Janet McAllister (New Zealand Herald);

"'Comedy Fest up 50%' - That's great news - and interesting! [see news item -ed] Does it mean Wellington punter..." - Welly Watch   [read full forum post]

"In the interest of keeping credit where it's due, we thought we'd mention that we were an audience to this sho..." - Dan Musgrove   [read full comment]

"Further reviews, opinions and discussion on The Blackening may be found on Kate Blackhurst’s blog and in..." - John Smythe   [read full comment]

"Having just seen The Blackening again I want to clarify a couple of things for the historical record – s..." - John Smythe   [read full comment]

"Kia ora taatou, Mauri ora ki Matariki!!! Mauri ora ki Tama maa!!!! I tuu te winiwini, i tuu te wanawana!!! ..." - Karaitiana Tamatea   [read full comment]

"He tuhituhi ataahua tenei tataritanga a Terri. Churrr...Neat alright girl! " - Jack Gray   [read full comment]

"I too find this review strange. Is Lynn annoyed because it wasn't predictable? Personally I prefer surpri..." - Welly Watch   [read full comment]

" Yes, Lynn, save us from plays that dare to stray from within the strict confines of one genre. *roll eye..." - Captain Obvious   [read full comment]

"What interests me about Brannavan Gnanalingam's Werewolf piece is that the live performing arts - theatre, ope..." - John Smythe   [read full forum post]

"Thank you for that clarification, Phil. I made an incorrect assumption based on Tom Cardy’s feature in t..." - John Smythe   [read full comment]

"A small correction: the music and sound design were both newly created for this production, and are not same a..." - Phil Brownlee   [read full comment]

"Clarification. Dane, you seem to have misunderstood my last comment - perhaps understandably? So to clarify,..." - Celine Sumic   [read full comment]

3 Jul 2009 - PINA BAUSCH TRIBUTE The Goethe Institut has agreed to make a tribute for Pina Bausch ... Tues. 7 July 5.30pm at the Goethe Institut, 150 Cuba St.   [more]

2 Jul 2009 - THE BATS THEATRE QUIZ IS BACK! Come to the BATS Theatre Quiz! Come test your knowledge (actual and trivial) on everything from Shakespeare to recent Wellington shows…   [more]

2 Jul 2009 - THE PLAYPIT – JULY ‘Katydid’ by Lucy O’Brien 6pm Monday 6th July The Pit Bar @ BATS Theatre   [more]

2 Jul 2009 - NEW PAIRING BRINGS BALLET AND FASHION TOGETHER Fashion and ballet have combined in a new relationship between Arrowtown-based fashion accessories designer Tamsin Cooper and the Royal New Zealand Ballet (RNZB).   [more]

1 Jul 2009 - ETHNIC ARTS PARTICIPATION SURVEY This is an invitation to people who participate in a traditional or ethnic art to take part in a study of the benefits of these arts for people who do them. If you are over 16 and do an art, dance and/or music that is traditional for your ethnic group, we hope you might take our online survey.   [more]

1 Jul 2009 - EDGE OF THE UNIVERSE Royal Society of New Zealand Manhire Prize for Creative Science Writing competition for 2009: “I live at the edge of the universe, like everybody else.” -- Bill Manhire This year we are celebrating the International Year of Astronomy. Ever since Galileo first aimed his telescope at Jupiter's moons, technology has been enlarging our knowledge of the universe.   [more]

30 Jun 2009 - CIRQUE DU SOLEIL DANCE AUDITIONS SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA OCTOBER 26-28, 2009 Classical, contemporary, jazz, ethnic & traditional, hip-hop & breakdance   [more]

30 Jun 2009 - BATS IS HAVING A MID-WINTER WARMER OF A FUNDRAISER. We're brewing up a big batch of mulled wine and serving it for just $5 a cup. THAT'S RIGHT! $5 A CUP! – this Wednesday 1 July   [more]