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  • The Basement

    REVIEW: I, Will Jones (The Basement)

    [Me, Myself and I (Will Jones)] If you are familiar with the Auckland theatre scene (drink!), the Basement Theatre is the most exciting place to check out. Sometimes Q will get some braingasm of absurdity [...]
  • Theatre Reviews

    REVIEW: SIBS (The Basement)

    [O Sibling, Where Art Thou?] The concept of sibling rivalry dates as far back through history as Romulus and Remus (750 BC), and the conflict it produces has been the subject of theatrical narratives from [...]
  • Highlights

    REVIEW: Hir (Silo Theatre)

    [Transitory Spaces] When prodigal son Isaac (Arlo Green) returns from Afghanistan to find his family home turned upside down, he’s rightfully shocked. Having spent his last three years in the Marines’ Mortuary Affairs division, and [...]
  • Highlights

    REVIEW: Burn Her (Q Matchbox)

    [From the Ashes, we Rise] The world has changed since the first reading of Sam Brooks’ latest play, Burn Her, at The Basement Theatre two years ago. At the time, there was no way Brooks [...]
In the Spotlight

REVIEW: Hir (Silo Theatre)

by Nathan Joe in Highlights

[Transitory Spaces] When prodigal son Isaac (Arlo Green) returns from Afghanistan to find his family home turned upside down, he’s rightfully shocked. Having spent his last three years in the Marines’ Mortuary Affairs division, and dishonourably discharged, it’s no surprise he longs for something familiar and recognisable. Mommy Paige (Rima Te Wiata) has done away with all the rituals and traditions the family once held tightly, and rebuilt it with the sheer ferocity of her new progressive ideas. Isaac’s father (Nathaniel Lees) is a shell of his former self, debilitated by a violent stroke. And his sister, Max (Adam Rohe), [...]

REVIEW: I, Will Jones (The Basement)

August 9, 2018
[Me, Myself and I (Will Jones)] If you are familiar with the Auckland theatre scene (drink!), the Basement Theatre is the most exciting place to check out. Sometimes Q will get some braingasm of absurdity like Frank the Mind-Reading Hot Dog on one of its smaller stages, but generally if you want something more lo-fi and harder to categorise, The […]

REVIEW: SIBS (The Basement)

August 9, 2018
[O Sibling, Where Art Thou?] The concept of sibling rivalry dates as far back through history as Romulus and Remus (750 BC), and the conflict it produces has been the subject of theatrical narratives from Shakespeare’s King Lear (c. 1606) to Jess Sayer’s Wings (2013). A meta-theatrical, autobiographical comedy, SIBS presents Chris Parker, an award-winning actor and comedian with a […]

REVIEW: Hir (Silo Theatre)

August 7, 2018
[Transitory Spaces] When prodigal son Isaac (Arlo Green) returns from Afghanistan to find his family home turned upside down, he’s rightfully shocked. Having spent his last three years in the Marines’ Mortuary Affairs division, and dishonourably discharged, it’s no surprise he longs for something familiar and recognisable. Mommy Paige (Rima Te Wiata) has done away with all the rituals and […]

REVIEW: Burn Her (Q Matchbox)

August 6, 2018
[From the Ashes, we Rise] The world has changed since the first reading of Sam Brooks’ latest play, Burn Her, at The Basement Theatre two years ago. At the time, there was no way Brooks could have anticipated the climate in which his play would debut in the Q MATCHBOX 2018 Season. While the election of Trump has publicly highlighted […]

REVIEW: 等凳 – The Chairs – Cantonese Season (Te Pou) [Two Reviews]

August 3, 2018
[Ashes of Time] by Nathan Joe Te Pou’s language-spanning season of The Chairs ends with an exemplary Cantonese version of the play. The prescriptiveness of Eugene Ionesco’s text is respectfully toyed with, recontextualising the space for a traditional Chinese context. Those with even only the slightest understanding of the culture will find resonances in abundance. The basic scenario stays true […]

REVIEW: Near Death Experience (The Basement)

August 1, 2018
[Tunnel Vision] Not all art needs to be healing or socially responsive, and there’s virtue in expressing the pure truth of a feeling or situation. Natalie Medlock’s Near Death Experience attempts to show the depressed mind on the brink of chaos, not as a story of recovery but simply as a fact. And, at its most incisive, this is as […]

REVIEW: O Nofoa – The Chairs – Sāmoan Season (Te Pou) [Two Reviews]

July 28, 2018
[Welcomed to the Fale] by Gabriel Faatau’uu Satiu Under the direction of Aleni Tufuga (also translated by him in gagana Sāmoa), O Nofoa serves as one part of Te Pou’s multilingual season of Eugene Ionesco’s play The Chairs. The show is an absurdist tragic farce. Paying homage to Ionesco’s absurdity through the deliberate nonsense and broadly stylized performance, the timing of […]

REVIEW: Sightings (Massive Company)

July 27, 2018
[Unclear Sightings] Morphing through different movements and times, Sightings is a non-linear story centred around one night out. Five young actors deliver a number of twist and turns, essentially through the eyes of Nora (Akinehi Munroe) and Chilli (Ebony Andrew). A product of a writing team comprising Miriama McDowell, Fiona Graham and Denyce Su’a, this new script is a reflection of its various […]

REVIEW: Run Rabbit (The Basement)

July 26, 2018
[Fight or Flight] The one-woman show has become a prominent staple of The Basement’s repertoire over the last few years. While offering individual theatremakers the space and opportunity to develop deeply personal and politically-charged works, audiences have been regularly gifted the chance to witness our most talented artists create highly responsive work in a volatile political climate. What surprises (but […]

REVIEW: Valerie (Last Tapes)

July 21, 2018
[Theatre at its Finest] Mental health in New Zealand is a prevalent issue and, by consequence, necessary to discuss. 16% of New Zealanders are diagnosed with a mental health issue in their lifetime, comorbidity increases the risk of death, and our suicide rate is the second highest in the OECD. Mental health is also prevalent in the arts, especially theatre, […]

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