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  • Musicals

    REVIEW: Les Misérables (Auckland Music Theatre)

    C’est Magnifique Les Misérables at the Civic is nothing short of spectacular. So often Kiwi audiences flock to touring overseas shows, based on the premise that “it’s come from New York, London or Sydney –  [...]
  • The Basement

    REVIEW: An Organ of Soft Tissue (Basement Theatre)

    [Continuing the #MeToo Conversation] Responding to the #MeToo movement, An Organ of Soft Tissue continues the conversation around perceptions of trauma, sexuality, and gender with an exploration of memory, identity, and sexual politics. At times [...]
  • Theatre Reviews

    WELLINGTON REVIEW: ransom. (BATS STAB 2019)

    Values Held Hostage Was it the moral righteousness? The insistence their way was the right and only way? The absurdity of the camembert argument: that they knew how to pronounce the French properly because they [...]
In the Spotlight

TOURING: Hansel & Gretel (Royal New Zealand Ballet)

by Brigitte Knight in Dance Reviews

That Freshly Baked Taste Staging a brand new, full-length ballet is a milestone for any company and a relatively rare occasion for the Royal New Zealand Ballet. This world premiere of Hansel & Gretel is a significantly larger undertaking, therefore, than reproducing a classic, or reimagining a ballet with an existing score and cast of characters. Every aspect of this production has been created from scratch – from the original music by composer Claire Cowan, to the imaginative cast of characters. Royal New Zealand Ballet Choreographer in Residence Loughlan Prior has created works premiered in New Zealand, Australia, Germany, Canada [...]

REVIEW: Les Misérables (Auckland Music Theatre)

November 12, 2019
C’est Magnifique Les Misérables at the Civic is nothing short of spectacular. So often Kiwi audiences flock to touring overseas shows, based on the premise that “it’s come from New York, London or Sydney –  it must be amazing”. Consequently, it’s thrilling and heartening to see Boublil and Schönberg’s Les Misérables done with such flair, panache and extravagance on our […]

REVIEW: Welcome to Thebes (The Actors’ Program)

November 9, 2019
Ambitious Push to Marry Myth to Modernity It is no easy task to choose a capstone play for the conclusion of an intensive actor’s training program. In pursuit of an elusive equilibrium between adapting a compelling dramatic script and putting on display the diverse talents of a gifted group of emerging actors, for the 2019 cohort The Actors’ Program have […]

TOURING: Hansel & Gretel (Royal New Zealand Ballet)

November 7, 2019
That Freshly Baked Taste Staging a brand new, full-length ballet is a milestone for any company and a relatively rare occasion for the Royal New Zealand Ballet. This world premiere of Hansel & Gretel is a significantly larger undertaking, therefore, than reproducing a classic, or reimagining a ballet with an existing score and cast of characters. Every aspect of this […]

REVIEW: An Organ of Soft Tissue (Basement Theatre)

November 6, 2019
[Continuing the #MeToo Conversation] Responding to the #MeToo movement, An Organ of Soft Tissue continues the conversation around perceptions of trauma, sexuality, and gender with an exploration of memory, identity, and sexual politics. At times this show cuts very close to home, the eyes of some audience members glittering with pain and recognition. A pre-show announcement has invited us to […]

WELLINGTON REVIEW: ransom. (BATS STAB 2019)

November 2, 2019
Values Held Hostage Was it the moral righteousness? The insistence their way was the right and only way? The absurdity of the camembert argument: that they knew how to pronounce the French properly because they were educated? Over the past week an artefact of New Zealand coloniality went viral: audio from Marcus Lush’s talkback show of two callers proudly defending […]

REVIEW: How we Survive (Basement Theatre)

October 31, 2019
More Than Surviving: Two Artists, Thriving How We Survive offers an expected array of feminist discourse – from abortion rights and the gender pay gap, to body image and how to crush the patriarchy – but personal anecdotes in the form of poems are delivered with such intoxicating and brave energy that audience members are left with new insight, hungry […]

REVIEW: Animal (Basement Theatre)

October 30, 2019
New voices, deserving to be herd Described as a ‘superhero story inside a famous 20th century novella,’ Animal directors Harriett Maire and Arlo Green serve up a two-and-a-half-hour dinner where meat is firmly off the menu, but a plethora of hearty goodness takes its place.   Animal Farm, written by George Orwell and published in 1945, is an allegory depicting events […]

CHRISTCHURCH REVIEW: Fresh off the Boat (The Court Theatre)

October 27, 2019
Time Capsule Pacific Underground’s influence as a landmark theatre company has deeply shaped our nation’s theatre canon, particularly through works such as Dawn Raids, A Frigate Bird Sings, and Niu Sila. So The Court Theatre’s revival of seminal Fresh off the Boat, the very first play Pacific Underground ever did (in 1993), is a significant acknowledgement of the company’s place […]

REVIEW: Owls Do Cry (Red Leap Theatre)

October 21, 2019
[Singing from the Dead Room] Based on celebrated New Zealand author Janet Frame’s first full-length novel published in 1957, Owls Do Cry is an evocative and exciting theatrical rendition by Red Leap Theatre.  Led by Artistic Director Julie Nolan and directed by Malia Johnston, the events that plague the Withers family in small town provincial New Zealand are translated and […]

REVIEW: Half of the Sky (Massive Company)

October 20, 2019
Thicker than Water The third work written for Massive Theatre Company by English writer Lennie James and directed by Sam Scott, Half of the Sky explores themes of sisterhood, love and loss over a weekend of birthday celebrations.  Known as the Rose triplets due to their birthdays being three days apart from one another, middle sister Ru (Awhina-Rose Henare Ashby), […]

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For reviews of theatre playing elsewhere in New Zealand, go to Theatreview.org.nz 

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