Musing about ‘I love you bro’ (Silo Theatre)

August 9, 2011

A/S/L? [by James Wenley] One of the oldest forms of human communication meets one of its newest in I love you bro. And they aren’t much different at all. Silo Theatre’s current offering launches its ‘Second Cousin’ brand where they can “muck around with conventions to create work which is decidedly new and unlike anything you’ll see in our mainbill […]

REVIEW: Young and Hungry Festival Auckland 2011

August 4, 2011

Cow, Tigerplay and Disorder. What a threesome! [by James Wenley] If you haven’t already, rush to see the Young & Hungry Festival, there’s not much time left… there’s a Zombie apocalypse on don’t you know? Under Auckland Theatre Company’s guidance, the third year of Young & Hungry in Auckland is arguably the strongest yet, containing two Young and Hungry classics – […]

NEWS: Len Brown announces ‘Jersey Boys’ coming to The Civic

July 27, 2011

Oh what a night… Tommy, Bobby, Nick and Frankie on their way [by James Wenley] Len Brown announced at a press conference this morning at the Civic Theatre’s Wintergarden that the smash hit international musical Jersey Boys, the story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, will be coming to Auckland in April 2012. Jersey Boys is a key part of […]

REVIEW: Othello (Peach Theatre Company)

July 25, 2011

Honestly, Iago… [by James Wenley] It might be called Othello, but this one is very much Iago’s show. Iago, the villain in Shakespeare’s Othello, has long threatened to outshine the titular tragic hero. Shakespeare for one gave him substantially more lines and a relentless destructive driving force, plotting to destroy the Moor that he says he hates. Why Iago does […]

INTERVIEW: Jesse Peach

July 18, 2011

From the Moor of Venice, to the road of yellow brick… [by James Wenley] If you’ve noticed journalist Jesse Peach’s absence from the TV news recently he has a very good reason. He’s taken five months leave to pursue his passion. Theater director Jesse Peach is now at work. His first play, Othello, is one of Shakespeare’s great tragedies about […]

REVIEW: Short+Sweet Theatre Festival – Week 2, Top 20

July 15, 2011

Even Sweeter… [by James Wenley] The second week of Short+Sweet lives life firmly on the theatrical side. After noting that I hoped for a more diverse program of plays in my review of Week One, it was certainly delivered this week. These plays on the whole were not only different thematically to each other, many were also ballsy, thrilling, seat-wettingly […]

REVIEW: The Family Wilder

July 8, 2011

Dark and Twisted [by James Wenley] After a string of collaborations and monologue directing, Thomas Sainsbury returns to The Basement with The Family Wilder, setting his style to the dark camp of the thriller genre’s twist and turns. Harry McNaughton plays the softly-spoken writer Clive, who is tasked with writing the biography of Wilder Family patriarch and ruthless businessman Bill. […]

REVIEW: Short+Sweet Theatre Festival – Week 1, Top 20

July 8, 2011

Sweetness in Shortness [by James Wenley] I reckon the art of a good 10-minute play is a decidedly tricky one. Whether it leaves you laughing or with something more to think about, within those 600 seconds it generally has to traverse the entire three act structure from inciting incident to satisfying conclusion. The Short+Sweet festival, compromising of very strictly determined 10-minute […]

INTERVIEW: Actors Julia Croft and Chris Neels get ‘Skin Tight’

June 14, 2011

Julia and Chris chat about Skin Tight, love, bruises, manhood, our Pakeha heritage, and TV commercials… [by James Wenley] Skin Tight, by Gary Henderson, is a New Zealand play done good. Since its humble debut at BATS theatre in 1994, the play toured New Zealand, and the world, including productions in Australia, Great Britain, South Africa, Canada and the USA and […]

INTERVIEW: Tim Carlsen on One Day Moko and more

June 13, 2011

Remember this name [by James Wenley] You might not know who Tim Carlsen is yet, but by the end of the year Auckland Theatregoers will certainly be able to put a face to the name. The second half of the year is a big one for the 2009 Toi Whakaari Acting graduate, as he not only brings his solo theatre creation ‘One […]

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