Bon Mot Attack [by Matt Baker] At face value, Heroes is not a great play. There is cause for drama, but, like the three characters themselves, it never goes anywhere. There is nothing inherently theatrical about it, its Britishdryness, as implied by the original playwright Gérald Sibleyras himself, being far more suited to a BBC or ITV series. However, three veterans […]
Asking the Unanswerable [by Matt Baker] When we hear reports of mass shootings, we can recognise the actions of, in the case of the forcibly nameless Anders Behring Breivik, a complete stranger in “human” terms. Tragedy without character is comprehensible, but it remains impersonal, however empathetic one may be. So how do we understand beyond the ‘what’ without character motivation? How […]
[by James Wenley] What happens when two Cabaret divas have the same song on their set list? Answer: let them both do it! In a quirk of programming, both Yana Alana and Camille O’Sullivan used Leonard Cohen’s ‘Anthem’ as one of their big finishing numbers. With Aussie firecracker Yana Alana costumed only with an electric blue wig and body paint […]
Women at war [by Sharu Delilkan] We’ve all seen numerous theatrical incarnations this year commemorating the centenary of WWI but one heralding women is definitely a departure from the norm. And that’s exactly what sets Geoff Allen‘s show Sister Anzac apart from the otherwise male dominated war stories. Inspired by Allen‘s grandfather A. S. Allen’s experience of ANZAC nurses on […]
Heartwarming, hilarious and horny [by Sharu Delilkan and Tim Booth] From the moment Ronnie Burkett takes the reigns of his exquisitely handcrafted marionettes the audience is transfixed. The myriad of characters we meet during the course of his show reel us into the seductive sexy show, The Daisy Theatre. And what a treat it is to see his motley yet […]
Stutterly Memorable [by Sharu Delilkan and Tim Booth] The subtitle of the performance “The Queen’s Speech” is an apt description of the show. In many plays there are pivotal, poignant and powerful moments that you love or remember. For us it was the honesty and plain spoken humanity of the whole evening that will make it memorable, when all those […]
Jack Hartnett and Not Psycho are two new works to debut as part of Q Presents this year that are ambitious, theatrically exciting, yet narratively-flawed works. In the first of a new series of occasional blogs giving his perspective of the Theatre Scenes in Auckland, Theatre Scenes Editor James Wenley asks if we are doing enough to ensure works like these have […]
The Bourgeois and The Beautiful [by Jess Holly Bates] It’s the middle-class girl in me that loves the set of this play the moment I sit down: the blonde wood of the stage boards, the stark clarity of three white doors, and the the central divan, draped with shagpile. Everything is like the display bedroom in a linen store, down to […]
Sour Aftertaste [by Matt Baker] In the split second between the first mention of the titular Phoebe and the reveal of who she is, there is a glimmer of hope in Michael Gow’s script, but, like the rest of the play, the moment, and the opportunity, is lost to make way for pseudo-dramatic conflict and life-changing subplots, the latter of which […]
Expect the unexpected [by Sharu Delilkan and Tim Booth] A Benjamin Henson show is always distinctly and recognisably his, and Not Psycho is no exception. I must admit that each time I see a Henson play I realise more and more that his creative mind is that of an evil genius. Having seen his most recently creation Ghastly Dash Grimm: […]
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