REVIEW: Blue Man Group (The Civic)

May 31, 2016

[Blue my Mind] Described as a comical musical & artistic show featuring lots of audience interaction with a blue-painted cast, Blue Man Group definitely do what they say on the tin. Besides seeing a very short YouTube clip about the show I made a big effort not to watch anything in advance so as not to raise expectations.  But in retrospect I […]

REVIEW: Bare (Simple Truth Theatre)

May 28, 2016

[Less is More] Toa Fraser’s Bare has been performed multiple times since its 1998 debut, confidently making its claim as a Kiwi classic. Simple Truth Theatre, comprised by a group of Unitec’s most recent acting graduates, have pulled together a mostly bare-bones production of the play in an eager act of artistic passion, intending to take the show around the […]

REVIEW: The Voice in My Head (The Basement)

May 26, 2016

[We still need more Voices] The second Natalie Medlock steps onstage we know we’re in for a treat. She greets the audience with a humble acknowledging nod in our direction and a shy smile to ease us into what we know could be a potentially tumultuous show. Abortion is a controversial topic, regardless of your opinion on the matter, and […]

REVIEW: Everest Untold (Auckland Live)

May 25, 2016

[Team Effort] An engrossing look at two of the men behind Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay’s successful ascent, Everest Untold is a multimedia production in which Sir John Hunt (Stephen Lovatt), the leader of the 1953 expedition, and George Lowe (Edwin Wright), the ‘other Kiwi’, tell the story of the team effort that went into the climb. Written by Gareth Davies and […]

REVIEW: Dido and Aeneas (The Basement)

May 19, 2016

[Oper-attic] Being staged at The Basement we naturally turned up thinking we were going to witness a piss-take of Henry Purcell’s opera, Dido and Aeneas.  However in reality we were pleasantly surprised by the commitment and integrity of the performance on stage.  Both the quality of acting and singing were absolutely flawless.  And it was a treat to behold opera up close […]

REVIEW: To Kill a Mockingbird (Auckland Theatre Company)

May 15, 2016

[Go Set a Scout] The trouble with To Kill A Mockingbird is that the Pulitzer Prize winner’s literary composition does not lend itself to theatrical narrative structure. The trial, in which a black man is accused of attempting to rape a white woman, is a MacGuffin. Tom Robinson is the catalyst for a litmus test on racism proffered by a white woman […]

REVIEW: Nouveau Rhys: Rhys Mathewson (NZ International Comedy Festival)

May 13, 2016

[Side-Step] One of the challenges for comedians is keeping things fresh while maintaining the thing that makes them funny. Whether that thing is a particular style or further exploration of reoccurring subject matter, you can’t rely on the basis that just because an audience found them funny once, or even multiple times, that they will find them funny again. Rhys Mathewson is […]

REVIEW: Keep Out of my Box: Torum Heng (NZ International Comedy Festival)

May 13, 2016

[Greatness Unboxed] “Torum Heng is the best.” This statement ran through my head, from the moment I sat down and noted the inverted ‘C’ in the ‘Box Office’ sign. This statement continued to run on a loop over the next hour, as Ms Heng ran through a series of characters and musical numbers so well realised and perfectly pitched that […]

REVIEW: Second Place Winner: David Correos (NZ International Comedy Festival)

May 12, 2016

[No Paggliachi] Who makes the clown laugh? The philosophical question reworked from its Greek origin is commonly used to indicate the inherent sadness that exists within even the greatest comedian (see: every Robin Williams tribute article). If there is any truth to it, David Correos is the exception. Correos seems surprised at his Billy T Award nomination, however, it makes […]

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