REVIEW: Suits (Auckland Live International Cabaret Season)

September 29, 2016

[HellzaBoppin’] Going into Suits, I realised a) I know nothing about cabaret and b) this was not going to be a musical based on the US TV series. It turned it it didn’t matter — if you are in the mood for some deeply personal revelations with great tunes (and Iggy Izalea), this show is the one for you. A […]

REVIEW: Banging Cymbal, Glanging Gong (The Basement)

September 23, 2016

[Off Beat] Banging Cymbal, Clanging Gong is once again brought to life fifteen years after its debut by writer Jo Randerson. The show promises to be a raucous event pioneered by a tartan wearing, foul mouthed punk figure who navigates her ancestry and personal philosophy throughout the show. Taking inspiration from her Danish heritage, Randerson weaves into the fabric of […]

REVIEW: Vanilla Miraka (The Basement)

September 23, 2016

[Awkward Appropriation] Cultural appropriation is always uncomfortable to witness, whether you’re at an exotically-themed dress-up party or your friend gets an unfortunate tribal tattoo. A much trickier grey area explored in Hayley Sproull’s Vanilla Miraka is when the lines between cultures are blurred, when you share the blood of the coloniser and the colonised. Is it still cultural appropriation if […]

REVIEW: Hook-Up Boys (The Basement)

September 23, 2016

[A Satyrical Satire] Sex is an easy starting place for comedy. The expectations, the realities, and the frustrations of desire can provide great set ups for jokes. Think back to the characters played by Marilyn Monroe and Joe E. Brown in Some Like It Hot — their bodies and perceived sex appeal (or lack of, in Brown’s case) become walking […]

REVIEW: The Better Best Possible Album Party Anybody Has Ever Been Two (The Basement)

September 18, 2016

[Return of the Divas] Back from their self-imposed hiatus Deni$ and Tyla grace New Zealand’s stage once again dropping bangers and truths for audiences at the Basement Theatre. Frith Horan and Kate McGill are stepping back into the shoes of this problematic pop-duo to rekindle their relationship with their fans after an ego-fueled mistake at Coachella destroyed their careers nine […]

REVIEW: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (NZ Opera)

September 18, 2016

[Fleet Street Clean Sweep] While he has never stayed in one place for all that long, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, first seen in 1979, has continued to set up his establishment in production after production world-wide. Written by Hugh Wheeler with music and lyrics by the incomparable Stephen Sondheim, it has attracted headliners like Angela Lansbury, Kelsey […]

REVIEW: Boys Will Be Boys (Silo)

September 13, 2016

[Swimming with the Sharks] Boys Will Be Boys is a brash and unapologetic dive into the social and sexual politics of the corporate banking world. Notably it contains a thematic parallel that couldn’t be more poignant currently with the national scrutiny of the Chief’s media scandal. Melissa Bubnic’s play follows the story of Astrid (Amanda Billing), a currency trader convinced […]

REVIEW: Close City (The Basement)

September 11, 2016

[A Doll’s Hell] “It is not necessarily at home that we best encounter our true selves. The furniture insists that we cannot change because it does not; the domestic setting keeps us tethered to the person we are in ordinary life, who may not be who we essentially are.”― Alain de Botton, The Art of Travel. Like A Doll’s House‘s […]

REVIEW: Thomus (The Basement)

September 3, 2016

[Shakespearean Aspirations] The main drawcard for Ash Jones’ Thomus is his use of iambic pentameter, drawing inspiration from the humble likes of Shakespeare. While not completely unheard of in recent theatrical endeavours (Mike Bartlett’s King Charles III being a prime example), it’s a lofty ambition worthy of respect in itself. That face he does it so confidently is the most […]