[Everyone has their Reasons] After a successful run last year, and with some changes in cast (hello Stephen Lovatt, Amanda Billing, Amanda Tito and Dan Musgrove), The Book of Everything makes a welcome return to the Auckland stage. Thomas (Patrick Carroll) is a young boy growing up in post-war Holland. Struggling under the thumb of his abusive, ultra-religious father Abel (Stephen […]
[Theatrical Realness] In Jennie Livingston’s seminal drag documentary Paris is Burning, performer Venus Xtravaganza exclaims, “I would like to be a spoiled, rich white girl. They get what they want, whenever they want it.” You’d be forgiven for finding the quote vapid or narcissistic, but you’d also be missing the point. For the minority communities in Livingston’s film, a mixture […]
[Make V-Day Count] Two years after its premiere in 1996, The Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler resulted in the launch of V-Day (February 14), a global movement aimed at ending violence against women. This month is Auckland Pride Festival, and this week, all around the world, The Vagina Monologues have opened. Comprised predominantly of third year students and graduates from […]
[Far too many notes for my taste] I should declare my Phandom up-front: Andrew Lloyd Webber’s masterpiece – yes, masterpiece – is a long-standing favourite. The moment Rob Guest’s mask was ripped from his face to reveal the Phantom’s awful disfigurement is a childhood memory burned into my mind. Amici’s pro-amateur production is the third version of the show I’ve […]
[Poetry from the Puzzy] A major concern in theatre that deals with LGBTIQ identity is often the validity of labels. Which box do we fit into? Do we have to decide? Gay? Lesbian? Bi? These are the questions hurled at Mele (Frankie Adams) in the opening sequence of Puzzy, and immediately reflects a relatable plight for young people uncertain of the […]
[Addy in Wonderland] Addy has lost someone close to her, someone she calls her sunshine-maker, and she doesn’t know how to cope, except to withdraw into the safe haven of her imagination. The fantasy world setup is something you’ve probably seen before, from classics such as Alice in Wonderland and The Wizard of Oz to Where the Wild Things Are […]
[More to Tell] One week after Australia Day, Auckland audiences are introduced to Ian Michael, a proud Noongar actor and recipient of the Melbourne Fringe Best Emerging Indigenous Artist award; an accolade achieved for the very show She Said Theatre has brought to Basement Theatre. It is the story of four men, each affected, by some degree or another, by […]
[There’s a double meaning in that!] More Shakespearean productions should do what the team behind Much Adoe do. To wit: the female roles are cast with male actors, the male roles are cast with female actors. We have the experience of watching the men take on Beatrice and Hero, roles written not for women, but for the ‘boy actors’ of […]
[NZ’s Got Talent] The show’s tagline ’50 characters, 5 actors’ doesn’t even begin to describe the sheer magnitude of skill, talent and hilarity that the ‘TV talent show’ The Choice dishes out for us. Wickedly written, slickly performed and cleverly directed to parody the current talent show phenomenon that dominates our airwaves, The Choice is undoubtedly the funniest show I’ve seen […]
5 years ago to the day, I launched Theatre Scenes with a post that asked “Why Theatre, Why Now?“, a question that continues to grow in urgency. I had finished my Honours in Drama and would no longer be the Theatre Editor of Auckland Uni’s Craccum Magazine. I hoped that by starting Theatre Scenes I’d be able to keep reviewing and […]
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