WEST END BOY: Theatre Scenes goes to London, Part Three

August 27, 2013

Lost in London: The Drowned Man [by James Wenley] Theatre has a tendency to interrogate its own relevance. Every so often there is a new grand declaration that theatre is dying, maybe even already dead. We need new forms cry the Konstantins, though the basic narratives have remained the same since the ancients.  Against competing entertaining options and greying audiences, […]

This Week in the Theatre Scene: Speaking of Strindberg (26 Aug – 1 September)

August 25, 2013

Speaking in Tongues and After Miss Julie [by James Wenley] If you haven’t seen it yet, our first pick should be your top priority. PICK ONE: Speaking in Tongues Who wrote it? Australia’s Andrew Bovell, who really is one of that country’s best. Who’s putting it on? Silo, under direction by soon to depart Shane Bosher Who’s in it? A […]

REVIEW:Te Awarua (Te Rehia Theatre Company)

August 24, 2013

A triumphant trifecta [by Sharu Delilkan] Watching a theatrical production such as Te Awarua, that utilises three languages and cultures as a storytelling device, is indeed a treat.  And knowing that the story was being told by the talented Albert Belz certainly made me have high expectations.  But unlike many experiences where high expectations are followed by major disappointment, Te […]

WEST END BOY: Theatre Scenes goes to London, Part Two

August 21, 2013

The Play’s the thing [by James Wenley] During my recent excursion to London Theatre (last week I gave my Musical fanboy report), the city experienced an unprecedented heatwave. Ed Miliband in typical British fashion suggested that if temperatures got too high workers should be sent home for a cup of tea and lie down. As I had just returned from […]

REVIEW: Resident Alien (The Basement)

August 21, 2013

Crisp [by Sharu Delilkan] We enjoyed a lovely warm theatrical experience tonight – a charming, threadbare, Thatcher-ite, and acerbic view of the world from the portrayal of an old queen with no will or wit to be ordinary or dated. It was a delight to see this multi-award winning one-hander being performed impeccably by Roy Ward in The Basement’s intimate […]

REVIEW: Speaking in Tongues (Silo)

August 18, 2013

Same, but Different [by James Wenley] The harder you try to categorise Speaking in Tongues, the further the play slips away. Case in point: the content of the opening scene is the stuff of conventional dramas – in separate hotel rooms, two couplings of strangers contemplate engaging in infidelity. The tension: who will go through with it, who will back […]

REVIEW: Wings (Junket Theatre Company)

August 16, 2013

What every woman needs [by Matt Baker] Incorporating a similar narrative construct to her hit Fringe Festival show Elevator, writer and actress Jess Sayer has brought three women together in a confined space and gradually turned up the heat. Wings follow three sisters’ literal and metaphorical journey, with Sayer cleverly making the subtlest of suggestions along the way. The result is that even […]

REVIEW: Balmy (Two Productions)

August 16, 2013

Death, but no Life [by James Wenley] Wearing an over-sized peach rain jacket, square-framed glasses, and a nervous grin, Tai Berdinner-Blades gives us an endearing performance as novice funeral embalmer Julie. Once we’re settled onstage she comes front to welcome us, cue cards in hand, and tell us about the play Balmy that is to follow (and also helpfully points […]

REVIEW: Motel (Cas ‘n’ Ova Productions)

August 14, 2013

Smart, succinct and startling [by Sharu Delilkan] How can anyone resist being a voyeur? That’s probably what everyone was thinking as they sat down to witness the shenanigans about to take place before their eyes in the seedy motel room presented on stage in front of them. Motel definitely provided the audience their fill of scandal as the stories in […]

WEST END BOY: Theatre Scenes goes to London, Part One

August 13, 2013

Musical Theatre from the West End: Simply Spectacle [by James Wenley] New Zealand theatre has longed looked to the UK with a gleam of idolisation. Just as this nation’s story has been one of a gradual weaning off the Mother Country’s teat, so too has the nation’s theatre slowly relied less on overseas imports and claimed our own stories. That’s […]

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