REVIEW: Idiots of Ants Model Citizens (Comedy Festival)

May 3, 2013

Boys from Britain triumph again [by James Wenley] British sketch comedy quadrangle Idiots of Ants were my favourite acts in their Auckland debut at last year’s Comedy Festival. Amidst an amusement of stand-up comedians, Ants are a fresh and lively point of laughter-filled difference. Sketch as a form seems to be viewed as a bit antiquated today – it had […]

REVIEW: Rainer Hersch’s Victor Borge (Comedy Festival)

May 3, 2013

Victor Victorious [by Sharu Delilkan] It was sad to see the sparse turnout for what proved to be a truly professional show – something that Rainer Hersch picked up on and immediately incorporated wittily into his slick intro. His candour with the audience from the get-go about his inspiration to create a show around Victor Borge – more out of […]

REVIEW: Doctor Brown in Befrdfgth (Comedy Festival)

May 2, 2013

Bizarre and Expected [by Sharu Delilkan] To be honest I had no idea what to expect when I turned up to watch Doctor Brown in Befrdfgth. I chose to review this one merely because the limited write-up, that gave nothing away, insinuated that it would be a show like no other. And that it definitely was. The slick act, that […]

REVIEW: David Ladderman in Battle of the Bastards (Comedy Festival)

April 29, 2013

A show worth fighting for [by Matt Baker] Starting nearly half an hour late can result in an immediate uphill battle for a performer, but, with an enthusiastic energy and true showmanship, David Ladderman quickly has us on his side in his one-man show Battle of the Bastards. The show focuses on the sub-plot to King Lear, namely, the events […]

REVIEW: Andy Clay’s Book of Love (Comedy Festival)

April 29, 2013

A novel comedy [by Matt Baker] Four years after being nominated for Best Show in the NZ International Comedy Festival, Andy Clay’s Book of Love returns for its second season. Presented not as a one-man reading, but more of a self-help seminar, the show is broken into ten chapters, with Clay enthusiastically rattling off a great variety of hilarious observations […]

REVIEW: Chris Parker and Hayley Sproull in Outsiders’ Guide (Comedy Festival)

April 28, 2013

Its cooler outside [by James Wenley] Everyone is an outsider somewhere. Hayley Sproull and Chris Parker know this well, and find fertile ground for comedy, and laughs of identification, in their Outsiders’ Guide: A whirlwind guide to life and reasons yours doesn’t work. The thespianic-comedians are the insiders on the outside, who promise, in beatnik poetry at the top of […]

REVIEW: Chris Martin in Spot the Difference (Comedy Festival)

April 28, 2013

Close but no cigar [by Sharu Delilkan] The foyer of The Classic was buzzing as would be expected on the first official night of the 2013 NZ International Comedy Festival. The bar was under siege before the start of Chris Martin’s first show and the queue for the theatre snaked out the door to the last of the smokers building […]

REVIEW: Midnight in Moscow (Auckland Theatre Company)

April 24, 2013

Reds in your Head [by James Wenley] Since his stage debut in 1974, New Zealand playwright Dean Parker, who last year was awarded the inaugural Playmarket award for making a a significant artistic contribution to theatre in New Zealand, has been a consistent voice from the left worldview.  His last work staged in Auckland was The Hollow Men in 2008, the […]

REVIEW: Madame Butterfly (NZ Opera)

April 19, 2013

Colourful Culture Clash [by Sharu Delilkan] We were welcomed to the opening night of Madame Butterfly by The Edge’s Director Robbie Macrae, billed as the grand opening of the newly refurbished ASB Theatre with improved decor and acoustics. Having seen Madame Butterfly more than a decade before in Hong Kong we were intrigued to see how an American-Asian love story […]

REVIEW: Queen (Smoke Labours Productions)

April 18, 2013

Gay-up Storytelling [by James Wenley] The passing of this bill will validate my place in society. It does nothing for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender couples that have gone before me and had to hide their relationships. It does wonders for those of us that will be able to enjoy it at this time of great change. Most of […]

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