REVIEW: Ngā Rorirori (Kōanga Festival 2024)

October 14, 2024

[Presented by Tawata Productions] Ngā Rorirori is an energetic and expansive farce, which explores interpersonal relationships and individual attitudes to treatment of whenua; through an impressive emulsion of dance, theatre, and song. The play follows Pillow and Manuela Rorirori, a brother and sister. Manuela is an activist and organisational wiz, while Pillow is a convicted fraudster and smooth talker. They […]

REVIEW: Māori Krishna + AltarNative (Kōanga Festival 2024)

September 30, 2024

Māori Krishna + AltarNative is an enchanting and educational double-bill of semi-autobiographical solo performance pieces. Despite being insular and episodic, the two constituent pieces are linked by shared themes and subject matter. This connection between pieces is cemented by the audience’s involvement in the pack-away and set-up between shows, and the lack of break in performance between the pieces. The […]

REVIEW: AIGA (Te Pou)

March 24, 2024

AIGA is an emotive and visually spectacular devised performance piece, which deals with themes of interaction and desire as a Pasifika woman with disabilities. The performance piece consists of biographical vignettes made up of singing, dancing, poetry, and acted scenes. The main performer and subject of the piece, Lusi Faiva, was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at the age of two. […]

REVIEW: Sirens of the Silver Screen (Q Theatre)

February 28, 2024

Offered as part of Auckland Pride Festival 2024, Sirens of the Silver Screen is a charming and energetic drag cabaret, which pays homage to the plots and songs of popular films.  Miss Demeanour, Miss Givings, and Miss Manage provide renditions of songs which typify the nostalgia of films gone by. These performances were slotted into a loose narrative arc, which […]

REVIEW: Ngā Reta (Te Pou)

December 7, 2023

Ngā Reta is a poignant and humorous solo performance piece, which explores the individual nature of relationships and identity, in total-immersion reo Māori. The play follows Mia’s journey after receiving a box of letters, ngā reta, in the mail. The letters, from Kuia, detail her mother’s life and hint at the identity of her father. This throws Mia into turmoil, […]

REVIEW: Limited Time Only (Te Pou)

November 29, 2023

Limited Time Only is an entertaining and heartfelt exploration of love, loss, and what is important in life.  The play follows three siblings who meet up on the one-year anniversary of their mum passing. Opening a mysterious envelope thrusts the siblings into a reluctant journey through the nearby wilderness, with the promise of treasure. The story is funny and emotionally […]

REVIEW: Boom Shankar (Matchbox 2023)

September 14, 2023

Boom Shankar is a delightfully silly and immensely creative piece, which explores and subverts ideas around love and death. The play follows Shankar Shinde, an overconfident and arrogant bomb defusal expert, and Murray Murray, an overworked but conscientious bureaucrat in heaven. Writers and performers, Bala Murali Shingade and Aman Bajaj, must be commended for creating and embodying such complex and […]

REVIEW: I Want To Be Happy (Herald Theatre)

September 8, 2023

I Want To Be Happy is a deeply human and often surreal exploration of love, loss, and the individuality of happiness. The play follows Binka, a guinea pig in a testing facility, who is wonderfully realised and commandingly portrayed by Jennifer Ludlam. Paul is the laboratory technician assigned to look after Binka, whose portrayal is a masterclass in subtlety by […]

REVIEW: Heart Go…Boom! (Massive Theatre Company)

July 30, 2023

Heart Go…Boom! is an entertaining and affecting devised piece which explores and critiques the relationships we have with ourselves, and with others.  The play consists of five performers sharing semi-autobiographical solo pieces and wider ensemble work. The stories depicted are a great mix of universal and personal – from self-service checkout woes to having a twin, or from fitting-in to […]

REVIEW: a mixtape for maladies (Auckland Arts Festival)

April 11, 2023

 a mixtape for maladies is a poignant yet entertaining new work by Ahi Karunaharan depicting a family’s experience of unrest in Sri Lanka.  Presented as a ‘performed reading’ in the Auckland Arts Festival, the event begins with each of the performers introducing themselves and giving a brief description of their background. It is highlighted that in a perfect world, a […]

1 2