REVIEW: Cock (Silo Theatre)

July 25, 2017

[No Joke] It seems only fitting that director Shane Bosher return to Auckland to direct a play from his bucket list for the company he co-founded. Presented by Silo Theatre and Auckland Live, the title of Mike Bartlett’s Laurence Olivier Award-winning play may put some people off, but it epitomises the raw honesty of the dialogue which drives Bartlett’s script. […]

REVIEW: Venus in Fur (Auckland Theatre Company)

August 23, 2016

[Theatrically Stimulating] It turned Nina Arianda into an overnight success, her performance earning her the 2012 Tony Award for Best Actress. In 2013 it became the most produced play that year with 22 productions. And its origin is found in a 19th century German S&M novella. At least that’s how Vanda Jordan, a brazen and uncouth, yet inarguably fascinating, actress refers […]

REVIEW: Mating in Captivity (Last Tapes)

August 21, 2016

[Page to Stage] There is a significant step missing in Auckland’s theatre industry. Between independent producers and production companies presenting their own works, whether old or new, there are few of either who dedicate themselves to introducing new playwrights, actors, designers, and directors to Auckland audiences. Enter Last Tapes: First Steps season, which is “dedicated to supporting and staging debut […]

REVIEW: Sandy Edmonds: Sure to Rise (Dionysos)

August 7, 2016

[Add Baking Powder] Written and performed by Jessie Cassin, Sandy Edmonds: Sure to Rise is a show stuck somewhere between a night with Sandy Edmonds and a jukebox musical theatre piece. A star of the New Zealand 60’s music scene, publicity raises the question of “what happened to Sandy and where did she go?” This is a ruse (and a […]

Matt Baker on Curious Incident

August 2, 2016

[Killed the Cat] EDITOR: Auckland Theatre Company’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time has completely sold out its run at the Q theatre, which is a remarkable achievement for the company. This follows their run of To Kill a Mockingbird at the Civic Theatre earlier in the year, which was their most successful drama, beating the record for their 12 Angry […]

REVIEW: Next Big Thing Festival 2016 (Auckland Theatre Company)

July 26, 2016

[Start Strong. Subvert, Go Nuts] Shoulda, Woulda, Coulda Devised with the cast under the direction of Ahi Karunaharan, Shoulda, Woulda, Coulda is the most earnest and self-effacing theatrical portrayal I’ve seen about what it means to be young. Theatrical deconstruction can be ostentatious at best when used by practitioners who are still learning its rules, but Karunaharan never allows his […]

REVIEW: Dexter’s Amazing African Adventure (TAPAC and Blue Baths):

July 20, 2016

[Glued to the Stage] Written by Jess Sayer, one of New Zealand’s grittiest adult playwrights, and Darlene Mohekey, the creative and musical genius The Blue Baths, Dexter’s Amazing African Adventure follows Dexter’s journey (a year after his deep sea discovery) to save the last African Black Horn Rhinoceros. It’s a simple premise with little conflict, but Sayer and Mohekey extrapolate […]

REVIEW: Edges (Rebel Theatre)

July 12, 2016

[Could get closer] There are many edges at which we arrive in our lives; leaving home, losing friends, falling in love, breaking up, and while the gravity of each is justified with respect to the individual life lived, it’s difficult to take anything away from a show written by two 19 year olds when it doesn’t introduce anything new to, […]

REVIEW: Everything Anyone Ever Wanted (Black Sheep Productions)

June 24, 2016

[Generation Movement] Less than a week after The Spinoff wrote this response to a North & South article on millennials, award-winning choreographic director Natalie Maria Clark presents Everything Anyone Ever Wanted, her fifth show in four years under the collective Black Sheep Productions and one of the strongest pieces of performance, let alone dance, to advocate for Generation Y. Its […]

REVIEW: The Elephant Thief (Indian Ink)

June 20, 2016

[Stealing the Show] One good reason to appreciate Indian Ink is that they are an established theatre company that take genuine risks in their work while cohesively maintaining a focus towards the longevity of their art. This is by no means a simple or easy achievement. To refrain from resting on artistic laurels requires exploration into new and sometimes unsuccessful territory, which can […]

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