De-Amn! [by Matt Baker] While the world would be a better place without feeling the need to have to mention gender politics, it does need to be noted that if a comedienne can have the male 30+ demographic of her audience laughing about vaginal waxing, she’s nailing her material. The blurb for DeAnne Smith’s show Get Into It ends by saying […]
Optimistic and Exuberant [by Matt Baker] The human condition is a universal concept, one which art helps us to understand. The human experience, however, can be much more personal and potentially humourous. It’s an incredibly broad topic, so comedian Tim Batt has narrowed his show’s narrative down to a significant period of his life: post break-up. It’s not an inherently hilarious one, […]
Global Greening [by Matt Baker] Brendon Green is changing the world, one show and one problem at a time – or trying to at least. The show is structured on a familiar television format which has proved popular to New Zealand audiences via 7 Days. But the format also has the potential for not quite hitting the mark, as New Zealand’s version of […]
Missing Pages [by Matt Baker] When the book that inspires a play has been called a modern classic, when the play itself has been self-attributed with “…beautiful, magical, surprising, touching, terrifying, joyous, inspiring, funny, and ultimately uplifting…”, and when the premiere was critically acclaimed as a “hilarious, honest, and beautifully rendered play”, there is a lot to which any other production must […]
Actus reus [by Matt Baker] “To be frivolous about frivolous matters, that’s merely boring. To be frivolous about something that’s in some way deadly serious, that’s true comedy.” So said Alexander Mackendrick, who directed the 1955 film upon which Graham Linehan’s 2011 stage adaptation is based. Farce requires dangerIt requires an expertly balanced combination of drama and comedy played at both extremes. While […]
Time for a Bang [by Matt Baker] Sam Brooks is a playwright with a stutter, but his most autobiographical play is not about stuttering, it’s about love for others and one’s self. Stuttering is instead a subplot in this unique fringe performance by one of Auckland’s top young playwrights. Sharing the space with a multitude of shows (The Basement’s Sophie Henderson’s […]
3 in 2 1… Go! [by Matt Baker] Presented by Etched Dance Productions, 3 in 2 1 is the staging of three short dance works for the 2015 Auckland Fringe Festival. As a duet, These Our Body addresses several themes that are inevitably raised when exploring the concept of identity and self. Beginning from a relatively intellectual narrative standpoint, the piece […]
Es gehts [by Matt Baker] Selecting a graduation/showcase production for an acting/industry institution is not aneasy task. Numbers aside, gender and the suitability of sensibilities can be a difficult jigsaw to manage. Director Ben Henson has chosen wisely by gifting The Actor’s Program 2014 class with Arthur Meek’s Sheep, which has been adequately expanded to its full cast size. Henson’s tweaking […]
Successful Sequel [by Matt Baker] Breathing and listening. They’re key components to acting, and they feature in Toa Fraser’s direction and latest script, Pure and Deep. Even for those who haven’t seen Fraser’s first full-length play, Bare, the nostalgia embedded in this, its sequel, along with performers Ian Hughes’ and Mia Blake’s trust and familiarity is enough to sense the successful […]
Not just blind luck [by Matt Baker] In a similar vein to last year’s White Rabbit Red Rabbit, Silo Theatre presents a production that’s success banks almost entirely on each individual show. Appropriately titled, actress Natalie Medlock literally has no idea whom she is about to meet, the show more or less improvised around some narrative points and direction via text […]
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