Affairs of the Heart [by James Wenley] Glancing down the program for If I Only Had a Heart, you might think that director Aaron Tindell compiled this cabaret show’s song list by typing “heart” in his iTunes search bar. Each song has “heart” somewhere in the title, helpfully bolded in red. It’s a mix of Broadway tuners that only the most […]
Uncertain Futurecast [by James Wenley] The Yo Future movement has been spreading across the country. First devised in Wellington in 2011, Director Jo Randerson has worked with youth from Invercargill, Hamilton, Wairarapa and asked them provocations like “What does the world look like to you?” and “what would you fight for?” to create their past, present and Yo Future. The 14 […]
Soulless Depths [by James Wenley] An hour before the show, Uther Dean is sitting on a couch in The Basement foyer, playing arcade games courtesy of Young & Hungry. He later hangs outside the venue. When it’s approaching the 9pm mark, he goes to the door to usher us in. Once we’re all in the Studio, he strolls in, finds his […]
Tying laces before loose ends [by Matt Baker] Not unlike last year, The Basement’s second season of Young & Hungry provides an excellent dichotomy of comedy and tragedy with its 2014 offerings, Second Afterlife by Ralph McCubbin-Howell and Uncle Minotaur by Dan Bain, respectively. Unlike last year, however, there is a strong similarity in the thematic style of each play. […]
Bloom and grow forever [by James Wenley] If you’re not completely won over by the time the Von Trapp children are skipping along to Do-Re-Me, you should see a doctor immediately to check for a heart condition. The template for the New Zealand touring production is Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber’s 2006 production at the London Palladium (for which he cast Maria […]
Scaling different heights [by Matt Baker] It’s easy to forget that the 1953 British Mount Everest expedition consisted of 13 men other than Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay. With an equally warranted respect amongst the expedition members, and without the chance of generating jingoistic reprisal, playwright Gareth Davies offers us the narrative voices of expedition leader Sir John Hunt […]
Insect Repellent [by James Wenley] I’ve admired Pulitzer prize-winning playwright Tracy Letts’ work in Dallas trailer-trash set Killer Joe (his first play in 1996) and pill-popping American domestic-epic August: Osage County (2007). The Real Theatre Company, under Director David Coddington, have produced Bug (1997), Lett’s second play, and the first of which I haven’t been impressed by. Don’t expect Osage, it’s more […]
Striking set sizzles [by Sharu Delilkan] When I heard that the NZ Opera was finally staging Don Giovanni, after it had been performed at the Christchurch Arts Festival last year, I was adamant not to miss this larger than life production. And unlike some productions that promise a lot and deliver very little, this NZ Opera production not only met […]
And us [by Matt Baker] Tuesday 16th September 2014: a day like no other. For one, it was the only opportunity to see that evening’s performance by Barnie Duncan. While this is always true of the transient pleasure of all theatre, it is reinforced in …him, as that day’s newspaper held the cryptic key to this ingenious, ever-evolving theatrical experience. I […]
Political Swarm from Elections Past [by James Wenley] It’s the final week for the left and the right to duke it out in the election campaign. If this campaign had been written by a playwright and presented it at The Basement, it would have been criticised for its implausible plot twists (Snowden, Assange, and Eminem?) and rapid genre shifts. What’s […]
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