REVIEW: Contractions (Auckland Fringe)

April 19, 2021

[Managed Out] Clad in a white power suit and silk blouse, The Manager (Renaye Tamati) sits on a large, white leather computer chair at a glass desk. Plucky sales employee Emma enters and, at first, The Manager’s intentions are ambiguous. Flipflopping between friendly banter and withering stares, it seems The Manager wants to be more ‘friend’ than colleague –  or perhaps […]

REVIEW: Godzonia (Auckland Fringe)

April 17, 2021

[No place I’d rather be] A play about the Covid-19 pandemic that was itself postponed due to the February 2021 lockdown, Godzonia‘s delayed season manages to reframe what could have been a dead-end for the production.  Written by UK actor and writer Georgie Oulton, the production takes inspiration from Flares and Pitchforks – a text co-written by Oulton with fellow actor […]

REVIEW: You are [Not] Alone Here (Auckland Fringe)

April 7, 2021

[Pulling the Plug] The play begins in the foyer. The Basement bar area has been decorated with messages – I spot a myriad of advertisements among what appear to be snippets of conversations, perhaps emails or texts. This announces the central theme of You Are [Not] Alone Here: that our communication and relationships have become fractured through technology and consumerism.  […]

REVIEW: Coded (Auckland Fringe)

April 1, 2021

[A Clear Message of Empowerment] Coded, the second production in two productive years from theatre-maker Erin O’Flaherty (following An Organ of Soft Tissue), is a solo show which aims to journey into female sexuality through the perspective of a malfunctioning AI bot. The production debuts at TAPAC as part of a rescheduled program within the Auckland Fringe Festival, and uses […]

REVIEW: Standard Acts (Auckland Fringe)

March 13, 2021

[For Women to wrestle with…] There’s a large black square mat in front of us. A small table sits behind it, with a bottle of champagne, two glasses, and a tape deck on top. Karin McCracken and Arlo Gibson enter the sparsely designed space, both donned in workout gear and knee-pads, and we wait for someone to speak. The anticipation […]

REVIEW: Birdland (Auckland Fringe)

February 28, 2021

[Back in the Cage] Content Notification: Sexual Assault Did you hear about the big star whose only friend is his lawyer? The former sitcom actor who attends a homophobic church? The Oscar nominee who has his own cult? The square jawed wannabe leading man who’s into non-consensual cannibal fantasies? Well, of course you have.  Celebrity was once this unknowable, almost […]

REVIEW: Outta the Mouths of Babes (Auckland Fringe)

February 28, 2021

[Speaking Freely] This year Basement theatre offered the provocation to artists of making documentary theatre for Fringe 2021. This is intended to democratize the theatre space; to make it more accessible and less elite. To put the lives of the everyperson front and centre and explore notions of authenticity. Outta the Mouths of Babes centres Jude Lowry, “a mother, grandmother […]

REVIEW: Sunrise (Auckland Fringe)

February 25, 2021

[New Light] Created by a team many of whom are still in High School, Seed Theatre Company’s Sunrise is receiving a second season this Fringe after a run at Pitt Street Theatre last year. The play is both an exploration of mental health and a plea for open communication about the issues surrounding it, seeing a quartet of young people […]

REVIEW: GHOST MACHINE (Auckland Fringe)

February 24, 2021

The Anxious Ghost As the audience enters the Basement theatre there is an anxious ghost waiting for us. It flaps its ectoplasmic limbs about and counts the people attending with neurotic urgency. Apparently even the dead need to worry about ticket sales. In fact, as we’re about to discover, this luminescent spectre is a bit nervy about a lot of […]

REVIEW: Mr. Melancholy (Auckland Fringe)

February 24, 2021

[Keeping the Light On] Three actors are on stage as we take our seats in Studio One Toi Tu. One clicks something on and off. One slowly pours sand into a bucket. One holds balloons and teases the audience with the thrill of popping them, but never does. From this set-up alone, I knew we had entered the realm of […]