REVIEW: Loving Kurt Vonnegut (The Basement)

August 23, 2015

The Bourgeois and The Beautiful [by Jess Holly Bates] It’s the middle-class girl in me that loves the set of this play the moment I sit down: the blonde wood of the stage boards, the stark clarity of three white doors, and the the central divan, draped with shagpile. Everything is like the display bedroom in a linen store, down to […]

REVIEW: Yes Prime Minister (The EDGE)

July 11, 2013

I could hardly say no [by Matt Baker] Originating from the BBC series, which ran between 1980 and 1984, and from 1986-88, writers Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn have reunited to update and adapt their BAFTA winning television series Yes, Prime Minister to the stage. Premiering at the Comedy Theatre in Melbourne 2012, the Australian production opened last night at […]

REVIEW: Where Are You My Only One? (The Basement)

November 29, 2012

Wears its heart on its sleeve [by Matt Baker] The decision to revisit a piece of work is an intriguing endeavour. For David Aston it was based on his belief that Where Are You My Only One? – a piece that he first performed in 2003 as part of Silo Theatre’s To Russia With Love mentoring project for young directors […]

REVIEW: A Shortcut to Happiness (ATC)

June 12, 2012

No Shortcuts here [by James Wenley] I attended A Shortcut to Happiness on Saturday night, the same night as the All Black/ Ireland test. Stuart Devenie, always a class act, made a pithy reference to the night’s other big event, as his character enters an empty dance studio, save for fretting instructor Natasha (Laura Hill) – Saturday nights are no […]

PREVIEW: Yours Truly (Basement Fest)

September 27, 2011

Jack the Ripper finally comes to Auckland, and he’s got a knife… [by James Wenley] When I met Anders Falstie-Jensen during his lunch break from rehearsals at the Basement, he was beaming and full of enthusiasm for his latest project. The play he is directing, Yours Truly sounds like a ripper. Jack the Ripper to be precise. Written by Albert Belz, […]