REVIEW: Sirens of the Silver Screen (Q Theatre)

February 28, 2024

Offered as part of Auckland Pride Festival 2024, Sirens of the Silver Screen is a charming and energetic drag cabaret, which pays homage to the plots and songs of popular films.  Miss Demeanour, Miss Givings, and Miss Manage provide renditions of songs which typify the nostalgia of films gone by. These performances were slotted into a loose narrative arc, which […]

REVIEW: Dirty Work (Indian Ink Theatre Company)

June 19, 2023

The absurdity of work is a central theme explored in Indian Ink’s new production Dirty Work which premiered on the Rangatira stage at Q Theatre last Friday night. Written by Indian Ink founders and creative collaborators Jacob Rajan & Justin Lewis, the production is inspired by Camus’ The Myth of Sisyphus and explores the meaninglessness and repetitiveness that often constitute […]

REVIEW: The King of Taking (Q Theatre)

November 13, 2022

Thom Monckton’s The King of Taking is a physicality-based solo performance, wherein the petulant, titular King tries, and fails, to navigate his kingdom and his subjects – to hilarious result. The lights go up to Gemma Tweedie’s sparse and luxurious set, with the richly-coloured fabric banners and tent doing an amazing job of delineating the performance area. Of immediate note, […]

REVIEW: Krishnan’s Dairy (Indian Ink Theatre Company)

June 15, 2022

[Krishnan’s Heart] Krishnan’s Dairy premiered in 1997 and was the Winner of the prestigious Edinburgh Fringe First Award, and two Production of the Year Awards in New Zealand.  Brightly coloured sheets of material hang from the ceiling, evoking the sari. Centre-stage, the Dairy counter is made from simple wood, patchworked with coloured new-stories and painted blue. Jacob and his musician […]

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: Transhumance (Auckland Pride)

February 10, 2020

[Gender Training] A solo performance piece by New York-based clown and theatre artist Ania Upstill, Transhumance is the funny and poignant story of one clown’s exploration of gender, as they try on different genders and live through each one’s pros and cons. Clad in gender-neutral one-piece undergarments and a coat, Upstill’s clown is charming and captivating, immediately setting us  at ease even […]

REVIEW: The WonderWombs (The Dust Palace)

December 20, 2019

Wonder No More Created by Auckland-based cirque-theatre company the Dust Palace, The Wonderwombs is a tantalising performance of aerial acrobatics, challenging our perceptions of womanhood.   Curiosity begins as soon as we take out seats. Hanging from the ceiling of Q theatre are various innocuous pastel pink objects – a rubber glove, a child’s fortune-teller game – and items move towards […]

REVIEW: Legacy Six (Auckland Pride)

February 10, 2019

[Fine-tuning a much-loved project] I had the privilege of watching Legacy Project’s fifth rendition in 2018, and have some familiarity with artistic director Bruce Brown’s skill at the delicate craft of short play curation. The program declares its support for passionate and creative individuals to ‘demonstrate the power we wield when we come together to share something that is meaningful […]

REVIEW: Here Lies Love (Silo Theatre)

November 30, 2018

[All that Glitters is not Gold] If you’re after a fun and entertaining end-of-year night out, Silo Theatre’s production of Here Lies Love is perfect. It is based on David Byrne and Fatboy Slim’s concept album Here Lies Love, about the life of the former First Lady of the Philippines Imelda Marcos. The performances from the five divas – Villette Dasha, Colleen Davis, […]

REVIEW: Medusa (Q Matchbox)

October 27, 2018

[Reclaiming Female Rage] Smashing all my preconceptions of what theatre and the mythological story of Medusa are about, co-creators Nisha Madhan, Julia Croft, and Virginia Frankovich have created an aural, visceral and mind-blowing ‘out-of-this-world’ theatrical experience.  There were no snakes in this production, no monstrous females, no men being turned into stone — but there was a lot of female […]

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