REVIEW: Cowboy Dreaming (Basement)

March 4, 2024

[The Ballad of Billy Bob and Bobby Bill] Pale pink and white fabric clouds hang in fluffy banks over the Basement Studio stage. On a single mattress are two, improbably still, denim-shorts-clad, cowboys. They lie on top of each other, stacked like flapjacks, with only the flashing of the silver studs on one of their belts giving the impression of […]

REVIEW: Jingle Bellethon Telethon (Basement Christmas Show)

December 19, 2023

It’s Christmas. And every day Australia steals more of our Kiwi kids. But you, kind caller, can stop this! Donate today to the Jingle Bellethon Telethon and we will send a parcel of Christmas kiwiana to remind our Kiwi kids of just what it means to be a Kiwi!  Created by Janaye Henry (Ngāti Kahu ki Whangaroa) and Bea Gladding […]

REVIEW: CHAIRS! (Basement)

November 17, 2023

[Chairs: Sit up and take note] In a world of wheels, Molly is stuck in place. What’s worse is no one in her life seems to recognise her plight, or they think it is merely a temporary state of mind. Shows like Chairs! are the reason why the Basement is my favourite theatre in Auckland.  From the outset, it has […]

REVIEW: Club Waack (Prowl Productions)

September 14, 2023

[Not So Moving] Disco beats are all over today’s pop music. Flared pants are making a comeback. And the dance style of waacking is more mainstream than ever. So it seems appropriate to take a look back at 70s culture and where it really came from – that is, queer POC nightclub scenes. It’s natural that Prowl Productions, who specialise […]

REVIEW: Henchmen (Basement)

August 14, 2023

Henchmen, written by Amy Wright, and directed by Mark Chayanat Whittet, is a play that takes the audience into a corporate wonderland hellscape of co-worker small-talk, ‘friendly’ upper middle management, and pretending to look busy while doing absolutely nothing. Having been highly commended by the Playwrights b425 competition, this play is an amalgamation of Megamind mixed in with the corporate […]

REVIEW: The Bitching Hour (Basement Theatre)

June 29, 2023

[Best Bitches] Carrie Rudzinski and Olivia Hall’s friendship has always been at the heart of their work. In The Bitching Hour it is front and centre, the glue that holds the show together. As soon as they enter, they launch into a poem about being bitches. It is bitching that brings them together – this fun, juicy, feminine-coded (oft degraded) […]

REVIEW: The Tempestuous (Basement Theatre)

June 15, 2023

[Promising Pastiche] Award-winning comedian Penny Ashton has once again delved into classic texts to present their tropes in a new light. A mash-up of Shakespeare’s plays and modern-day reality TV, The Tempestuous is a funny and clever romp. Replete with cross-dressing, disguises, bawdy jokes, puns, wordplay, and musical numbers, it is an excellently written script that Shakespeare himself would be […]

REVIEW: Them Fatale (NZ International Comedy Festival)

May 19, 2023

[Salacious Satire] Do you want to find out where your god-shaped hole is and why Jesus is actually a lesbian? Maybe you just want a tantalisingly good night at the theatre. Presented as part of the NZ International Comedy Festival, James Penwarden’s stand-up show Them Fatale will leave you dripping wet with laughter. Like the deadly Noir seductress eluded to […]

REVIEW: A Few Things I’ve Learnt about Dating and Death (Basement Theatre)

September 20, 2018

[Basic Instincts] I put my hand up to review this show based solely on the poster: A snarling woman puking Black bile while her eyes scream bloody murder. Sold. The moment actress Acacia O’Connor was screaming at me in German while covered in black war paint and pouring wine into an imaginary glass, I think this might be my favourite […]

REVIEW: Unsupervised (The Basement)

September 13, 2018

[Responsibility – The Musical!] Conceived and performed by Rebekah Head and Jess Brian, Unsupervised is part cabaret, part Muppets/Mr Rogers’ Neighborhood skit. The title refers to the performers’ relationship with adulthood and hence being ‘unsupervised’ in their lives. Bracketed by songs (topics include bringing down the patriarchy and a killer parody of yoof-centric sex ed presentations), Head and Brian talk about […]

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