Set them free [by Matt Baker] As a double-bill, The Cagebirds and The Collector are a clear and legitimate programming decision by Wild Boy Productions, with each play containing inherent, parallel themes of being trapped, isolation, choice, and freedom. As a Halloween double-bill, however, the choice is not totally clear – other than as a marketing gimmick. As a text, The […]
Grimm sparks grins [by Sharu Delilkan and Tim Booth] It was impossible to ignore the writing on the wall as we walked up the stairs to the Basement Studio. A closer look revealed the actual script that had been penned by none other than Ghastly Dash Grimm: A Tale Of Unease’s writer/director Benjamin Henson. Ben Anderson’s dramatic stage design was […]
Give them another [by Matt Baker] The Hobson Street Theatre Company has something significant on their hands: real people with real stories. Founded four and a half years ago, it began as an activity on offer at the mission, eventually developing into a legitimate theatre company, and its company is legitimately developing. The central conflict for drama is there, a classic […]
Dionysus would approve [by James Wenley] For a story that has passed from an oral tradition, and then written down by Homer, it’s intriguing how The Paper Cinema tell their Odyssey mainly through visual imagery and sound, filmed and played live. Even with the technological mediation (or perhaps because of) I felt connected with a story that has been retold and […]
Soup for the Imagination [by James Wenley] Now in its second year, The Feast has the potential to be one of the most important avenues for development of new work. Created through Red Leap Theatre’s incubator program, the company’s physical theatre devising process is used as a springboard for the development of new work from its participants. The Feast marks the […]
Clever, Compassionate and Concise [by Sharu Delilkan] It appears as if the play has already begun as we file into Q’s Loft space. Solo actress Adura Onashile busily writes on the blackboard with her back facing us and occasionally turns around to mouth words to her ‘other actors’ on stage. Before long you find yourself sucked into Henrietta Lacks’ world, […]
Icarian Heights [by Matt Baker] “Having all the required or desirable elements, qualities, or characteristics” is not the definition I would use to describe Perfect Place. While there are no new stories under the sun, Colin Garlick’s complete lack of an attempt to re-imagine, or at the very least thinly veil, one iota of the stories he has haphazardly drafted onto […]
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 […]
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