All Posts – Page 126 – Theatre Scenes: Auckland Theatre Blog (Reviews and commentary)

FRINGE PREVIEW: The ‘Motherlock’ Controversy

February 23, 2011

Lock up your Mother! If it was a competition, Motherlock would be odds on favorite to win the not always coveted ‘Most Controversial Play Award’ in this year’s Fringe circuit. Unashamedly based on the real life experiences of Auckland playwright and director Melissa Fergusson, it explores the stigmas and experiences of her four pregnancies to four different men. Scandalous? You […]

FRINGE PREVIEW: The Adventures of Alvin Sputnik: Deep Sea Explorer

February 18, 2011

Tim Watts gives an in-depth interview. Literally. The Adventures of Alvin Sputnik: Deep Sea Explorer is set in a (not so?) fictional future where the seas have risen and billions of people have died. For the few that remain, they must look to the oceans for the continued survival of the human race. Alvin Sputnik, who is brought to life […]

FRINGE PREVIEW: The Hermitude of Angus, Ecstatic

February 17, 2011

A beautiful and stupid comedy from Australia… The Hermitude of Angus, Ecstatic sounds nothing like your typical comedy show. Billed as a ‘read along comedy’, it’s a fusion of comedy, dance, music, clowning… and philosophy. Created by Slow Clap productions’ Vachel Spirason and Stephanie Brotchie, it won ‘Best Comedy’ at its Melbourne Fringe Festival debut last year, and crosses the […]

FESTIVAL PREVIEW: Massive Company’s Havoc in the Garden

February 15, 2011

There will be Havoc. In the Garden. HAVOC IN THE GARDEN rehearsals look like crazy fun. Each day starts with the most high-stakes, intense game of handball I have ever seen, making my high-school handball games look like a game for, well, kids. There are shouts, and loud howls of triumph when director Sam Scott is finally vanquished out of […]

Auckland Theatre Company presents Well Hung by Robert Lord

REVIEW: Well Hung

February 13, 2011

Auckland Theatre Company give the police a good bollocking It is one of New Zealand’s most enduring unsolved crimes. The year is 1970. The place is Pukekawa, small town NZ. The bodies of husband and wife Harvey and Jeanette Crew are found in the Waikato River. The murder weapon is established as a .22 rifle. Local Farmer Arthur Allan Thomas […]

Auckland Venue Update: ATC on the Waterfront!

February 11, 2011

ASB: Creating Theatres… After looking at Auckland Theatre’s venue issues in my last blog post, the NZ Herald has an article today giving more details about Auckland Theatre Company’s dream new theatre project: “Auckland Theatre Company is seeking a $10 million ratepayers’ contribution towards the proposed building beside the new ASB head office, which is under construction in the Wynyard Quarter…. […]

Mercury Theatre and the Auckland Venue Problem

February 6, 2011

Got a spare $3 million? Buy a theatre – it’s a steal! On Saturday I joined the flash mob photoshoot for Mercury Rising – a grassroots campaign aiming to ensure that the Mercury Theatre, the oldest surviving theatre in Auckland, is reclaimed as a performing arts venue. It drew attention to the potential opportunities for an increased and needed range […]

REVIEW: I won’t be happy until I lose one of my limbs

February 4, 2011

Ice-cream is apparently one of the most searched for terms on the internet. Who knew? There’s certainly something about the stuff that makes people happy. On arrival at the Basement for ‘I won’t be happy until I lose one of my limbs’ we were presented with a free ice-cream cone. This made me happy. What a clever way to make […]

EXTENDED INTERVIEW: Rocky Horror’s Richard O’Brien

January 30, 2011

RICHARD O’BRIEN on wanting to play Eddie, the 1973 Opening Night, growing up a disaffected youth in New Zealand and more…. I have never seen an Auckland audience react in quite the way they responded to Richard O’Brien’s entrance in the recent season of Rocky Horror Show at the Civic. Richard strides on, dazzling in a Gaultier denim coat […]

Looking forward: What’s on my theatrical radar for 2011?

January 26, 2011

Just quietly, I’m really rather excited about 2011 in theatre. Its early days, sure, but there are a heck of a lot of upcoming shows that are definitely on my theatrical radar. My theadar if you will. Here’s what is making it go ping! Auckland Fringe is starting in a month. This upstart alternative festival launched in 2009 with 75 […]