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

REVIEW: Drowning in Veronica Lake (Auckland Fringe)

March 8, 2011

Veronica lives on! [by Sharu Delilkan] Alex Ellis has got the whole package – the petite frame, platinum blonde hair and Veronica Lake’s signature peek-a-boo bangs, which became a phenomenon in the 1940s. She may be a lot taller than Lake was in real life (5 ft 11 in instead of 5 ft 2 in) but that doesn’t detract from […]

REVIEW: Paper Sky – A Love Story (Auckland Arts Festival)

March 7, 2011

Paper and Puppetry. Sometimes theatre can take you to that other place. All the elements combine to transport you to the place akin to the dreamland, the subconscious, where anything can happen. I’ve had this experience before, in Red Leap Theatre’s previous work The Arrival no less. It was with high hopes that I entered the Glen Eden Playhouse for […]

REVIEW: Xerxes (Auckland Arts Festival)

March 4, 2011

Xerxes ‘Handel-ed’ at its best [by Sharu Delilkan] King Xerxes could well be likened to an 18th-century Mr Bean, with a cruel streak. Australian-born counter tenor Tobias Cole, who plays the lead has a crystal clear voice that’s juxtaposed against his ‘Mr Bean-like’ dramatic facial expressions. Before I proceed I must admit this is my first experience of Xerxes – […]

Silo Theatre (finally) announce their first show for 2011!

March 4, 2011

Is that alcohol I smell on your breath? I’ve been eager to see what Silo Theatre Company are unleashing onto Auckland in 2011. At the end of 2009 they announced their 2010 season in style with PM John Key interviewing Oliver Driver. They had a strong start with That Face, When the Rain Stops falling was amazing, Happy Days with Robyn […]

Aotea Centre Redux

March 4, 2011

The acoustics are being fixed! The acoustics are being fixed! My face greeted me in The Aucklander yesterday, sitting on the steps of the Aotea Centre. Joanna Davies asked me my thoughts as a regular theatre-goer about a budgetted do-up of the ASB Theatre, that until now hasn’t recieved much media attention (and I previously didn’t know about!). Auckland Council plans […]

REVIEW: Homeless Economics (Auckland Fringe)

March 3, 2011

Real Lives, Real Theatre. Theatre, in many ways, is all about being what you are not. Actors research and rehearse hard in order to embody characters that are nothing like them, playwrights write ‘fictional’ stories… all in the hope of being able to portray some sort of ‘truth’ onstage. It was revelatory and refreshing last night to see Homeless Economics, […]

REVIEW: Chalk (Auckland Fringe)

March 3, 2011

Anywhere but Shady Meadows! There is something very disconcerting watching Isla Adamson and Josephine Stewart -Tewhiu play elderly characters in their devised Fringe play Chalk. These gorgeous young performers transform and contract their bodies in such a believable way that the characters have a sense of the uncanny. Welcome to Shady Meadows Retirement home. A commercial voice over tells us […]

REVIEW: Constantinople (Auckland Fringe)

March 3, 2011

Toga Party. Constantinople is a famous city founded by the Emperor Constantine in 330BC, but had its name changed to Istanbul in 1930. Actor Barnie Duncan (Outrageous Fortune) liked its name better the first time. He uses the city as a name for his ‘soloish’ play and a very lose framework to experiment with some absurd gags, and to play some […]

REVIEW: Opera Risque (Auckland Fringe)

March 2, 2011

Rocky Horror Opera Show [by Sharu Delilkan] The poster of Opéra Risqué, definitely promised naughtily attired girls singing opera in Moulin Rouge style lingerie. And the diverse crowd waiting outside at 5.30 pm were obviously anticipating a mischievous evening. The trepidation was heightened by the sight of scantily clad women appearing and disappearing at the box office like fleeting flights […]

Welcome Sharu!

March 2, 2011

I am very excited to welcome Sharu Delilkan as a guest contributor and theatre reviewer for Theatre Scenes. She has been the freelance Entertainment editor for The Aucklander for the last 4+ years, writing about and promoting a huge number of arts events. She has a Bachelor of Science in Mass Communications (Journalism Major), was co-founder and managing director of […]