REVIEW: O le Pepelo, le Gaoi, ma le Pala’ai (Auckland Theatre Company)

March 16, 2024

The Road to Leadership is Through Service As soon as O le Pepelo, le Gaoi, ma le Pala’ai (The Liar, the Thief, and the Coward) starts, the audience is immersed in the Samoan language. The opening monologue by Vaofefe (The Village Vale), played by Jesme Fa’auuga, is recited fully in Samoan — no subtitles provided.  A bilingual production requires a […]

REVIEW: This Room is an Island (Te Pou)

February 26, 2024

[If you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes also into you] Described as an immersive experience to ‘journey through time, bearing witness to a Taiwanese perspective on legacies of colonialism (1930-1995)’, This Room is an Island sets the stage outside the theatre, beginning in the Te Pou foyer. One by one performers make their way through the audience to […]

REVIEW: The Clay Cart (Prayas Theatre)

December 7, 2023

Prayas Theatre Company returns to TAPAC with their production of The Clay Cart. The play opens with a meta twist; on stage the Prayas ensemble are rehearsing their own production of The Clay Cart, ready to bring this classic in Indian theatre to the New Zealand stage for the first time.  However, it’s no simple task. The cast is struggling […]

REVIEW: Heartbreak Hotel (Q Theatre)

November 30, 2023

[Find Some Room For Broken Hearted Lovers] Take a walk down Lonely Street to Heartbreak Hotel at the Q Theatre, the latest creative venture by Eleanor Bishop and Karin McCracken.  It’s hard to know what to expect when you arrive at the Heartbreak Hotel. When our hotelier and host (Karin McCracken) comes on stage in a bedazzled lilac suit, backed […]

REVIEW: Concerning the UFO Sighting Outside Mt Roskill, Auckland (Te Pou)

November 15, 2023

[My Love is Alien] Reon Bell’s (Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāti Kahungunu ki Te Wairoa) Concerning the UFO Sighting Outside Mt Roskill, Auckland returns to the stage after appearing in the Auckland Pride Festival, and the Kia Mau Festival to kick off the 2023 Rangatahi season at Te Pou Theatre.  Immersed in sci-fi and kiwiana, it’s Auckland, but not as […]

REVIEW: Skin Hunger (Q Theatre)

November 8, 2023

[Like a Prayer] Grief, masturbation, and the catholic church – the holy trinity of Tatiana Hotere’s Skin Hunger, a one woman show that explores life after the death of a spouse and how grief can make you unexpectedly horny. Returning to Q theatre after a sell-out season earlier this year, the show has been reimagined — transformed from a three […]

REVIEW: Idle (W Dance Company)

October 31, 2023

[Let Me Wrap My Teeth Around the World] How does one communicate the starving artist through dance alone? W Dance Company takes on this challenging feat in Idle, an original contemporary dance production exploring the effects of artistic starvation.  It’s no easy accomplishment, contemporary dance is endlessly interpretive therein lies the challenge to tell a cohesive narrative — but Idle […]