[Breathing New Life] Silo Theatre Company’s first production after their almost year-long hiatus is one that blends cinema and theatre. It exposes the process of film-making, particularly that of foley and score which often go unnoticed by viewers, meant to provide realism and atmosphere that affect the audience mostly subconsciously. George A. Romero’s 1968 Night of the Living Dead is […]
[Questioning Reality] The Writer by Ella Hickson is a play full of provocation. It asks questions it cannot answer. It challenges the dominant modes of theatre (and society) while still existing within them. What are we to take away from that? The back side of some set pieces sit on the stage. We can see right into the wings, where […]
[Bridging the Space Between] Silo Theatre and Auckland Arts Festival present Upu, a remounted production of Oceanic poetry, brought alive by Māori and Pasifika performers. An empty thrust stage – boxed in on three sides by the audience – juts out with angular raised platforms. A handful of theatre-goers sit with their backs against the central unit, eyes wide in […]
[All that Glitters is not Gold] If you’re after a fun and entertaining end-of-year night out, Silo Theatre’s production of Here Lies Love is perfect. It is based on David Byrne and Fatboy Slim’s concept album Here Lies Love, about the life of the former First Lady of the Philippines Imelda Marcos. The performances from the five divas – Villette Dasha, Colleen Davis, […]
[Will The Simpsons Save the World?] This play reminds of a fantasy David Mamet told in one of his books about working in Hollywood. If the apocalypse ever happened, he could make a living telling stories around the campfire, while the studio executives he worked for would starve to death. The power of storytelling to act as a vehicle for […]
[Transitory Spaces] When prodigal son Isaac (Arlo Green) returns from Afghanistan to find his family home turned upside down, he’s rightfully shocked. Having spent his last three years in the Marines’ Mortuary Affairs division, and dishonourably discharged, it’s no surprise he longs for something familiar and recognisable. Mommy Paige (Rima Te Wiata) has done away with all the rituals and […]
[Big Fish] If truth is often stranger than fiction, why is plausibility so necessary in theatrical plot? While Shakespeare was never opposed to using coincidence or serendipity in order to drive the action of his plays, when such treatments are applied to contemporary modes of theatrical style, the resulting juxtaposition between anachronistic action and modern spectacle risks becoming jarring to […]
[Look Again] Desire as an autonomous experience. Now there’s a novel idea. It’s no secret that sexual education across the board is still lacking, whether we’re talking about sexual orientation, contraception, or even basic female anatomy, but something that isn’t often spoken of is a woman’s power to experience and shape her own desire outside of the patriarchal lens. This […]
[Kiwi Ingenuity] Silo Theatre have taken a step in a new direction with Peter and the Wolf, throwing aside the tried and tested and really allowing the imaginations of their designers to flourish in this delightful piece of children’s theatre. Peter and the Wolf is a musical fairy tale written by Sergei Prokofiev in 1936, originally intended to teach young […]
[A Streetcar Named Trump?] The cry that has resounded through the ages, courtesy of an iconic performance by Marlon Brando, is Stanley’s forceful “Stelllaaaaa” as he hollers for his wife to come back to him. Stella had taken refuge with the upstairs neighbours after Stanley had struck her. But in Silo’s production, Stella’s anguished and defeated cries of “Blanche” at […]
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