REVIEW: Bright Star (Plumb Productions)

September 12, 2018

[Star is Born Again] Although set forty-four years ago in Dallas, Texas, Bright Star strikes a still very relevant chord in its handling of misogyny in the workplace, the conflicts between careers and family, and the challenges of a pursuit of excellence. Written by Stuart Hoar, the play follows a chapter in the life of Beatrice and Brian Tinsley, New […]

REVIEW: The Girl and the Gay (NZ International Comedy Festival 2015)

April 26, 2015

Grindr Profile: Looking for Laughs [by James Wenley] The font is bold and cartoonish, a pretty blue and pink wash covers the poster, which suggests one should expect a bright and breezy comedy. But the photograph sells a different show. Co-stars Chelsea McEwan Millar and Jordan Blaikie lie strewn on the floor, a look of earnest despondency on their faces. The […]

REVIEW: Wine Lips (Smoke Labours Productions)

August 27, 2014

Eight out of tannin  [by Matt Baker] If you’ve ever wondered what The Basement greenroom looks like, or the stories its walls could tell, Wine Lips is the answer. From the authentic show posters featured on Bex Isemonger’s set and Amber Molloy’s inventive lighting design, both of which thankfully make full use of the greenroom mirror, to the stalwart ease […]

REVIEW: The Slapdash Assassin (Science Of Humans Theatre)

March 3, 2014

Killer Father Ted [by Andrew Parker] If you knew nothing at all about Ireland or its people then chances are a trip to see Mark Power’s play The Slapdash Assassin would get you up to speed, or at the very least deter you from visiting anytime in the immediate future. One half of the Basement’s ‘Murder Season’, Assassin is a blackly […]

REVIEW: Eigengrau (potent pause) productions

November 14, 2012

More than black and white [by Matt Baker] Meet Cassie. She’s just moved in with Rose, who’s just had a one-night stand with Mark, who’s fed up of living with Tim, who secretly loves Rose, who’s just using Tim to get to Mark (who she loves), who’s just become very interested in Cassie. While the magnitude of that sentence is […]

REVIEW: The Terrific Tale of Tabatha Talmus & These are the Skeletons of Us

August 11, 2011

Labyrinth and 500 Days of Summer? Skip the films, see the plays… [by James Wenley] When I interviewed Chris Neels on Theatre Scenes for Skin Tight in June he mentioned that he was working on two shows for a double bill at the Basement theatre in August. “Last year the Basement put out a call for proposals and I thought… […]