This Week in the Theatre Scene: Young & Hamlet (7-13 October)

October 7, 2013

Auckland Theatre gets Game of Thrones mad [by James Wenley] PICK ONE: Young & Hungry Who’s putting it on? Wellington has been doing Young & Hungry – a festival of new theatre with cast and crew aged 15-25 working with industry mentors – for yonks. Auckland only recently got a taste, with three years of Y&H under the wings of Auckland […]

REVIEW: Hamlet (Galatea Theatre)

October 5, 2013

The Red Tragedy [by Matt Baker] The problem with Hamlet as a play is that it treats character over plot. The success of Galatea Theatre’s production, therefore, is the casting of Calum Gittins as the titular Dane. Asides from his remarkable technique, Gittins’ performance is packed with pathos, giving full colour to the extreme range of Hamlet’s capricious nature. This […]

PREVIEW: The Lion in the Winter (The Pumphouse Theatre)

May 26, 2012

A timeless classic [by Sharu Delilkan] Although The Lion in the Winter has been around since the 1960s, it’s actor Brendan Lovell‘s first time acting in, let alone reading the play. The 27-year-old actor admits he had never heard of American playwright James Goldman’s play, that debuted on Broadway in 1966, until the audition. But he’s by no means new […]

REVIEW: Mrs Van Gogh (Galatea Theatre)

April 22, 2012

Wikipedia for the stage [by Rosabel Tan] At the beginning of Mrs Van Gogh, Johanna Gesina Bonger (Gina Timberlake) introduces herself to the audience. I see my name does not strike a chord, she says. Perhaps you will know me better as Johanna Van Gogh – wife of Theo (Brendan Lovell), sister-in-law to Vincent (John Goudge), and one of the […]

REVIEW: The Secret Life of a Bellydancer

December 16, 2011

Shimmy into the Silly Season [by Sharu Delilkan] The very title The Secret of a Bellydancer conjures up multiple images. And depending on how vivid your imagination is, it can be as raunchy as you like. For that reason I decided to go with an open mind. And also having done bellydancing classes before, when I lived in Hong Kong […]