REVIEW: The Black (The Basement)

September 9, 2015

The National Bank horse is back. And she’s pissed. [by Tim George] A multimedia piece about a woman’s battle with depression, The Black comes with a terrific pedigree. Written by and starring Josephine Stewart-Tewhiu, and directed by the impressively prolific Tom Sainsbury, it is a well-produced piece with ambition to spare in its use of back-projected images and animations. There is a warm, […]

Scene by James: Cabaret and Revolution

September 5, 2015

[by James Wenley] What happens when two Cabaret divas have the same song on their set list? Answer: let them both do it! In a quirk of programming, both Yana Alana and Camille O’Sullivan used Leonard Cohen’s ‘Anthem’ as one of their big finishing numbers. With Aussie firecracker Yana Alana costumed only with an electric blue wig and body paint […]

REVIEW: Kiss the Fish (Indian Ink Theatre Company)

September 15, 2013

A fish worth kissing [by Sharu Delilkan] The foyer of Q Theatre was like a Who’s Who of Auckland’s theatre industry last night – alive with anticipation of Indian Ink Theatre Company’s opening night of Kiss the Fish. Just like the masks that are used in the majority of Indian Ink’s shows, where no two are alike, we knew we […]

REVIEW: Gravity Hotel (The Basement)

May 30, 2013

Mass Appeal [by Matt Baker] The less said about Gravity Hotel, the better. I say this, not in regards to the incredibly high quality of the work, but of its journey, as it is one that simply must be experienced as opposed to explained. Very rarely does an audience remain seated post show in huddled discussion about the events they’ve just […]

Help crowdfund The Keepers

September 4, 2012

I’ve just pledged towards ‘The Keepers’, one of my favourite shows at The Basement Theatre last year. Created by a quartet of talented ladies – Julia Croft, Veronica Brady, Claire Cowan and Theresa Hanaray aka Thread Theatre – it was an especially exciting show for me because it was so different to our normal theatre fare – experimenting with movement, music and non-verbal […]

REVIEW: Black Confetti (Auckland Theatre Company)

July 7, 2012

Shivering and Shaking; The Glittery Black [by Rosabel Tan] Siggy (Kip Chapman) is the quintessential drifter. He’s spent the past seven years “finding his niche” – that is, working his way through every stage one paper offered by the Faculty of Arts – and he’d happily continue this search, only The Dean (Adam Gardiner) is now threatening to kick him […]

PREVIEW: Black Confetti (Auckland Theatre Company)

June 26, 2012

Siggy Tardust! [by Sharu Delilkan] When Kip Chapman saw Black Confetti at Auckland Theatre Company’s The Next Stage programme last year, he knew instantly he had to be involved. “I approached Philippa [Campbell] as soon as the reading was over because I thought it was an amazing script that reminded me of Odysseus going into the underworld. I was even […]

INTERVIEW: Actors Julia Croft and Chris Neels get ‘Skin Tight’

June 14, 2011

Julia and Chris chat about Skin Tight, love, bruises, manhood, our Pakeha heritage, and TV commercials… [by James Wenley] Skin Tight, by Gary Henderson, is a New Zealand play done good. Since its humble debut at BATS theatre in 1994, the play toured New Zealand, and the world, including productions in Australia, Great Britain, South Africa, Canada and the USA and […]

REVIEW: The Keepers (Thread Theatre)

June 1, 2011

Shining a new light for alternate theatre [by James Wenley] Thread Theatre promise a breath of fresh sea air in their debut production of ‘The Keepers’. It is an ethereal, enigmatic play of dreams and feelings, felt and unfelt, using physical theatre and music to tell much of the story, such as it is. Devisors Julia Croft and Veronica Brady […]

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 […]

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