REVIEW: A Streetcar Named Desire (Silo Theatre)

August 28, 2017

[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 […]

REVIEW: Pure and Deep (Auckland Live)

November 17, 2014

Successful Sequel [by Matt Baker] Breathing and listening. They’re key components to acting, and they feature in Toa Fraser’s direction and latest script, Pure and Deep. Even for those who haven’t seen Fraser’s first full-length play, Bare, the nostalgia embedded in this, its sequel, along with performers Ian Hughes’ and Mia Blake’s trust and familiarity is enough to sense the successful […]

REVIEW: Angels in America Part Two: Perestroika (Silo)

April 1, 2014

Poetry in Motion [by James Wenley] “The Great question before us is: Are we doomed? The Great question before us is: Will the Past release us? The Great question before us is: Can we Change? In Time? And we all desire that Change will come” That’s a grab quote from the start of Part Two. Alison Bruce, donning a wispy beard […]

REVIEW: Angels in America Part One: Millennium Approaches (Silo)

March 24, 2014

America Rediscovered [by James Wenley] It is very subtle, and depending where you are sitting, invisible. Etched onto the stage floor is one of the most famous sentences from world history: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights…” For his final offering as Artistic Director […]

REVIEW: Private Lives (Silo)

September 12, 2012

My love-hate relationship with Silo’s Private Lives [by James Wenley] Consider this plot: A newly remarried man about town books into a hotel room for his honeymoon only to discover that his ex-wife has booked the very next room for her own honeymoon. Will old sparks be reflamed? And what about their new partners? Hijinks and hilarity ensue. Sure sounds […]

REVIEW: Tartuffe (Silo Theatre)

November 7, 2011

Tartuffe for the 3D Generation [by James Wenley] If nothing else, Tartuffe is an experience. ‘This is not museum theatre’, warns/promises Silo Theatre in their bus shelter ads around town.  I’m curious about what their definition is, because I certainly don’t feel like Auckland is ‘afflicted’ by productions of this type. Professional Shakespeare’s in period dress for example are the rare […]