REVIEW: Moe Miti (Red Leap Theatre)

August 30, 2023

[Dream Sleep] Moe Miti, presented by Red Leap Theatre, beautifully conjures a liminal space – not quite real, not quite unreal – and explores within it the complex relationship one has to one’s past and identity. It manages to tell a nuanced and unique story about intergenerational trauma with very little narrative. It is at once specific and universal. Director […]

TOURING REVIEW: Dakota of the White Flats (Red Leap Theatre)

February 20, 2021

[Gutsy Girls] Ah, how life imitates art. The speed at which the Red Leap Theatre crew bolted out of Auckland on Valentine’s Day to get to Whangārei just before the midnight lockdown – to perform the world premiere of new show Dakota of the White Flats a few days later – must have at least matched the speed with which […]

REVIEW: Owls Do Cry (Red Leap Theatre)

October 21, 2019

[Singing from the Dead Room] Based on celebrated New Zealand author Janet Frame’s first full-length novel published in 1957, Owls Do Cry is an evocative and exciting theatrical rendition by Red Leap Theatre.  Led by Artistic Director Julie Nolan and directed by Malia Johnston, the events that plague the Withers family in small town provincial New Zealand are translated and […]

SCENE BY JAMES: 2017 – A Theatrical Year in Review

December 29, 2017

[Theatre by the Numbers] 150,000 Aucklanders can’t be wrong, right? These are the approximate combined totals of audiences who flocked to the Pop-up Globe and Pleasuredome: The Musical in 2017. Compare that with the record-breaking 130,000 who went to Adele’s Auckland concerts this year. And that’s not even including the Globe’s jump across the Tasman, where their productions are still […]

REVIEW: Afakasi (The Basement)

October 28, 2015

Identity Quest [by Sharu Delilkan and Tim Booth] What does Afakasi mean? The urban dictionary definition is “used by Samoans to classify those who have one Samoan parent and one Palagi parent. Originates from the word ‘half-caste’.” The Samoan Observer provides a great commentary which ultimately concludes that: Afakasi is “to experience TWICE the world around us”. I love this […]

REVIEW: Dust Pilgrim (Red Leap Theatre)

June 7, 2015

The Anti-Arrival [by James Wenley] Going in, the talking point is how Red Leap have downsized from their large ensemble company, the world-building of The Arrival, and the giant creatures of Sea. Dust Pilgrim is a nimble show for a smaller venue and three performers (plus crew member), designed artistically and economically for ease of touring. Going out, the big news […]

REVIEW: Sea (Red Leap Theatre)

March 11, 2014

Blue Leap [by James Wenley] Under Red Leap’s outstanding vision the sea is a phenomenon of awe: a place of wondrous beauty, unrelenting power, but also, poignantly, of great fragility. In Sea human kindness, resilience, and cruelty is set against the wild untameable force and fate of nautical nature. Red Leap’s reputation has been built on the company’s debut The Arrival […]

Looking Back: 2012 – A Theatrical year in Review

January 10, 2013

Taking the Risk [by James Wenley] “…It was this lack of “weight” (a not too easily defined term which an actor, if not a member of the audience, would understand) that Mr George Henare needs to work on if he wishes to pursue the acting profession. His is a good, powerful voice, he has strong features… yet a lot of […]

REVIEW: The Arrival (Red Leap Theatre)

July 17, 2012

Astounding Journey Continues [by James Wenley] It is remarkable that in the same week, two New Zealand works of international quality enjoyed return seasons in Auckland. The first, Indian Ink’s Guru of Chai – is still playing at Q, so seek it out. The second – Red Leap’s The Arrival played three public shows over the weekend. I hope you […]

1 2