A selection of reviews from Theatreview from the last week including Show Pony, Babylon, Four Dogs and a Bone, and Top Girls.

See more recent reviews at theatreview.org, the NZ Performing Arts Review & Directory.

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A selection of reviews from Theatreview from the last week including Show Pony, Babylon, Four Dogs and a Bone, and Top Girls.

See more recent reviews at theatreview.org, the NZ Performing Arts Review & Directory.

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BATS, Wellington - SPACE BITCHES: If this is the means, what is the end?

- reviewed by John Smythe

Will this be a show about dogs in space, I wonder, or astronauts getting cranky about their cramped working conditions, or bad girl space invaders …? It turns out to be a genre romp about a quartet of female superheroes in space ...

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Blue Barn, 16 King St, Mt. Cook, Wellington - THE TRAGIC TALE OF THE E N' B: A COMEDY: The Eggs & Bricks Emporium Needs Bread and Butter

- reviewed by Caoilinn Hughes

With The Tragic Tale of The E 'n' B: A Comedy, the Emotional Tramps Theatre Company are trying to do far too much with a play that is already trying to do far too much.

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Aotea Centre at THE EDGE®, Auckland - SHOW PONY: The SHOW PONY effect

- reviewed by Christina Houghton

Here we see threads of two very different practices of Wilson (dance/performance art) and Madhan (theatre) carefully meeting at the space in between where one is neither and either is both. Both can be described in the past as deconstructing their origins and looking for new places of which this collaboration pushes to further places.

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The Crypt – St Mary’s of the Angels, Boulcott Street, Wellington - BABYLON: An extraordinary sensory experience whichever way you interpret it

- reviewed by John Smythe

Abandon reality all who enter here; submit instead to abstraction. Sense, recall, interpret, imagine; intuitively or at will. And know that if you should decode a meaning in anything, another will be possible. Besides, what gives you the clue will change to invalidate the first explanation.

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Downstage Theatre, Wellington - MICHAEL JAMES MANAIA: Not for the faint hearted but deeply affecting

- reviewed by Helen Sims

The success of this play ultimately depends on the actor portraying Manaia. Tuhaka delivers an astonishing performance, managing to convey immense strength as well as fragility – sometimes simultaneously. He sustains his strong voice and physical agility over the duration of the performance.

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Downstage Theatre, Wellington - MICHAEL JAMES MANAIA: Using energy and power to brings a story to life

- reviewed by Ewen Coleman

Often a solo piece of theatre following a person’s life story uses different time frames and flash backs as a way of heightening the production theatricality.

Not so John Broughton’s play Michael James Manaia. His is a simple yet effective and very powerful piece of storytelling brought to life with energy, power and commitment by Te Kohe Tuhaka in Taki Rua’s production under the direction of Nathaniel Lees.

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Medici Court, Hamilton Gardens, Hamilton - LIVE DRAWING: A PORTRAIT OF THE MONA LISA: Wordy, informative and often humorous

- reviewed by Gaye Poole

The main conundrum of Tasca’s play is how can Mona Lisa’s ambiguous and mysterious qualities be conveyed in such a wordy script? In it, Mona Lisa becomes absolutely reachable, attainable.

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American Modernist Garden, Hamilton Gardens, Hamilton - FOUR DOGS AND A BONE: The brutal sophistication of Tinsel Town

- reviewed by Gail Pittaway

Full House productions have been building a repertoire and an audience in Hamilton, and in this their first production for the year and at the outdoor venues of the Hamilton Gardens Arts Festival they move from last year’s Moliere to the slightly more risky and risqué movie world, but stay in the realm of satire.

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Q, 305 Queen St, Auckland - TOP GIRLS: You Can Be a Successful Woman, Too! (Terms and Conditions Apply)

- reviewed by Rosabel Tan

When people talk about women having careers, there’s a trade-off implied: You can’t have a career and a family – one will suffer if you try, and if you pursue the former, you’re defeminised: there’s something wrong with you or, at the very least, your womb.

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Circa One, Wellington - PENINSULA: Actors carry off testing dual roles

- reviewed by Laurie Atkinson

Jane Waddell and her cast and crew (particularly Chris Ward’s sound effects) have done New Zealand theatre proud in this International Arts Festival with a beautifully realised production of Gary Henderson’s Peninsula.

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Q, 305 Queen St, Auckland - TOP GIRLS: Vignettes recall girl power and the glass ceiling

- reviewed by Paul Simei-Barton

Caryl Churchill's distinctive post-modern style is brilliantly displayed in the famous dinner party scene where a bizarre assortment of historical and fictional female characters are thrown together in a swanky London restaurant.

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Victorian Garden Conservatory, Hamilton gardens, Hamilton - HOLMES ALONE! (NZ): Inventiveness, wit and energy

- reviewed by Mark Houlahan

Greg Ellis’s one man show is deceptively titled. We do get a one man show, but it does not, directly, feature the great Sherlock. Rather his sidekick, John Watson, for once, gets to be the main man.

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TSB Bank Arena, Queens Wharf, Wellington - THE REHEARSAL, PLAYING THE DANE: Rehearsal proves a tasty Ham(let) sandwich

- reviewed by Ewen Coleman

Shakespeare gets more of an airing at this year’s International Arts Festival than probably any previous Festival. Yet few productions have or will present his plays quite like Pan Pan Theatre Company from Ireland, particularly in their take on his most famous play Hamlet, Prince of Demark.

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St James Theatre, Wellington - PARABELO/ONQOTO: Poetry, passion and poignancy

- reviewed by Jennifer Shennan

This contemporary dance company from Brazilis a hugely energising way to lift the curtain on Wellington’s 14th season of the International Arts Festival. Bravo.

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Opera House, Wellington - THE WILD BRIDE: A journey not to be missed

- reviewed by Laurie Atkinson

It really isn’t a good idea to make a bargain with the Devil who’ll upset the apple cart given half a chance as you’ll find out if you see the wondrous The Wild Bride which got the Opera House audience cheering and applauding at the curtain call last night.

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Wellington Circus Hub, Newtown, Wellington - RAW CIRCUS: Skills with no Frills.

- reviewed by Greer Robertson

This is the first public performance of emerging circus artists in their new premises as they showcase their work. A take it as it is, no fuss, no frills one-off raw performance with koha exit as part of the Fringe Festival.

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Circa One, Wellington - PENINSULA: Essential theatre in every respect

- reviewed by John Smythe

Nearly seven years ago I wrote that Gary Henderson's Peninsula was "clearly destined to become a classic". I now have to revise that opinion: it is a classic – and insofar as its insights into individual and communal human experience are timeless and universal, it always has been.

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Gryphon, Wellington - ECHOLALIA: Original, heart-felt and poignant

- reviewed by Caoilinn Hughes

Jen McArthur’s performance is comically inventive, narratively compelling, physically punctilious and creatively winning in her one-woman show Echolalia. It runs until tomorrow (February 27th) at Gryphon Theatre as part of the Wellington Fringe Festival.

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Basement Theatre, Lower Greys Ave, Auckland - ELIXIR: An eclectic bag of treats

- reviewed by Shanon O'Sullivan

When Jamiroquai’s ‘Love Foolososphy’ sings out from the speakers, the guys break into funky grooves. Attraction overcomes hesitant side steps as interplay between guys meeting girls leads to instinctive actions. One couple tease and play whilst another sensually devours a pear in the background. Dancers shift across the space as the couple disengage. As they move in synchronous slow motion, gestures convey inner turmoil and sorrow.

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TSB Bank Arena, Queens Wharf, Wellington - THE REHEARSAL, PLAYING THE DANE: More matter, less art please

- reviewed by John Smythe

To ask, "But why? What's the point?" of this production is, I suppose, to echo Hamlet's existential angst.

A lengthy academic prologue, delivered authentically by our own Harry Ricketts, addresses the instability of the text, of role-playing, of life itself; makes special mention of Ophelia's lack of an authentic voice, of 'being' versus 'seeming', of the mutability of human existence …

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Garden Terrace Restaurant, Hamilton Gardens, Hamilton - STATUS UPDATE: A RECITAL: Like for fresh idea slickly posted

- reviewed by Gail Pittaway

This very funny concept seems to be the brainchild of Nick Wilkinson, one of the core members of Cartel Theatre Company, who selected choice moments of supreme inanity or insanity from social networking sites from the world wide web and gave them to four seventy-something retirees to recite.

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Whitireia Performance Centre, 25-27 Vivian Street, Wellington - THE SHOW MUST GO ON: A challenge the media portrayal of youth

- reviewed by Jo Hodgson

These young people, all between 15 and 20 years old, are to be commended for their commitment to their ideas and belief that youth theatre can be engaging and powerful. Also their want to challenge the portrayal of youth in the media by “showing the potential that young people have.”

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St James Theatre, Wellington - PARABELO/ONQOTO: Refreshing, indiosyncratic, virtuosic Brazilian dance

- reviewed by Greer Robertson

Dressed in figure-hugging lycra with every sinew exposed to scrutiny, the dancers give their all. Again and again and again they repeatedly undulate, thrust, kick and sway in a truly unique way. On a bare stage with static visuals, floor patterns appear within the energetic choreography accompanied by percussion beats. Communication is via the move and the body, the body and the move.

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Opera House, Wellington - THE WILD BRIDE: A high bar is set

- reviewed by Caoilinn Hughes

Kneehigh Production’s Grimm-inspired tale, The Wild Bride, opened Wellington’s International Arts Festival last night with an all-singing, all-dancing brouhaha of theatrical devilry. The story, based on the Brothers Grimm tale ‘The Girl Without Hands’, depicts a 1930s Dust Bowl miller who accidentally sells his daughter to the Devil in exchange for a glorified new set of clothes.

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Q, 305 Queen St, Auckland - TOP GIRLS: Unquestionable excellence questions the '80s

- reviewed by Joanna Page

Last night, Director Shane Bosher and his Top Girls cast took me back in time to 1980s England under Thatcher; when the shoulder pads were as sharp as cheekbones, and no one had heard of an iPhone. The music scene exploded with anthems and feel-good vibes, and businesswomen thought they were finally their male colleagues’ equals.

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Lower NZI, Level 1, Aotea Centre, Auckland - PROVIDENCE: Waiting for more

- reviewed by Vanessa Byrnes

But after an hour of trying to work out the what, why and who of this piece I am left disappointed, slightly annoyed at unfulfilled promises, and wondering where the theatre of the piece has gone to. I don’t get it, despite wanting to.

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Aotea Centre at THE EDGE®, Auckland - SHOW PONY: ‘Avin’ a laff with universally personal shtick

- reviewed by Nik Smythe

Nisha Madhan and Alexa Wilson introduce eachother (several times over) with various praiseworthy acknowledgments such as "multi-award-winning choreographer" (Wilson) and "former Shortland Street sweetheart" (Madhan), or my personal favourite: "My former flatmate, my future wife."

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Gryphon, Wellington - CONFESSIONS: Tragic tales of credible horror

- reviewed by John Smythe

I'll hazard a guess that British writer / director Benjamin Henson, now resident in NZ, was raised on a diet of the Brothers Grimm and Roald Dahl. Or maybe he was deprived of them and is compensating for that now. Perhaps more recent exposure to some of Neil LaBute's dark and disturbing monologues (e.g. Bash: latter day plays) rekindled his taste for the horrific and macabre, but explored in all-too credible contexts that all of us could relate to.

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BATS, Wellington - DIVAS AND THE BEAST: A good concept well executed

- reviewed by John Smythe

In this new premise for an improv show – billed as "TV's Beauty and the Beast meets Desperate Housewives – the 'beast' is the furry pink red-horned box in which the problems (also called 'beasts'), that we the audience have anonymously written on pink sheets of paper in the foyer, are placed.

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Bats Pit Bar, Wellington - PUPPET FICTION: Punters aplenty share passion for Pulp

- reviewed by John Smythe

Lovingly crafted by Jon Coddington, who is joined by James Nokise and Anya Tate-Manning, the superb puppets are instantly recognisable as Travolta, Jackson, et al. The tiny props are brilliant too.

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Allen Hall Theatre, Dunedin - THEATRE DU GRIND GUIGNOL - A TRIPLE FEATURE: Nothing bad has happened here – it doesn’t even happen once

- reviewed by Hannah Molloy

The small but very enthusiastic audience arrived on time and proceeded to thoroughly enjoy the three plays, Firenze, La Casa du Diablo and The Tramp. The audience was almost as entertaining – and horrifying? - to watch and listen to as the action on stage. A sense of pantomime came from the entirely free manner in which it applauded, hissed, laughed and squealed at regular moments, usually the right ones.

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Lower NZI, Level 1, Aotea Centre, Auckland - VAGUE MEDITATIONS AND THE IRRESPONSIBLE USE OF A TIME MACHINE: Uniquely creative piece brought to life

- reviewed by Stephen Austin

Discussion ebbs and flows for a while about the work and the intricacies of how we live and the room begins to spark with vigorous debate as we engage as a body of people and as individuals in this space.

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Aotea Centre at THE EDGE®, Auckland - DANCE LIKE A BUTTERFLY DREAM BOY: Testosterone Overload

- reviewed by James Wenley

The roof of the Aotea Centre has to be one of the coolest plays in Auckland to do a show. Overlooked by the large old Council building, imbued with the colour of street lights, and soundtracked with street noise, sirens and the odd sound of a seagull ...

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Lower NZI, Level 1, Aotea Centre, Auckland - BE | LONGING: A VERBATIM PLAY: Stories from the Source

- reviewed by James Wenley

New Zealand, famously, is a land of immigrants. Waves of migration over the country’s history have created a rich fabric of cultures, as well as perhaps an uncertain ‘kiwi’ cultural identity. What is it aboutNew Zealandthat makes it unique, and what is this discovery like for new arrivals?

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Gryphon, Wellington - BE GLAD YOU’RE NEUROTIC: Normal neuroses

- reviewed by Laurie Atkinson

Be Glad You’re Neurotic is a simple “tragic comedy of 21st century living, and a book on how to take care of those niggling neuroses.”

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Museum of Wellington City & Sea, Wellington - SEA OF STORIES: "I couldn’t help wondering why a local story wasn’t being performed"

- reviewed by Laurie Atkinson

The story is told with a deliberate naivety while at the same time dealing with the young girl’s full realisation of the meaning of the death of her father and the passing of an age-old way of life.

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Botanical Gardens: The Dell, Wellington - TWELFTH NIGHT: Classic Shakespeare fare

- reviewed by Lynn Freeman

The story of the twins who believe each other drowned only to find themselves in a romantic quadrangle, and the shenanigans of the servants and drunken noblemen, are classic Summer Shakespeare fare. Setting it in the 1920s works extremely well...

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Botanical Gardens: The Dell, Wellington - TWELFTH NIGHT: Flappers by the sea add to the laughs

- reviewed by Ewen Coleman

There has probably been no other time in recent history for frivolity and decadence than the 1920’s flapper era. And so using this period as a setting for one of Shakespeare’s most popular comedies Twelfth Night, enhanced by the seaside theme, has much going for it.

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Aotea Centre at THE EDGE®, Auckland - DANCE LIKE A BUTTERFLY DREAM BOY: Re-adjust, but keep on skipping

- reviewed by Jesse Quaid

Adeptly constructed and referencing many popular male ideals, from sports to body-image, this work presents a strong and entertaining look at the struggle to find a male identity. Although I feel I missed many of its subtleties, despite the disadvantage of my gender I was left with a clear sense of ‘getting it’.

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Fringe Bar, Cnr Cuba & Vivian, Wellington - PART TIME PROSTITUTE: THE SECRET LIFE OF A WELLINGTON HOOKER: Much more than a voyeuristic peek

- reviewed by John Smythe

Should we be concerned that the big sell-out show (in the 'full house' sense) is Part Time Prostitute: the secret life of a Wellington hooker? It is, after all, little more than a PowerPoint-illustrated talk in undies (we haven't paid enough for further exposure) plus a few props of the trade. What does that say for all the creative energy that has gone into so many of the other shows ...

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Mangere Arts Centre, Auckland - MIXED NUTS 2- UNDERWORLD: Fresh, sparkling, captivating and invigorating

- reviewed by Dr Linda Ashley

Lupes are doves, but these are in the afterlife and, choreographed by Mario Faumui, have taken up a mesmerizing and somewhat sinister Samoan vogue dance. It all sounds very unlikely when you write it down, but the charisma and precise performances of dancers Beni, Elaine, Loretta, Darren and Valentino bring us into a dark place where the previous messengers of peace have lost their souls somewhere on the way.

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French Revolver Studio, Victoria St West, Auckland - THE ARTEFACT PROJECT: Immaculate preliminaries undermined by demonstrative performance and implausible epiphany

- reviewed by Nik Smythe

In the chic and versatile French Revolver Studio space – hair salon cum art gallery cum theatre space – we are greeted at the entrance by director /playwright Melissa Fergusson and producer Amanda Turner. After a warm chat they enthusiastically direct (no pun intended) us to the exhibition-opening-style drinks table, featuring the custom designed, and delicious, it turns out, vodka and grapefruit-based Artefact cocktail.

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The Tannery Cassels & Sons Brewery entrance, 3 Garlands Rd, Christchurch - HEREAFTER: A challenge to leave our comfort zones

- reviewed by Lindsay Clark

It is light years away from the comfortable, the predictable, the classic. It is provocative in the best sense. Peter Falkenberg's direction is appropriately unflinching.

Fittingly for theatre which eschews the mainstream, the production venue is away down a bumpy industrial lane, tucked inside a bare shell and set up on a stark concrete floor. No indulgence here, though the bar is operating cheerfully.

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Chinese Scholars Garden, Hamilton Gardens, Hamilton - WHISPERING BIRDS: A moving hush

- reviewed by Brenda Kidd

The performers wear sumptuous flowing white and red gowns created by Raglan costume designer Kartika Leng. The silk fabric accentuate the dancers movements; combining Tai Chi, Yoga with other eastern elements which immediately create a meditative effect.

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Victorian Garden Conservatory, Hamilton gardens, Hamilton - THE FIRST ASIAN AB: Local bromance a winning combo

- reviewed by Mark Houlahan

It won’t happen overnight, as they say, but it will happen. Sooner or later a New Zealander of Asian descent will become a proud All Black. Where will he come from? How will he have learnt the arcane arts of the rugby field? How will his family deal to this? What, indeed, becomes of all those rugby dreamers?

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See more recent reviews at theatreview.org.nz, the NZ Performing Arts Review & Directory

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