The latest Theatreview Weekly includes reviews of The Killing Of Sister George, Peninsula, and Wake Up Tomorrow.

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

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The latest Theatreview Weekly includes reviews of The Killing Of Sister George, Peninsula, and Wake Up Tomorrow.

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

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The Basement, Lower Greys Ave, Auckland - SOO YOUNG THE MUSICAL!: Infectious
- reviewed by James Wenley

Soo-Young is an affectionate character created from her Lyon’s experiences as an English teacher in South Korea. There are some laughs at Soo-Young’s unique pronunciation of words (and even better – when Soo Young attempts the kiwi accent of an immigration official!), but Lyons, who writes of her “secret desire that everyone in the world would have a little bit more Soo-Young in them”, successfully resists the caricature.

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The Basement, Lower Greys Ave, Auckland - SOO YOUNG THE MUSICAL!: An ingenious, yet playful, profundity
- reviewed by Stephen Austin

She takes this all to the fullest extreme though and genuinely examines questions of New Zealand’s own multi-culturalism, racial inequality and exploitation through the glossy upbeat veneer of the musical; each of the original songs fashioned so we can view through this window into this unique soul, creating some touching moments of drama on the way.

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Q Theatre, Rangatira, Auckland - ANGELS IN AMERICA – PART TWO: PERESTROIKA: Poetry in Motion
- reviewed 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 and wrinkles as “the world’s oldest Bolshevik”, delivers an outsider’s critique of modern America as well as developments within the Soviet Union.

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Te Whaea - Basement, 11 Hutchison Rd, Newtown, Wellington - WAKE UP TOMORROW: Compelling, surreal and funny
- reviewed by Jarrod Baker

Before Wake Up Tomorrow begins, audience members are shepherded towards the theatre by attendants in hi-viz vests. We’re greeted at the door – or rather the boarding gate – by flight attendants, who take our tickets and usher us inside. We’re now passengers on Active Airlines.

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Fortune Theatre, Dunedin - PENINSULA: Admirable, entrancing
- reviewed by Barbara Frame

What volcano? "The volcano we're all sitting on right now," the new teacher, Mr MacIntosh, tells his class. To the kids in the primary school at Duvauchelle, on Banks Peninsula, this is a revelation. To one of them, Michael, it's life-changing.

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Q Theatre, Rangatira, Auckland - ANGELS IN AMERICA – PART TWO: PERESTROIKA: Fantastic examination of morality, mortality and desire
- reviewed by Janet McAllister

"The great question before us is are we doomed? ... Can we change in time?" So begins the grandiose and triumphant four-hour finale to Shane Bosher's last production as Silo Theatre artistic director.

The play itself changes with time to spare. The repetitive squabbles of Part 1 look like a mere prologue once this satisfying Part 2 begins: if characters were in shock in Millennium Approaches, in Perestroika they are angry.

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Fortune Theatre, Dunedin - PENINSULA: Oh yes, a classic
- reviewed by Terry MacTavish

I meet friends at interval who are marvelling over the accuracy and honesty of this recreation of the nineteen sixties, from junket for tea (“The awful food we had!”) to six o’clock closing (“Dad got arrested once”).

This is part of the joy of Peninsula, that we can live again those days when, the minute school was out, kids went bush – building huts, digging secret tunnels, never home till dinner was on the table, running horrendous risks, making our own fun. By way of this seductive nostalgia Henderson leads us to contemplate how the NZ of the 60s has led to the NZ we know today. Some lines seem eerily prescient.

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Globe Theatre, Dunedin - THE KILLING OF SISTER GEORGE: More than lesbian stereotypes
- reviewed by Barbara Frame

Since its first performance in 1965 The Killing of Sister George has sometimes been criticised, with justification, for its reinforcement of negative lesbian stereotypes. But don't let this put you off: Frank Marcus' play, and the Globe's production, directed by Jeffrey Vaughan, have much more to offer.

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Q Theatre, Rangatira, Auckland - ANGELS IN AMERICA – PART TWO: PERESTROIKA: An epic confrontation with chaos
- reviewed by Johnny Givins

Angels In America Part 2 is concerned with restructuring the lives of all the characters. It makes enormous demands on the characters as they struggle to maintain their outer and inner lives while facing challenges of epic proportions.

Bosher has developed a highly effective theatrical naturalism in all the actors’ performances. Since opening last week all the actors have grown in strength and performance power.

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Globe Theatre, Dunedin - THE KILLING OF SISTER GEORGE: Where is the love?
- reviewed by Sharon Matthews

Frank Marcus’ The Killing of Sister George is an intriguing, darkly comic play. On one level, it slyly pokes fun at the BBC and the celebrity culture surrounding long-running drama: audience ratings are anxiously examined, cutbacks are expected after microscopic rating drops, and the ‘death’ of a popular star provokes national grieving.

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The Basement, Lower Greys Ave, Auckland - DEMIGOD HALF-HUMAN: A deep sense of hopelessness
- reviewed by Hannah Stannard

Choreographer Shani Dickens has very clearly created the atmosphere and executed her disturbingly profound work in a shocking way right from the outset. In some ways this takes the element of surprise out of the picture, and gives a deep sense of hopelessness, as the dancers seem only to be manipulated by an unseen force rather than have any independent choice or free will.

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The Basement, Lower Greys Ave, Auckland - THE WAY WE FALL: A friendly romp ...
- reviewed by Briar Wilson

Tunes are repeated, good sized silver stars keep turning up, and the tips of cones get eaten. A 4 pane window frame and a plastic carton of ice cream also come and go, and the audience continues to laugh at the jokes from this range of interludes. The three casually dressed dancers also come and go, but always return in the end as supportive friends, admirably mixing dance with spoken words, even having a good romp together.

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The Basement, Lower Greys Ave, Auckland - CRUNCHY SILK: Less silk, more crunch
- reviewed by Matt Baker

Jess Sayer has inarguably established a firm and justified reputation for herself as one of the leading New Zealand playwrights of her generation, so, when a play like Crunchy Silk comes along, I am torn between what is ultimately a good play with potential, and the feeling that Sayer has not packed her usual punch. That is not to say that her usual twists and turns, and symbolism and imagery are not skilfully peppered throughout the script ...

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Court Theatre Pub Charity Studio, Christchurch - WHITE RABBIT RED RABBIT: Puckish, playful, didactic meta-theatre
- reviewed by Erin Harrington

White Rabbit, Red Rabbit is Spartan in presentation and rich in concept: one actor receives the script for the first time as they walk on the stage, which contains a chair, a couple of glasses of water on a table, and a ladder. Our actor for the evening is the wonderful Anna McPhail, who seems remarkably unfazed by the whole situation. From the moment she is introduced she establishes a warm rapport with the audience, and she pours herself into the script with energy, compassion and unwavering commitment.

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

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