A selection of reviews from Theatreview from the last week including  Cow & Fold, Jan Maree: Hairy Today, Gone Tomorrow!,  The Improvisors In History Never Repeats, and  Anil Desai's Night At The Movies.

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

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Gallagher Concert Chamber, Wel Academy of Performing Arts, Waikato University, Hamilton - COW & FOLD: Bovine absurdism and a tragedy of manners
- reviewed by Gail Pittaway

Silly or true? Through the unpredictable action and laughs, which are many in Cow/Fold, runs a strong theme about caring and listening.

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Fringe Bar, Cnr Cuba & Vivian, Wellington - JAN MAREE: HAIRY TODAY, GONE TOMORROW!: 'Lost and Found' odyssey of self-discovery amuses and moves

- reviewed by John Smythe

I do like stand-up that pursues a purpose beyond just being funny because the comedy invariably works better when it bounces off some other objective.

In Jan Maree's case – and she is a 'case' – it’s a search for her roots that drives the narrative. The classic who am I? / where do I belong? / identity crisis syndrome is no less compelling for being as old as humanity itself when a consummate storyteller makes it personal, true and entertaining, which she certainly does.

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Whitireia Performance Centre, 25-27 Vivian Street, Wellington - ANIL DESAI'S NIGHT AT THE MOVIES: Impressive impressions with some reservations
- reviewed by Maraea Rakuraku

Why can’t I play the hero? Why can’t I save the president? Why don’t Indians exist in Sci-fi future?

Big questions which have all, at some time, guided Anil Desai in his career, his management of intimate relationships and led to his latest comedic offering, A Night at the Movies.

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Circa Two, Wellington - THE IMPROVISORS IN HISTORY NEVER REPEATS: Hilarious as always
- reviewed by Maryanne Cathro

The Improvisors take on the entire history of humanity; well from 20,000BC to the future, anyway. This is an ambitious feat, given the knowledge required of the players and audience to fill out the details with some semblance of credibility.

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Q, Rangatira, Auckland - JASON BYRNE IN PEOPLE’S PUPPETEER: Masterful incredulity

- reviewed by Nik Smythe

Sweating and out of breath Byrne hits the ground raving, a few light exclamations of excited dismay foreboding the more extreme levels of incredulity to come. His ornate black and red jacket and imposing frame, slightly stooped as if ready to brawl at the bat of an eye, gives the impression of a very tall gothic leprechaun.

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Basement Studio, Lower Greys Ave, Auckland - JEREMY ELWOOD’S TIME BOMB: Sardonic, sly, masterfully funny and smartly witty
- reviewed by Darren Bevan

This show really should be called "Jeremy Elwood talks a lot of sense".

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BATS, Wellington - BOMBS AWAY! A MUSICAL: Excellent creative talents yet to reach their potential

- reviewed by John Smythe

Have we had a TV reality show about a bomb squad yet? If this trio of squaddies had been followed, their exploits would have either been quietly shelved or become the subject of multiple official enquiries.

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SKYCITY Theatre, Auckland - STEPHEN K AMOS IN LAUGHTER IS MY AGENDA: Stand-up pro delivers great in-the-moment humour

- reviewed by Paul Simei-Barton

Strutting on stage with gangsta swag and greeting the audience in a posh English accent, Stephen K Amos embodies the fluid, mashed-up sense of identity that characterises globalism in a digital age.

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BATS, Wellington - THAT'S SO GAY: Prejudice explored

- reviewed by Ewen Coleman

Although coming out for gay and lesbian’s has become progressively easier over the years, especially for young people, homophobia still abounds, especially in institutions such as schools.

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St James Theatre, Wellington - ANGELINA BALLERINA'S BIG AUDITION: Two views of a ballet for children
- reviewed by Jennifer Shiya-Shennan & Olive Rodriguez-Thomas

Hello, I’m Olive. My Shiya took me to see Angelina Ballerina and it was fun. You can tell Angelina straight away because her pink tutu is the same as on the poster. My friend Sophie is going to see it on Saturday so I will tell her that.

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Various Schools and Community Venues, New Zealand wide - IN SPITE OF HIMSELF: Proving we live in a resource-rich world for play-making

- reviewed by John Smythe

Once more and EnsembleImpact quartet of actors ... is out on the road to introduce Kiwi schoolkids and regional communities to a rich treasure trove of New Zealand play writing ... This year, In Spite of Himself dips into all nine plays that Tim Spite's multi-award-winning SEEyD Theatre Company* has devised and performed since the germinal SEEyD took root in the 2000 Fringe Festival.

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Basement Theatre, Lower Greys Ave, Auckland - TERRY FRISBY IN THE GREAT FRISBY COMEDY EXPERIMENT: Was there an initial hypothesis?

- reviewed by Nik Smythe

Another late-night assortment of standup protagonists, with an original twist: rather than offering a taste of their material and plugging whatever shows they have on during the festival, head comedy-lab technician Terry Frisby has appointed each performer with ‘inappropriate material’. i.e. cast-against-type scripts from other local comics.

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Brooklyn Bar - 57 Lorne St, Auckland - ALAN MCELROY: GIDDY!: Audacious, ironic, frenetic, Irish

- reviewed by Nik Smythe

Man of the hour Alan McElroy’s dress sense is of the classic scruffy ilk enjoyed globally by roadies, computer programmers and standup comedians – floppy back shirt, blue jeans, coloured sneakers, five o’clock shadow and carelessly cropped locks – languidly combined with his abrasively amplified Irish brogue.

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Q Loft, 305 Queen St, Auckland - DEAD CAT BOUNCE: Masters of the seemingly impossible

- reviewed by Kate Ward-Smythe

What a wild ride! On the opening night of Dead Cat Bounce’s NZ debut, the crowd walk out raving, laughing and totally uplifted. This Irish trio is like a testosterone-fuelled glam-rock version of our own Flight of the Conchords or The Front Lawn.

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Herald Theatre, Aotea Centre, The Edge, Auckland - IDIOTS OF ANTS: Idiots or Savants?
- reviewed by Sharu Delilkan

Entering the Herald Theatre greeted by four slightly dodgy war film characters it was great to see that the British obsession with the World Wars, (2-0), was still alive and kicking.

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Meow, Edward St CBD, Wellington - A MEMORY, A MONOLOGUE, A RANT AND A PRAYER: WRITINGS TO STOP VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS: A curiously uplifting 'entertainment'

- reviewed by John Smythe

It's not part of the comedy festival but A Memory, A Monologue, A Rant and A Prayer, written by world-renowned authors and playwrights, and performed by our own actors and politicians, is insightful, true, moving, amusing and only on three times (Sat, Sun, Mon); the maximum allowed for a V-Day Event.

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Q, Rangatira, Auckland - CHRIS COX IN 'FATAL DISTRACTION' (ENGLAND): Intense, charismatic, talkative and smart

- reviewed by Kate Ward-Smythe

How does he do it? This lanky Brit defies the odds by getting into the selected heads of audience members and revealing incredibly specific thoughts. While openly admitting he cannot read minds, that appears to be exactly what he achieves with an almost 100% success rate on opening night.

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SKYCITY Theatre, Auckland - STEPHEN K AMOS IN LAUGHTER IS MY AGENDA: First-half laughter then tricky second half
- reviewed by Raewyn Whyte

Amos' show is all talk: no musical backing, no props other than a long awaited bottle of beer in place of the water provided, and a sodden white handkerchief with which he mops his sweating brow. He's been telling jokes to strangers for 17 years now, as a way to get attention, and his agenda is to make his audience laugh.

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Herald Theatre, Aotea Centre, The Edge, Auckland - IDIOTS OF ANTS: Side-splitting
- reviewed by Joanna Page

A UK boy-band had NZ teens in a state of constant hysteria a couple of weeks ago, but now a band of four UK comedians is set to have anyone older and with a brain in stitches.

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BATS, Wellington - THAT'S SO GAY: Some good discussion-starters but could be more entertaining

- reviewed by John Smythe

As a collaborative theatre production between students from Toi Whakaari: NZ Drama School and young people from School’s Out, Wellington (a hangout/support group for young people identifying as queer, lesbian, gay, transgender, takatapui, fa'afafine, genderqueer, androgynous, bisexual, pansexual, intersex, curious, unsure, questioning, and their friends), the community from which the material is sourced is clear.

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

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