The latest Theatreview Weekly includes reviews of Mother/Jaw, This Is Our Youth, and Together All Alone.

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

* * *

The latest Theatreview Weekly includes reviews of Mother/Jaw, This Is Our Youth, and Together All Alone.

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

* * *

THIS IS OUR YOUTH: Nuances lost beneath unnecessary hyperbole
The Basement Studio, Lower Greys Ave, Auckland
- reviewed by Dione Joseph

It’s 1982 on the Upper West Side and over the course of 48 hours we witness a ridiculously easy swipe of large wads of cash, numerous drug deals, selling of childhood dreams and paraphernalia, bribery, abuse, sex and three youngsters who learn that life sucks – even when you’re a rich kid.

------------------------------------------------------------------

TOGETHER ALL ALONE: Uncanny, light-hearted, brutal, witty …
BATS Theatre, The Dome, 1 Kent Tce, Wellington
- reviewed by Lena Fransham

Playwright Angie Farrow says of the short form that she enjoys “pressing something huge into a small container.” I can't help thinking of the Japanese ritual tea bowl or the haiku – embodiments of the Zen principle that we approximate these days in the phrase less is more. The spareness of form paradoxically amplifies the power, but only if executed skilfully.

------------------------------------------------------------------

RUMPLESTITLSKIN: Broccoli makes you gorgeous
Gryphon, Wellington
- reviewed by Jo Hodgson

The premise of the story remains the same with the farmer who – wanting to impress the King and get one up on his neighbour – boasts that his daughter can spin straw into gold. Rumpelstiltskin comes to the daughter's rescue and spins the straw into gold (or does he?) in return for payment with her most precious things including a promise to give over her first born!?

------------------------------------------------------------------

MOTHER/JAW: Dancing in the Fringe, Auckland 2015
The Basement, Auckland
- reviewed by Paul Young

NB this review covers Mother/Jaw, Jabber, Stripped Bare and 3 in 2 1.

Mother/Jaw delivers strong political content without a hint of dogma, bending and blending theatre, dance and poetry to new and mercurial places.

------------------------------------------------------------------

MOKO: Constantly evolving
SKYCITY Theatre, Auckland
- reviewed by Jenny Stevenson

The choreographers have employed a collaborative approach, working with different artists to achieve a work of abstracted scenarios that only tangentially reference the intricate whorls and lines of t? moko design. The premise appears to be that moko reveal the identity of the wearer in terms of their social standing and whakapapa, as well as alluding to the mythology inherent in the symbols – therefore it is these stories rather than the designs themselves that form the basis for creating the choreographic material.

------------------------------------------------------------------

KIWI MOON: A must-see holiday highlight
Hannah Playhouse (previously Downstage), Wellington
- reviewed by John Smythe

At first glance the story of a white kiwi who doesn’t blend in with the dominant brown kiwis seems satirically ironic until it becomes apparent that ‘blending in’ is not so much about assimilation or conformity as achieving life-preserving camouflage, not only to avoid predators but also to achieve success as a forager.

------------------------------------------------------------------

JACK AND THE BEANSTALK: Fresh elements and interesting depth
4 Moncrieff St., Mt. Victoria, Wellington
- reviewed by John Smythe

Rob Ormsby’s take on Jack and the Beanstalk has some fresh elements and interesting depth, not least the back-story of Jack’s long-absent international merchant father, and the naming of the magic beans: Hope, Courage and Dreams Come True.

------------------------------------------------------------------

ROTUNDA 2015 AUSTRALASIAN TOUR: Striking elements
Regent Theatre (Dunedin), Dunedin
- reviewed by Georgia Davenport

The entrance of the big band is a superb moment. There is always something magical about watching a live brass band, with their instruments shining, marching perfectly in time, their music engulfing all around them. There is, in my opinion, nothing better than live music at a dance show. It brings a new dynamic to the performance, challenging the dancers with the slight changes of every performance. The company members meet this challenge well, working flawlessly with the band.

------------------------------------------------------------------

TWO MORTALS: A lot of life in a play about death
Circa Two, Wellington
- reviewed by Laurie Atkinson

There's no getting away from the fact that the artfully showcased Two Mortals is about death.

Not the grand flamboyant deaths of Shakespeare's King Lear and the like, but the ordinariness of what is described in this 55 minute theatrical collage as the "irreplaceable breakage" that everyman must face.

------------------------------------------------------------------

HOW TO UNIVERSE: Intriguingly packaged skills
Wellington Circus Hub - return season - 11 Hutchinson Rd, Newtown, Wellington
- reviewed by John Smythe

The verb to universe appears to mean to transcend the tedium of flat living and take imagined and imaginative flight into a quirky universe that defies the laws of physics.

The first trick deployed by Imogen Stone, Degge Jarvie and Zane Jarvie is to lower our expectations right down by getting us to empathise with the ennui of their couch-based lifestyle, where cups of tea, the newspaper, the day’s snail mail and a book are the only sources of entertainment.

------------------------------------------------------------------

TWO MORTALS: Engaging and intriguing
Circa Two, Wellington
- reviewed by Elle Wooton

This high level of energy and joy is a wonderful way to begin a journey through a rather morbid topic. Throughout the performance our two performers guide us. At times we see and hear them and their opinions, worries and beliefs. At others we see and hear the people they have interviewed in order to create this show.

------------------------------------------------------------------

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

Further information:

What began as a glorified blog by John Smythe has now become a major organ of communication, interaction and information that has created an online performing arts community by recording, critiquing, celebrating and debating NZ’s professional performing arts activity.

If you value Theatreview, and want to see it survive and grow to further serve the interests and needs of the performing arts community and their audiences, please join the Performing Arts Directory or offer a donation/koha.