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

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NZ Fringe 2016 [reviewing supported by WCC]
LAST MEALS: A NINE COURSE BUFFET: Top rate performances
BATS Theatre, 1 Kent Tce, Wellington
Writer: Keely Meechan 
Director: Ben Emerson 
Cool, Calm & Collective
- reviewed by Ewen Coleman

There are nine characters on stage, all on death row and, as the title suggests, nine meals are served up, the last for each.

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DISCHARGE GOES BACK TO SCHOOL: Humour, trauma and angst
BATS Theatre, 1 Kent Tce, Wellington
Head Writer & Producer: Abby Howells 
Writers: Nell Guy (co-producer), Rosie Howells, Harriet Hughes, Josephine Byrnes, Heidi Geissler 
Director: Heidi Geissler
- reviewed by Ewen Coleman

The last day of school can be sheer bliss for pupils, but a nightmare for teachers. That's the premise of Discharge Productions' latest offering, currently being performed early evenings at Bats Theatre – Discharge Goes Back To School.

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NZ Fringe 2016 [reviewing supported by WCC]
LAST MEALS: A NINE COURSE BUFFET: Like all good tragedies it erupts with comedy
BATS Theatre, 1 Kent Tce, Wellington
Writer: Keely Meechan 
Director: Ben Emerson 
Cool, Calm & Collective
- reviewed by John Smythe

Local writer Keely Meechan (who also painted the promotional pictures) is clearly a force to be reckoned with. 

All nine women own their disparate and highly credible characters totally, engaging us in the abiding questions: Who did they murder? Why? How? What would I have done? Is justice being served?

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KINGS OF THE GYM: Bouncing ideas off the theatre walls
Fortune Theatre, Dunedin
By Dave Armstrong 
Directed by Patrick Davies
- reviewed by Helen Watson-White

I'm the king of the castle and you're the dirty rascal ... Some of that old-style us-and-them conflict, crude as it is, makes a rattling good play. 

In Kings of the Gym, Dave Armstrong, ex-teacher and author of multiple TV and stage dramas, highlights a comic culture-clash in the PE Dept of Hautapu High.

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KINGS OF THE GYM: Flawed characters elicit empathy and tolerance
Fortune Theatre, Dunedin
By Dave Armstrong 
Directed by Patrick Davies
- reviewed by Terry MacTavish

The pleasure of most audience members is evident, however, and we conclude that the play resonates for them because, although it may not be truthful now, it is typical of the set-up when they themselves were at school. Plenty of gruff but good-hearted ex-sportsmen once taught just like Laurie, as an extension of their role as coach ...

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WINSTON’S BIRTHDAY: Truths emerge from sniping and witty repartee
The Court Theatre, Bernard Street, Addington, Christchurch
written by Paul Baker 
Directed by Lara Macgregor
- reviewed by Lindsay Clark

Dramatised historical figures, even exceptionally well documented ones such as the Churchill family, walk a fine line between fact and fiction. On one hand, the selected historical references have to engage and satisfy an audience, while on the other hand, imagined material must be compatible and plausible at the same time as it entertains.

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QUIDAM: Alienation, outstanding circus acts, and a happy ending
Vector Arena, Parnell, Auckland
Guy Laliberté - Guide and Founder; Franco Dragone - Director; Gilles Ste-Croix - Artistic Guide; Michel Crête - Set Designer; Dominique Lemieux - Costume Designer; Benoit Jutras - Musical Director and Composer; Debra Brown - Choreographer; Luc Lafortune - Lighting Designer; François Bergeron - Sound designer
- reviewed by Raewyn Whyte

During a stormy night, a very tall, headless man sheltering under a very large umbrella and carrying a blue bowler hat, comes to the alienated family's house. He passes his hat to daughter Zoé, who puts it on, and then the magic commences. The parents fly away in their chairs and Zoe goes off on a grand adventure full of excitement, with all the action intensified by an astonishingly varied live music soundtrack composed by Benoit Jutras and played by a fantastic band of six musicians plus two vocalists.

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HART: Sad history laid bare
Basement Theatre Studio, Lower Greys Ave, Auckland
Created and performed by Ian Michael 
Text by Ian Michael and Seanna van Helten 
Directed by Penny Harpham 
Presented by She Said Theatre
- reviewed by Janet McAllister

Australia's appalling human rights record is in the limelight at the moment, thanks in part to the referring of Australia Day as "Invasion Day", and protests about the locking up of refugees (including children) and New Zealand criminals in offshore detention centres.

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CHRIS PARKER - NO MORE DANCING IN THE GOOD ROOM: Dancer’s tale light on its feet
Q Theatre Loft, 305 Queen St, Auckland

- reviewed by Paul Simei-Barton

Chris Parker achieves a fine balance between poignancy and humour in his autobiographical tale about a boy's passion for dance and his journey of self-discovery.

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THE WINE PROJECT: Sweet wine satisfies
Circa One, Wellington
Choreographer/director: Sacha Copland
- reviewed by Ann Hunt

Java Dance Theatre has a hit on its hands – and its feet. The Wine Project is a heady mix of high calibre dance and music that will leave you with a smile on your face and a melody in your heart.

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THE WINE PROJECT: Simply Intoxicating
Circa One, Wellington
Choreographer/director: Sacha Copland
- reviewed by Donna Banicevich Gera

Choreographer Sacha Copland has truly excelled by capturing all five senses and serving them up on a platter. The quote: ‘We are all mortal until the first kiss and the second glass of wine’ by Eduardo Galeano is featured in the programme, and it is around these words that the story unfolds.

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THE WONDERFUL WIZARD OF OZ: An entertaining blend of the familiar and the undreamed-of
Riccarton Bush (outside Riccarton House), Christchurch
Devised by the Company from the books by L Frank Baum 
Directed by Dan Pengelly 
An Anthony Harper Summer Theatre Production 
from The Forge at The Court
- reviewed by Lindsay Clark

Playful is the name of the game for this enterprising production, which thrives on the challenges of reproducing big physical or magicked moments on a compact outdoor stage with inventiveness and a huge sense of fun. The audience loves the ingenuity of solving the hard parts and plays right along.

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

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