A selection of reviews from Theatreview from the last week including: Life. After, Romeo and Tusi, Tribes, and Talking of Katherine Mansfield.

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: Life. After, Romeo and Tusi, Tribes, and Talking of Katherine Mansfield.

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

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St James Theatre, Wellington - CORONATION STREET ON STAGE!: Exercise in reduction thrills fans
- reviewed by Laurie Atkinson

A confession: I haven’t watched a complete episode of Coronation Street since Ena Sharples and Elsie Tanner were the queen bees of the Rovers Return. The few bits I have seen since then have been when I have been channel hopping.

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Aotea College, Okowai Road, Porirua - ROMEO AND TUSI: A populist play with political bite
- reviewed by John Smythe

The broad ‘commedia Pasifika’ humour we have come to know and love since, through Pacific Underground offshoots The Naked Samoans, Bro Town, etc, permeates the tragic-comic tale of star-crossed lovers Tusi Ai’u and Anaru Heke. Their respective PI and Maori mothers are equally prejudiced against the other culture, and ‘coconut v kumera’ comedy carries the message with alacrity.

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St James Theatre, Wellington - CORONATION STREET ON STAGE!: Many memorable moments somewhat marred
- reviewed by John Smythe

Each hits the mark remarkably with certain characters; all bring focus, energy, humour and good timing to the sketches.

What a shame, then, that all the star-status hoopla has focused on William Roach, who trots out the laziest performance I have ever seen on a professional stage.

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Circa One, Wellington - TRIBES: Plenty of substance and some strong performance elements
- reviewed by John Smythe

But what Tribes is really about is language, finding a voice and telling stories, which is key to any tribe’s identity. And of course any individual trapped in a tribe wants to distinguish themselves either according to tribal rules and values or in opposition to them.

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Circa One, Wellington - TRIBES: Demands attention
- reviewed by Laurie Atkinson

At the start of Nina Raine’s absorbing and moving play Tribes I thought I was watching an updated comedy about an eccentric, self-absorbed, foul-mouthed, argumentative bohemian family like the Bliss family in Noel Coward’s Hay Fever, except Raine’s family are given no surname and it is set in North London rather than Berkshire.

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BATS - Out Of Site - Cnr Cuba & Dixon, Wellington - LIFE. AFTER.: Real spirit of sisterhood
- reviewed by Laurie Atkinson

Life.After. is a short two-hander play about two sisters, Stella and Maya, who tackle some big imponderables about such things as life, death, grieving, love, the past, and the present.

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Victoria Theatre (The Vic), 93 Victoria Rd, Devonport, Auckland - TALKING OF KATHERINE MANSFIELD: A worthy reminder or compelling introduction
- reviewed by Bronwyn Elsmore

When Ms Downes moves into the scripted pieces on KM’s life the performance takes off – the rhythm of the words becomes established, the performance takes on new life and begins to sing and captivate. From this point there is no doubting the skill of the Actress: her exquisite sense of timing, her facial expressions and body language complement the words and reveal her interpretations of the Writer’s feelings and intentions.

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Downstage Theatre, Wellington - KRISHNAN’S DAIRY: Phenomenal craftsmanship
- reviewed by Phoebe Smith

Krishnan’s Dairy is the drama-school-exercise turned full-length play that launched the Indian Ink theatre company in 1997. It has since played to full houses nationally and internationally, won a Fringe First award in Edinburgh, been published by VUP, become a text that is studied at both high school and tertiary level, and is now in the process of being translated into a feature film.

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The Basement Studio, Lower Greys Ave, Auckland - CONSTANTINOPLE: Grape fun
- reviewed by Matt Baker

Constantinople has a rich and impressive history, a history that is manhandled to fit the mold for Trygve Wakenshaw and Barnie Duncan’s show of the same name. Though some of the facts are true, the majority of the storyline is warped to accommodate a series of bizarre scenes including a horse and his physiotherapist, Rod Stewart, and a DJ and the eponymous Constantine himself.

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The Riverbank Centre, Whangarei - TALKING OF KATHERINE MANSFIELD: Admirable intentions and several wonderful moments
- reviewed by David Stevens

It isn’t often we get to see a love affair being played out on stage – right before our very eyes – but that’s what happens here.

The splendid Cathy Downes obviously adores her subject, Katherine Mansfield, and is generous enough to share that love with us. Once it gets going it is very successful.

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Allen Hall Theatre, Dunedin - BOX|ROLE|DREAM: Smart, thoughtful and consistently good
- reviewed by Patrick Davies

Opening new-kid-on-the-block Counterpoint’s 2013 season, BOX/ROLE/DREAM is a quietly raging mix of bared souls and subtlety.

In BOX, Victor converses with an unseen (and possibly non-existent) cohabiter of a sauna. What starts as a friendly conversation u-turns into a frightening encounter ...

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BATS - Out Of Site - Cnr Cuba & Dixon, Wellington - LIFE. AFTER.: Some questions answered, others not
- reviewed by John Smythe

The psychologically ‘real’ phenomenon of ‘conversing with the dead’ has been dramatised many times in different genres ... It is an excellent device for bringing unresolved thoughts, feelings and issues to the surface, usually in the context of grief, guilt or both.

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BATS - Out Of Site - Cnr Cuba & Dixon, Wellington - THE CLOUDS: A happy birthday thanks to new take on ancient satirical comedy
- reviewed by Laurie Atkinson

I don’t think I have been to a funnier birthday party than the one now playing at Bats. For their 13th birthday and their 25th show The Bacchanals have chosen a comedy that was first performed in 423 B.C.

With the usual Bacchanal insouciance this ancient satirical comedy has been modernised and generally mucked about and yet David Lawrence’s adaptation stays true to the play’s original spirit.

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

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