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

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THE SANTA CLAUS SHOW ’15: Tradition with vitality
The Pumphouse, Takapuna, Auckland
by Tim Bray 
songs by Christine White 
incidental music by Kristie Addison 
directed by Tim Bray 
by arrangement with Playmarket
- reviewed by Bronwyn Elsmore

The show begins with two girls, Kelly (Georgina Silk) and Alana (Holly Osborne), rehearsing Kelly’s version of a nativity play – notably short on the spirit of the season. A scene at a shopping mall introduces the ‘message’ of the show, which becomes clearer when the two write to Santa sending very different requests.

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SKETCH/COMEDY II: Tricky pairings
Fringe Bar, 26 Allen St, Wellington

- reviewed by Shannon Friday

Johnny Potts, our host for the evening sets the rules quite early. The idea behind Sketch/Comedy 2 is pretty simple: while the comedians natter on at us, Hadley Donaldson will illustrate, supporting or undermining their jokes and stories as the whim takes him. It's all drawn live, like a stick-figure version of those RSA whiteboard videos.

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DUETS 2015: World views presented with style and sincerity
The Court Theatre, Bernard Street, Addington, Christchurch
Devised and performed by the Court Theatre Youth Company 
Directed by Daniel Pengelly
- reviewed by Lindsay Clark

The cornucopia of short devised pieces which make up this year's Duets programme, is filled to occasional overflowing with ideas and enterprise. No two of the eight pieces covers the same territory but they have in common a strong commitment to their material and a gutsy approach to making it work for us.

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THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR: Spirit of revelry firmly established
Playhouse Theatre, Dunedin
Written by Rosie Howells 
Directed by Ben McCarthy 
Presented by Counterpoint Productions
- reviewed by Terry MacTavish

And as in medieval times they teeter on the brink of cheerful blasphemy ... Rosie Howells, Dunedin’s own jongleur, in The Most Wonderful Time of the Year, playfully explores the tricky adolescence of Jesus: puberty is hard enough without being the one and only son of God.

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NGA PUKE: Hilariously funny, engrossing and heart-achingly touching
Te Pou Theatre, 44a Portage Road, New Lynn, Auckland
by John Broughton 
Directed by Cian Elyse White 
Presented by TE REHIA THEATRE COMPANY
- reviewed by Nikau Hindin

As they learn more about each other, this cross cultural exchange highlights Waru’s belonging to the whenua and Angie’s own insecurities about her place and Pākehā heritage. The play accentuates conflicting world views but at the same time offers insight into how two open-minded, pure hearted people can learn from each other and thrive together.

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NGA PUKE: Bridging the cultural divide
Te Pou Theatre, 44a Portage Road, New Lynn, Auckland
by John Broughton 
Directed by Cian Elyse White 
Presented by TE REHIA THEATRE COMPANY
- reviewed by Tamati Patuwai

Nga Puke is set in the 1930s, in a small farmland community called Nga Puke. Waro Thompson is the hau kāinga and kaitiaki of the farm. He stumbles across Angela, a painter who is painting landscapes on his whenua. This begins a relationship that blossoms with sweet naiveté and endures through a clear cultural divide and even war.

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THE ROVER: Multi-Stylistic Mayhem
Garnet Station Café, 85 Garnet Rd, Westmere, Auckland
by Aphra Behn 
adapted by Nathan Joe 
Directed by Patrick Graham 
presented by theatrewhack
- reviewed by Nik Smythe

Director Patrick Graham has always had a passionate inclination to confront audiences, twist conventions and pervert the natural course of our expectations. His Theatrewhack cohorts totally come to the party for this production of seventeenth century female playwright Aphra Behn’s famously obscure smash hit (at the time) restoration comedy.

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STAGES OF CHEER: Truthful look at what Christmas can mean
BATS Theatre, The Dome, 1 Kent Tce, Wellington
Presented by Making Friends Collective, Big Lies, David Klein and Notrevie Productions
- reviewed by Maraea Rakuraku

I groan a little when Santa Claus (Rosie Cann) warms us up by encouraging Christmas spirit, in the form of singing and other such yuletide nonsense. I join in somewhat reluctantly, all the while hoping the rest of the programme isn’t going to be as forced. And what happens, of course, is some magic (sorry Santa)

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I, PEASEBLOSSOM: Whanau-friendly ‘skip through fields and flowers’
Musgrove Studio, Maidment Theatre, Auckland
Written and performed by Tim Crouch 
Presented by The British Council
- reviewed by Dione Joseph

I, Peaseblossom is a perfectly timed end-of-year fairy-tale. And like all fairy-tales, its re-tellings will be as unique as its listeners. This night we are packed into the Musgrove Studio. British writer/actor Tim Crouch offers a virtuoso performance that combines comedy with suitable gravity and is pitched at audiences of all ages.

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I, PEASEBLOSSOM: Ready!
Musgrove Studio, Maidment Theatre, Auckland
Written and performed by Tim Crouch 
Presented by The British Council
- reviewed by James Wenley

Peaseblossom has only four lines in the play - “Ready”, “Hail Mortal”, “Peaseblossom” and “Ready” again. That’s not a lot to go on for someone playing this character, let alone creating a solo show around them. Nevertheless, Tim Crouch makes a compelling case for Midsummer being the fever dream of one Peaseblossom the fairy.

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AN EVENING WITH THE MODERN MÂORI QUARTETat Q Theatre, Rangatira, Auckland
- reviewed by Nikau Hinden

Easy laughter instantly flows from the audience as Francis Kora introduces himself: “I hail from the centre of the universe… Whakatane.”  

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

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