A selection of reviews from Theatreview from the last week including: Cat vs Dog, Merely to Be Normal… Season One, and Yes, Prime Minister.

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

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

A selection of reviews from Theatreview from the last week including: Cat vs Dog, Merely to Be Normal… Season One, and Yes, Prime Minister.

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

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

Studio 77, VUW, Wellington - MERELY TO BE NORMAL… SEASON ONE: A fools’ errand or a survival necessity?

- reviewed by John Smythe

Constrained as they are by having to mount three very different works in the same space with just a 10-minute turnaround, these director-designer teams have risen to the challenge with alacrity, and they are very well served by the actors and technical crews.

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

Court Theatre, Bernard Street, Addington, Christchurch - CAT VS DOG: All nimbleness and flexibility
- reviewed by Lindsay Clark

If only tit-for-tat events in the family could all be as much fun and end as happily as this one. Dan Bain has now brought several inventive physical theatre stories to life for children's holiday audiences at The Court and this latest tops them all in my book. A child seated near me who had no English at all understood and relished the whole story.

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

Aurora Centre, Christchurch - YES, PRIME MINISTER: Satirising spheres of political influence
- reviewed by Lindsay Clark

Christchurch audiences, given their perception of local and national politics in recent times, are possibly even more receptive than punters elsewhere to the shenanigans that go on in the offices of power. In this case it is the UK Prime Minister's study at his country estate, Chequers, and the shenanigans compound from the advice he receives, as well as the conflicts they inflict on his basic wish to do good without sacrificing a shred of profile.

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

Circa Two, Wellington - KIDS COMIC HEROES: Fun with audience help

- reviewed by Laurie Atkinson

Kids Comic Heroes was performed by Ian Harcourt, Jared Kirkwood and Jennifer O’Sullivan at the first performance of the season. Other improvisers will perform at other sessions. The three kept things moving along as they developed a storyline largely provided by the audience which, has to be said, was not easy.

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

4 Moncrieff St., Mt. Victoria, Wellington - THE THREE BILLY GOATS GRUFF: Saving the environment

- reviewed by Laurie Atkinson

Rachel Henry’s script is a panto-style show and takes more than a few liberties with the traditional plot so that Billy (Joshua Hopton-Stewart) is the son of two Scottish parents who want to set up a holiday park in a pristine Kiwi setting.

Billy, who is more interested in getting phone reception and beetling it back to town, meets up with Mirama (Jaci Gwaliasi), an animal photographer who is opposed to the development.

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

Circa Two, Wellington - RED: Seeing Red at its most vibrant

- reviewed by Laurie Atkinson

“What do you see?” are the first and last challenging lines of the stimulating play Red. They are spoken with a steely intensity by John Bach in his superb performance as the American abstract painter Mark Rothko.

At the start he is lost in a painting which is hanging behind the audience. His gaze is so intense I was tempted to turn round and look too.

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

The Basement, Lower Greys Ave, Auckland - KEANU REEVES SAVES THE UNIVERSE: Zany spoof needs toning down and tweaking up

- reviewed by Heidi North-Bailey

The plot, as the basic sci-fi genre dictates, is simple: there are baddies, they need a hero. Who better to save our ship full of sexy time pilgrims from the evil of Dark Hater than Keanu? So they kidnap him, pump his brain full of knowledge via the faketrix (darts comes in surprisingly handy) and set him loose to his task.

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

Aotea Centre at THE EDGE, Auckland - HAIRY MACLARY AND FRIENDS: Heart-warming class and quality

- reviewed by Adey Ramsel

From go to whoa there’s no let-up in this show with Miss Plum, played by Carolyn Mancini, never letting the pace falter. She opens and closes the show, fills in the middle and I only see her exit once for anything more than a breather. She steers the show through a fast-paced and invigorating fifty minutes, keeping kids on side with interaction, song and stories.

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

Downstage Theatre, Wellington - K'RD STRIP: A PLACE TO STAND: Enriching the cultural landscape of Aotearoa
- reviewed by Lyne Pringle

Queer indeed and destabilizing; the ‘sexed object’ freed from the strait jacket of restrictive sexual orientation. The performance points to the ‘culture’ of a place like K Road and the way that gender has been enabled to play out in this particular environment: the menace that lurked/lurks around the edges of this theatre of liminal sexuality. Gender a practice, requiring utter commitment to transforming into hyper feminine ‘ladies of the night’.

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

Gryphon, Wellington - THE BOY WHO CRIED WOLF!: A delightful way to learn life lessons!

- reviewed by John Smythe

What works especially well about this highly interactive production is the way the audience is compelled to think through the implications of TT’s actions, despite his attractive personality. Much of the time at this premiere performance audience loyalties are volubly divided – about whether TT needs to apologise; whether it’s OK to play tricks when not everyone is having fun; whether it matters if people no longer trust you …

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

Allen Hall Theatre, Dunedin - THE WOMEN OF TROY: The universal nature of such suffering evoked
- reviewed by Sharon Matthews

Hecuba is the focus of our interest for the entirety of the play. Bereaved wife, despairing mother, grieving grandmother, homeless slave; her grief is mercilessly compounded. Given her integral importance, this role is a demanding one for an actor. Marilyn Parker is to be congratulated, therefore, for her outstanding performance.

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

Allen Hall Theatre, Dunedin - THE WOMEN OF TROY: Timeless tragedy not to be missed
- reviewed by Barbara Frame

Euripides' drama about the plight of the Trojan women in the aftermath of war piles one tragedy on another. For almost 2500 years its unrelenting sadness has made it an extraordinary document of inhumanity, suffering and resistance.

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

Circa Two, Wellington - KIDS COMIC HEROES: All good

- reviewed by John Smythe

I had a few misgivings when the adult version of this format premiered a month and a half ago (reviewed here) but in this 45 minute manifestation for children the audience is fully enrolled, all their offers are pretty well accepted, the participation factor is essential to advancing the action and the satisfaction level is therefore high.

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

Founders Theatre, Hamilton - HAIRY MACLARY AND FRIENDS: Timeless classic flies by
- reviewed by Liza Kire

The wonderful performances are led by New Zealand’s own Sabrina Martin as Hairy Maclary, dressed from top to bottom as the black shaggy dog we all know and love. It is absolutely amazing to see the cast costumed and looking so like the pictures in the books, which makes it easier for children to recognise their favourite characters.

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

Circa Two, Wellington - RED: Embrace it

- reviewed by John Smythe

While the debates on art are fascinating, in and of themselves, the most magnetic moments for me are the two stories they tell each other: Ken of the childhood experience that changed his life forever; Rothko of his visit to the Four Seasons restaurant. It’s the humanity of it that really hits home.

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

The Pumphouse, Takapuna, Auckland - PIPPI LONGSTOCKING: Lovingly created tribute is thoroughly entertaining
- reviewed by Jan Maree

From the very beginning of the show I am blown away by the excellent physicality of the cast. They knit together well and look relaxed. In her notes, director Amanda Rees mentions it is a great stroke of luck to find a cast with multiple talents, both acting and acrobatic, and indeed it is. They are great at multi tasking, as all but Pippi are in and out of costumes for the duration as they fulfil several roles within the story.

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

ASB Theatre, Aotea Centre, Auckland - SLAVA'S SNOW SHOW: The winter of our content

- reviewed by Matt Baker

It’s no surprise that Slava’s Snowshow won the Drama Desk Award for Unique Theatrical Experience. Reading his biography and musings, one can only begin to scratch the surface of Slava Polunin’s ethos on theatre. The rest must simply be experienced.

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

4 Moncrieff St., Mt. Victoria, Wellington - THE THREE BILLY GOATS GRUFF: Marvellous mix of reality, myth and satire

- reviewed by John Smythe

While the focus is firmly on serving the primary / pre-school audience of children, its socio-political relevance to NZ and the wider world right now adds lots of fun for their older companions – and who knows what may filter through to the younger minds.

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

Bruce Mason Centre, Takapuna, Auckland - BADJELLY THE WITCH: BADJELLY THE WITCH
- reviewed by Vanessa Byrnes

This is a cracking good production that entertains adults and children alike. My 9 year old twin daughters loved its sound effects, musicality, and the puppet/ height work that resolves the flying and mountain challenges. Alternate ways of telling the story – puppets, song, light – spark their imaginations in ways that I imagine Spike Milligan’s kids were lit up when they first heard this. You won’t be disappointed with its witty asides and kidult appeal.

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

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.