The latest Theatreview Weekly with reviews on Gypsy Rage Apocalypse, On the Upside-Down of the World, The Bloody Benders, and Return to Sender.

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

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The latest Theatreview Weekly with reviews on Gypsy Rage Apocalypse, On the Upside-Down of the World, The Bloody Benders, and Return to Sender.

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

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Lakeside Court, Hamilton Gardens, Hamilton - ON THE UPSIDE-DOWN OF THE WORLD: Sweet, heartfelt and tenderly funny star performance
- reviewed by Brenda Rae Kidd

Laurel delivers a star performance in this one-woman show, embodying not only the character of Ann but of local Maori, servants and others. Her timing is perfection indeed and she shifts between characters seamlessly, admirably holding the audience in this 90-minute play.

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Museum of Wellington City & Sea, Wellington - THE BLOODY BENDERS: Undramatic
- reviewed by Phoebe Smith

Unfortunately, this play does not exploit the possibilities presented by the premise. From the very beginning of the production we are struck by the awkward and unpolished performances of the actors involved. While for the most part they know their lines and deliver them audibly, they fail to convey any sense of real character or emotion.

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Gryphon, Wellington - RETURN TO SENDER: They warm to their task
- reviewed by Sophie Melchior

Improv theatre has long been a love of mine. The creativity and sense of timing the actors need show a real dedication to the craft.

Return to Sender takes a long form improvised scene and weaves shorter scenes around the central premise of two people working in the Dead Letter Office.

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BATS Theatre (Out Of Site), Cnr Cuba & Dixon, Wellington - DRAW ME LIKE ONE OF YOUR FRENCH GIRLS: Lost potential
- reviewed by Deborah Eve Rea

Following in the footsteps of Monty Python, Saturday Night Live, Mitchell and Web, Carol Burnett, Steven Fry and Hugh Laurie come Them Damn Jesters.

Draw Me like One of Your French Girls is the company’s first sketch comedy show. It leans more towards absurdism with elements of frat boy “ ‘Girls’ – am I right, guys?” humour.

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The Moorings, 31 Glenbervie Tce, Wellington - GYPSY RAGE APOCALYPSE: Absurdist distillation of human truth
- reviewed by John Smythe

To outline the basic premise for this play may constitute a spoiler because its slow reveal is part of the dramatic structure. The who, where and why of what we’re confronted with compels and holds our interest, and discerning the answers gives our brief encounter a sense of resolution.

You may wish to stop reading here and simply book your ticket ...

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BATS Theatre (Out Of Site), Cnr Cuba & Dixon, Wellington - PLAYING NICELY: Playing nicely is seriously amusing
- reviewed by Ann Hunt

Central to the show's success is the riveting performance by Gina Andrews. Her expressive, mobile face and fluid dancing well convey the sudden delight and equally sudden fears and tantrums of the disturbed child. The programme's photograph of her squashed inside a box is a telling one and cleverly illustrates the feeling of not fitting in and of the world closing in.

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The Basement Studio, Lower Greys Ave, Auckland - THREE: It’s all about connection
- reviewed by Nik Smythe

Disbelief is not at all difficult to suspend as it turns out, thanks to the committed performances, their clear identification of each character and context, and their employment of Verbatim theatre techniques whereby performances are a precise mirror of the voices and mannerisms of their real-life subjects, extracted from eight and a half hours of interviews.

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The Basement, Lower Greys Ave, Auckland - VELCRO CITY: Priceless energetic humour
- reviewed by Kate Ward-Smythe

Velcro City is my first ‘live-action cartoon’ experience. I’m impressed.

In the hands of hyper-animated Velcro-clad Eli Matthewson and Hamish Parkinson, the hour is a spin of eclectic tales following the lives of citizens in a mythical city, German in origin yet familiar in nature.

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People’s Cinema, 57 Manners Street, Wellington - ALL A MAN WANTS IS HIS WAGE: Credibility the first casualty
- reviewed by John Smythe

We are asked to witness to a day in the life – or the last day in the demise – of Paul Massey Contractors, where every time the radio is turned on for no apparent reason, we get a news item about student loans, the economy, employment issues … It’s a clumsy contrivance I could forgive, all other things being credible. But they’re not.

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The Basement, Lower Greys Ave, Auckland - THEY SAW A THYLACINE: Powerful performance of a moving story
- reviewed by Heidi North-Bailey

It’s both funny and heart breaking; a searing reminder of how and why some animals become extinct and how much has not changed in the last 80 years. If this makes it sound depressing, or soap-boxy, it’s not. It’s too clever for that.

Above all, it’s a cracking good story told by two skilful actors.

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Medici Court, Hamilton Gardens, Hamilton - BATTLE OF THE BASTARDS: Delights, surprises and delivers the goods
- reviewed by Gail Pittaway

From the first moment, in the open, in the waning twilight, at the gorgeous Medici Court Theatre at Hamilton Gardens, Ladderman engages in a dialogue with the audience and has us where he wants us. We want to be entertained, but not made too uncomfortable. We think we remember what Lear is about, but we are not sure where the line must be drawn, between tragedy and comedy, poetry and street theatre.

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Puppies, cnr Tory & Vivian Streets, Wellington - EXOSKELETON: The latest iteration of Harper’s interminable angst
- reviewed by John Smythe

If you have never seen a Joseph Harper work before then get to this one: you’re in for a treat. If you have seen them all* you may possibly want to say, “For God’s sake – no, for Your sake – Joseph, get out of your navel and look up to a wider horizon!”

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Q, 305 Queen St, Auckland - FALLEN ANGELS: Divine Inspiration
- reviewed by James Wenley

Credit to the publicist who angled a ninety year old play into the Herald on Sunday Gossip pages. “Are age-defying celebrities Nicky Watson and Sally Ridge the inspiration for Fallen Angels...?” the paper breathlessly asks. It explains that the play “tells the story of two former BFFs who shared a lover when they were younger... Sound familiar?”, then replays the “Matthewgate” scandal.

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BATS Out Of Site - return season, Wellington - EUTHERMIA / HYPERPYREXIA: Elusive
- reviewed by John Smythe

What is real and what is not in this deeply unnatural environment comes into question. Indeed the efficacy of making something from nothing (a reasonable description of theatre-making in itself) is a recurring theme and held up, it seems, as the answer … to whatever the question is ... Perhaps the play is simply an allegory for how graduates fare and feel when they enter the workforce and suffer from unfulfilled expectations.

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Camellia Lawn, Gate 2, Hamilton Gardens, Hamilton - THE COMEDY OF ERRORS: Timeless laughs
- reviewed by Jan Maree

A regular feature of The Hamilton Gardens’ Arts Festival, the Summer Shakespeare is well attended on its opening night here in the lush green surrounds of the Camellia Garden. I love this kind of atmosphere: people unpacking picnics and pouring glasses of wine to the serenade of cicadas, settling in for open air theatre, and the summer we are having means it is again a balmy night out.

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People’s Cinema, 57 Manners Street, Wellington - FOXES MATE FOR LIFE AND OTHER STORIES: Channel your inner kid
- reviewed by Lucy O'Connor

item to sit on. The music may help in lightening the mood. Within minutes however, people lean on each other and take off their shoes as if it’s home. Maybe I’m the one who lucked out.

Eight performers walk on stage donning fox ears. The story is set with Child Fox asking Father Fox how he met her Mother. Does this sound like a series to you? What follows is the cutest tale of love, of life and of loss – all too human. But it is true! Foxes do mate for life, just as humans (supposedly) do.

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BATS Theatre (Out Of Site), Cnr Cuba & Dixon, Wellington - I COULD LIVE HERE: Tensions hilariously depicted
- reviewed by Laurie Atkinson

I Could Live Here is a slick comedy of vignettes about three actors and their tour of the country in a van visiting secondary schools performing scenes from New Zealand plays.

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74 Ghuznee Street - look for the door, Wellington - A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM: Shot in arm for Shakespeare
- reviewed by Laurie Atkinson

I nearly didn't see A Midsummer Night's Dream because I have seen this warhorse numerous times. However, the new and highly talented company Bright Orange Walls' production, under Samuel Phillips' lively direction, is fresh, funny and a shot in the arm for people like me who think Shakespeare needs a rest for a while.

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Botanical Gardens: The Dell, Wellington - MACBETH: Coe’s stamp on Macbeth clearly leader of the pack
- reviewed by Laurie Atkinson

Straightaway about fourteen screeching witches are scrambling through the audience and all over the walkway in a frenzy caused, one imagines, by hallucinatory drugs and alcohol, as there is barely a scene in the play where someone is not clutching a bottle of alcohol or smoking pot. What the witches are saying is unintelligible because screaming and screeching have been substituted for acting.

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Q, 305 Queen St, Auckland - FALLEN ANGELS: A sexy laugh at hypocrisy. What fun.
- reviewed by Janet McAllister

This Noel Coward drawing room farce is light and entertaining, and its mocking of the slut/stud double standard is still depressingly relevant, even after nearly 90 years.

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BATS Theatre (Out Of Site), Cnr Cuba & Dixon, Wellington - PLAYING NICELY: Paper cutouts well used
- reviewed by Lyne Pringle

The work has a strong design element, with life sized lace cut-out daisy-chain female silhouettes draped around the 3 walls of the stage. Visually, the figures are flat to the wall, and all the same, their relentless conformity providing a visual reminder of a particular model of behaviour which women are expected to aspire to.

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Newtown Community Centre, Wellington - THE ROBOT MONOLOGUES: A seed worth working on
- reviewed by Phoebe Smith

Squidwig Productions’ Robot Monologues opens with solo performer Emma Smith addressing her audience as though we are at a WINZ seminar, while programmes-cum-informational-pamphlets are handed out to us all. These inform us that we, robots, have been decommissioned. We will each be given a complimentary ‘decommissioning mint’ that will reprogramme our system and provide us with a whole new identity.

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The Mound Lawn, Mona Vale Gardens, Christchurch - THE TEMPEST: Spectacle, movement and fun
- reviewed by Elizabeth O’Connor

Under Derek Doddington’s leadership, Top Dog Theatre has developed a creditable facility in attracting keen young performers and audience members alike. The experience and skill of those on stage may be a little variable, but it is a pleasure to see a large (paying) audience of all ages assembling in bright sunshine for the Sunday matinee, in the exquisite environs of the Mona Vale gardens.

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Q, 305 Queen St, Auckland - FALLEN ANGELS: A delicious romp, masterfully executed
- reviewed by Heidi North-Bailey

It’s a delight. The play has been called the end of drawing room comedies as this one is actually about something. And yes, the characters are melodramatic and Noel Coward’s dialogue is overblown to the modern ear, but the actors handle it wonderfully, emphasising the fact, that at its heart, Fallen Angels is a stylish but honest glimpse into female desire and extra material affairs, which at the time simply wasn’t acknowledged – and if it was it was strictly the right of men.

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Rhododendron Lawn , Hamilton Gardens, Hamilton - YO FUTURE: Funny, angering, original
- reviewed by Jan Maree

Take eleven young local actors, put them to work with one of New Zealand’s most innovative award-winning theatre-makers and her inspired creation; give them some time together and finally here we are on the Rhododendron Lawn for the first Hamilton cast performance of Jo Randerson’s Yo Future.

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Rhododendron Lawn , Hamilton Gardens, Hamilton - YO FUTURE: Funny, angering, original
- reviewed by Jan Maree

Take eleven young local actors, put them to work with one of New Zealand’s most innovative award-winning theatre-makers and her inspired creation; give them some time together and finally here we are on the Rhododendron Lawn for the first Hamilton cast performance of Jo Randerson’s Yo Future.

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A cosy, secret location, Wellington - GOD-BELLY: Smart and sensual, entertaining and energetic
- reviewed by Lori Leigh

Just as the content itself is layered, the format employs a variety of theatrical genres, but it is the physical theatre that is most impressive and captivatingly visceral. Not since the Frantic Assembly performance of Beautiful Burnout in the 2011 International Festival of the Arts have I seen physical theatre so enthralling and explosive (no small comparison I might add).

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Gryphon, Wellington - THE MACKENZIE MORGAN ADVICE DISPENSARY: Strong on the traits that produce laughter
- reviewed by Hannah August

Mackenzie Morgan is a brightly dressed, teapot-wielding professor (of psychology? psychiatry?), who offers biscuits and romantic advice to audience members daring enough to come on stage and share their emotional quandaries with her (and the rest of the audience).

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The Beach, Hamilton Gardens, Hamilton - TALES BY THE RIVER - THE GODDESS OF FIRE: Not one joke misses the mark
- reviewed by Jan Maree

An instant hit with all of the children in the group, the four players are energetic and arresting as any children’s theatre troupe must essentially be. They garner giggles with their physical and vocal tomfoolery ... and your heart would have to be made of stone not to see the sheer genius – and also the cuteness – of their using a tiny fluffy teddy bear as our legendary hero Maui.

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Te Parapara, Hamilton Gardens, Hamilton - MANA WAHINE: Open rehearsal whets the appetite for more
- reviewed by Debbie Bright

The surroundings, props, movement, music and hot open-air space are spell-binding. We see dance explorations derived from wiri, haka dust-raising slide kicks, and poi. The skill of the dancers is unquestionable; their bravery over performing in such an exposing context is commendable. We see, we hear, we gain better understanding, and our appetites are whetted – we can’t wait to experience the performance in its completed form!

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Botanical Gardens: The Dell, Wellington - MACBETH: Intelligent and moving with many wonderful moments
- reviewed by Charlotte Simmonds

I have always felt the moral of Macbeth to be that revelation is easy, interpretation hard. Maybe this applies not just to prophecies but to theatre itself.

Sarah Delahunty’s interpretation of Macbeth explains a lot of things for me that hadn’t made sense before. It is set in a violent gang underworld of, as the director’s note says, “any country”.

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The Royal Local Alehouse & Eatery, Wellington - TRACES. GHOSTS FROM THE ARCHIVES.: Largely unengaging
- reviewed by Hannah August

The concept behind Traces is a good one: dig up some ghost stories from New Zealand’s past, bring their characters to life in the atmospheric basement of the Royal Alehouse on Lambton Quay, have your audience make its way by torchlight through eerie passages and encounter a succession of pale-faced, bloody figures.

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Medici Court, Hamilton Gardens, Hamilton - THE BITCHES’ BOX: Adorably accurate sensational show
- reviewed by Jan Maree

As a dog lover, I’m excited to see how these two young Kiwi actors will answer the question: what would life on the farm look like through the eyes of two bitches on heat, locked in a bitches’ box?

What unfolds is a pearly, endearingly funny, exceptionally well executed view of a sheep dog’s life and place amongst all of the enduring characters who fulfil the various roles of dogs on the farm.

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Fringe Bar, 26 Allen St, Wellington - CABARET ROYALE: A fruit bowl of fabulousness
- reviewed by Maryanne Cathro

Wow, just wow. Sometimes the hardest reviews to write are for the best shows. They sit in the memory whole and delicious, like a ripe strawberry; and having to chew, swallow and digest them in writing seems unnecessary.

Cabaret Royale is a perfect strawberry, and the best fruit of all is Dusty Limits. How lucky we are to have him down in New Zealand for a few short weeks.

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19 Tory St, Wellington - RESPITE: Winning the empathy vote
- reviewed by John Smythe

Eamonn Marra’s story of his own late-blooming ‘coming of age’ is simultaneously funny and dark. How does a boy from Christchurch cope with trying to live an ethical life, let alone skinheads, earthquakes and Hoyts Riccarton Mall? It can all come to a head over which bananas to buy …

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BATS (Out-Of-Site) Understudy Bar, Wellington - ABSURDITIES: Napoleon’s battle at Bats a doomed exercise
- reviewed by John Smythe

The gag is in the juxtaposition between his historically monumental deeds and the modern HR matrix passed over them by his interviewer. Michael Pohl’s script is clearly well researched but the circumstances make its delivery expository and declamatory, so any emotional, psychological or vocal modulation that might have generated comedy is doomed.

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TAPAC Theatre, Western Springs, Auckland - QUEEN: Gay outing
- reviewed by Sharu Delilkan

Queen is a scream, a sass, a laugh, a cry, a voice. The publicity material’s description of Queen is spot on.

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Marquee by The Carter Observatory, Wellington - MADAME BLAVATSKY AND THE ASTRAL LIGHT: Nothing at stake
- reviewed by Lori Leigh

Blavatsky is certainly an interesting character to inspire a work of theatre, but the script gives very little insight into the woman at all, except through clunky exposition that at times sounds like encyclopedia entries read aloud. The dramatic action and conflict in the play are unclear.

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TAPAC Theatre, Western Springs, Auckland - QUEEN: Go, gay or not
- reviewed by Candice Lewis

Thus the narrow confines of a dictionary definition or gay label are questioned, illustrating that they don’t tell us much about a real person. The sense of recognition and warmth continues as the cast take turns in portraying a handful of characters who share their experience of ‘gayness’ in ways that vary from the first sweet kiss to the almost brutal experience of ...

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The Basement, Lower Greys Ave, Auckland - RIDING IN CARS WITH (MOSTLY STRAIGHT) BOYS: A journey of self-discovery
- reviewed by Heidi North-Bailey

You see, Kyle doesn’t drive: a handy excuse to score rides with his various straight guy friends. The car becomes scene of many awkward incidents as Kyle attempts, blunderingly, to tell them how he feels, or, worse, touch them.

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Fringe Bar, 26 Allen St, Wellington - BOWLS CLUB JAZZ: Lots to work on
- reviewed by Michael Gilchrist

Bowls Club Jazz is their first foray into the notoriously competitive genre of the folk comedy duo and Thursday’s performance was the world premiere in New Zealand of their show. As such, it was exciting to see the potential this comedy team has – a potential that I would expect to see develop over the course of this short season as well as into the wider future.

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The Basement, Lower Greys Ave, Auckland - TEEN FAGGOTS COME TO LIFE: Reveals the stories of our young BGLT people as never seen before
- reviewed by Johnny Givins

A standing ovation greeted the wonderfully entertaining Teen Faggots Come To Life at Basement Studio. Five young actors tell their real and personal stories of being a teenage queer. It is a roller coaster of events: first love, discovery, violence and above all survival.

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NASDA Theatre, E Block, CPIT, Christchurch - THE VAUDEVILLE AFFAIR: Tricks, treats and belly laughs
- reviewed by Erin Harrington

Christchurch has a reputation for quality local circus theatre, and while the earthquakes have served to stuff this up somewhat by derailing both the CircoArts circus school and The Loons Circus Theatre Company, The Vaudeville Affair works to restore the balance.

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BATS Theatre (Out Of Site), Cnr Cuba & Dixon, Wellington - WHAT IS THIS, WOMAN'S HOUR?: Subtleties mixed with blatancy
- reviewed by Lucy O'Connor

The show gives us an hour of hugely varied short and sharp laugh-so-hard-you’ll-piss-your-pants type sketches and although they carry a subtle undertone aimed at challenging gender stereotypes, it is in no way down your throat feminism.

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Wesley Community Hall, 75 Taranaki Street, Wellington - EYE: Finely nuanced choreographic debut
- reviewed by Jillian Davey

Like its choreographer, ‘eye’, is a melding of professional, matured concepts and style with the cobbled-together features that define a fringe show.

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BATS (Out-Of-Site) Understudy Bar, Wellington - MEATATRTIAN YOGI – A HYPOCRITE’S GUIDE TO HAPPINESS: Warm, razor-sharp wit
- reviewed by Maryanne Cathro

The opening night audience find it hilarious because anyone who has ever been to a self-help seminar or read the books or bought the affirmation tapes will hear something of themselves in all of this. And in much of her confessional narrative there are pearls of hard earned wisdom.

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Fringe Bar, 26 Allen St, Wellington - CHARMINGLY USELESS – NEIL SINCLAIR: No mean feat
- reviewed by Maraea Rakuraku

The humour ranges from jokes – or as one audience member says, “Jokes your kids would tell” – to retelling stories while acting them out. He has the body for physical comedy. He carries a joke through even if he loses his way slightly in its telling. It’s easy comedy. His inclusion of the audience cops a few laughs.

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The Basement, Lower Greys Ave, Auckland - LEGACY PROJECT: Some brilliant observations
- reviewed by Chris Molloy

Being a straight male, this is my first experience with the Festival. Unfortunately the colour and vibrant nature of past festivals has never enticed my attention. What a fool I have been. After this seeing this show, I realise (with much regret) that I have missed out on an opportunity to expand my understanding of what it is to be a part of this vibrant and diverse city.

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Studio 77, VUW, Wellington - POCAHAUNTUS: Theatrically interesting mix of history lecture, discussion and storytelling
- reviewed by Deborah Eve Rea

Through the use of poetry, storytelling, physical score, dance, song and re-enactment, Billington searches for meaning and truth in world history, and the effect her whakapapa has had on her own journey. This is an incredibly personal story and at times Billington is left a little too exposed; we feel her nerves.

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BATS Theatre (Out Of Site), Cnr Cuba & Dixon, Wellington - I COULD LIVE HERE: A rich minefield
- reviewed by John Smythe

What a gem of a show! Not least for the professional skills of it execution, I Could Live Here is a highlight of the Fringe so far for me.

We all know theatre can take you on a journey. Well this play does it almost literally, with generous, honest, insightful and very entertaining humour.

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Gryphon, Wellington - MEMORIA: Strong voice and movement skills
- reviewed by Deborah Eve Rea

The stage combat is well conducted leaving us enthralled with just the right touch of threat of genuine harm. Sparks fly off the metal swords to enthused gasps from the crowd. ... The cast have mostly elected for a heightened style of acting to convey their Greek inspiration. At times they need to play with contrast of tone while at others they relax and soften to a more human quality which connects with their audience.

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TAPAC Theatre, Western Springs, Auckland - MUMBAI MONOLOGUES: Glimpses of ‘real’ lives sensitively directed in evocative, beautiful show
- reviewed by Vanessa Byrnes

Glimpses of real lives are presented in a lyrical, melodic framework in this highly evocative show. The fears and passions of everyday citizens of Mumbai are offered as short monologues, and through these delicious slices of life, we’re given a unique view of another location with its mores and norms.

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Musgrove Studio, Maidment Theatre, Auckland - LANTERN: Outsiders looking in: Lantern thoroughly illuminating
- reviewed by Paul Simei-Barton

Auckland's ever-expanding Lantern Festival has burst out of its Albert Park site to encompass a contemporary piece of theatre that casts a flickering light on aspects of the Chinese experience that usually remain unseen.

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Pah Homestead, TSB Bank Wallace Arts Centre, 72 Hillsborough Road, Auckland - PASSIONATE ACTS: Passionate Acts Shake It Up
- reviewed by Sharu Delilkan

“Not Shakespeare again” I thought en-route to the preview of Passionate Acts, Grae Burton’s and Alistair Browning’s scenes of passion from Shakespeare’s most popular plays. Driving up the entrance to the magnificent Pa Homestead I lamented how and why Shakespeare persists when there is so much modern and contemporary excellence around, some of which hardly gets a look in by the crowds that William himself can pull in [grouch].

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Pah Homestead, TSB Bank Wallace Arts Centre, 72 Hillsborough Road, Auckland - PASSIONATE ACTS: The age and body of our time reflected with joy
- reviewed by Lexie Matheson

I’m old enough, let’s face it, to have asked myself on more one occasion: what the hell do we do this theatre thing for? The answer is always the same: because there’s invariably a gem somewhere in the offing – though the offing, love it though we do, sometimes seems tragically devoid of occurrences to treasure.

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

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