The latest Theatreview Weekly includes reviews of Taki Maori Haka Experience, Dog, Take Back the Hood, and Hairspray.

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

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The latest Theatreview Weekly includes reviews of Taki Maori Haka Experience, Dog, Take Back the Hood, and Hairspray.

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

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TAKE BACK THE HOOD: Personal and powerful insight
BATS Theatre (Out Of Site), Cnr Cuba & Dixon, Wellington
- reviewed by Sophie Melchior

Little Red Riding Hood is pissed off and she isn’t going to take it any more.

From the moment that Deborah Eve Rea takes the stage as Little Red Riding Hood you know that this isn’t a soft interpretation of the classic fairy tale. Red has taken to the road to make sure the truth about her story gets out.

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DOG: Rough Mutt
The Basement, Lower Greys Ave, Auckland
- reviewed by Matt Baker

Dog "has been through a number of development phases", however, while playwright Ben Hutchison states that this production understood what he "was aiming to achieve", the result seems ironically underdeveloped. The play starts off promisingly, with a strong balance of both verbal and physical humour, setting a well-pitched comedic tone in regards to the context, however, under the direction of Jeff Szusterman, this tone and pace never changes.

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EDINBURGH FRINGE 2014 WRAP #2: Illuminating; Frustratingly safe; A clipped classic; Powerful interrogation
Various Fringe venues, Edinburgh, Scotland
- reviewed by Dione Joseph

RACE by David Mamet

Race has had many different iterations. Audiences may be familiar with the London, Broadway or the South Africa productions (and there are others as well) but this year's Fringe reincarnation as part of the South African season is different – and once again adds to the list a rather unique rendition of how we engage, explore and debate race.

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DOG: Heart-breaking and sobering situational comedy
The Basement, Lower Greys Ave, Auckland
- reviewed by Stephen Austin

... writer Ben Hutchison has meticulously created a socially conscious realist comedy that’s as concerned with its wider themes as it is with the welfare of the day-to-day workings of the inner lives of its three characters. Out of disparate, oddly paired people, he crafts a story that packs plenty of emotional wallop in its tail, while never going overboard on the sentimental. In fact it’s just the right balance of well-observed Kiwi naturalism, packed full of sub-text that director Jeff Szusterman taps into to pull it all together with excellent purpose and detail, making this emotionally engrossing work sing so well.

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HAIRSPRAY: Great numbers, first-rate performances and many surprises
SKYCITY Theatre, Auckland
- reviewed by Janet McAllister

This bright, feel-good musical left us so happy that we were possibly high on hairspray fumes. The volume's pumped up on the dancing and charisma as well as on the ratted hair in this tale of "pleasantly plump" Tracy and her black friends in 1962 Baltimore, who wish to dance on TV like the thin white kids do.

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CHOICE!!: Darkly surreal
Meteor Theatre, Hamilton
- reviewed by Ross MacLeod

There’s the brightly coloured, multi layered set, packed to the brim like a hidden object puzzle. There’s the hyperactive, exaggerated characters in weird costumes going about over-the-top renditions of everyday life. There’s the surreal drift between scenes. And there’s the message – here one of consumerism – ever present but most of the time held back from feeling heavy handed by sharp writing and strong performances.

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HAIRSPRAY: Fun-filled upbeat entertainment in a can
SKYCITY Theatre, Auckland
- reviewed by Kate Ward-Smythe

While my 10 and 11-year-old companions adore Hairspray from start to finish, and are captivated by the costumes and larger than life characters, for me it is a rare moment of pathos that will resonate louder and longer than all other offerings. Lavina Williams’ gospel lament ‘I Know Where I’ve Been’ is heartfelt, vocally stunning and wins the night.

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MUNTED: Honest and heart-warming
Playhouse, Gallagher Academy of Performing Arts, Hamilton
- reviewed by Mark Houlahan

The scenario of Munted is easy to grasp. Three actors on a stage strewn with chairs, some lamps and many mugs for survivors to sip tea out of. Between them they voice fifteen survivors of the February 22, 2011 quake in Christchurch.

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TAKI MAORI HAKA EXPERIENCE: Playful and whimsical
Dance Base, Edinburgh, Scotland
- reviewed by Dione Joseph

Produced by Mika and Jay Tewake, the Taki Maori Haka Experience is not a tourist export, although it is clearly developed for an international audience. It is playful, whimsical and very whanua (family) orientated, welcoming children and adults to engage and experience Maori culture in an informal setting.

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BLACK GRACE: People, story and movement
Assembly, Roxy, Edinburgh, Scotland
- reviewed by Dione Joseph

Black Grace is one of New Zealand's most successful dance companies and if you're lucky enough to catch one of their shows at this year's 2014 Edinburgh Fringe you'll know why.

This is inspired, sculpted, contemporary dance alive with stories.

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ALLEGRO: An eclectic evening
St James Theatre, Wellington
- reviewed by Lyne Pringle

The party has already started when the curtain goes up. We find eight dancers swirling mid stage to Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 3 in E-flat Major. Music born out of depression and despair, the last work by this composer, is re-interpreted as joyous and life-filled. Allegro Brillante is Balanchine at his best: fast-moving ensemble passages, rapid-fire steps, 6 o'clock extensions and contrasting sections of peaceful lyricism that match the drama, tension and excitement of the score.

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MANA WAHINE: Dancers convey power and passion
Te Whaea National Dance and Drama Centre, 11 Hutchison Rd, Newtown, Wellington
- reviewed by Ann Hunt

.. what begins as a collage ends as a fiery, gorgeous tapestry, one that could adorn any theatre anywhere in the world.

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ALLEGRO: Vibrant season of five short works
St James Theatre, Wellington
- reviewed by Ann Hunt

This was the world premiere of Daniel Belton's stunning Satellites. To a compelling original score by Jan-Bas Bollen, Belton incorporates mesmericly beautiful motion graphics by Jac Grenfell, and fascinating kinetic sculpture by Jim Murphy. The costumes (Donnine Harrison,) are simple and apt and the splendid lighting is by Nigel Percy.

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THE FACTORY – A PACIFIC MUSICAL: Pacific voices asserted
Assembly @ Assembly Hall, Edinburgh, Scotland
- reviewed by Dione Joseph

The Factory is worthy of four stars. Not five but four unequivocal fulsome stars that applaud this production for its artistic merit and the fact that it is openly responding to a shameful chapter in New Zealand's history: when Polynesian immigrant workers were beguiled with the notion that the journey to the promised land of NZ would bring them “milk, honey and money”.

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THE GENERATION OF Z: Exposing our capacity to inspire both terror and awe
Assemby, George Square, Edinburgh, Scotland
- reviewed by Dione Joseph

The Generation of Z is an experience. And it's not just for those with a penchant for gothic horror films or teenagers who would like to indulge in some blood and gore – everybody should experience it.

We are in a post-apocalyptic world where the Z virus has created a class of walking undead, roaming the streets and they are here, right here in Edinburgh. Luckily so is the New Zealand army.

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THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES: Hilarious hijinx
Centrepoint, Palmerston North
- reviewed by Adam Dodd

The play opens with a single baleful red ember – Sir Charles Baskerville's last cigarette, this being moments before being set upon by the mysterious hound and succumbing to his tricky ticker, a hereditary affliction. Twenty seconds in and I've already seen a half-dozen facial expressions culminating in death. Fast and funny.

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MANA WAHINE: A stunning visual experience
Te Whaea National Dance and Drama Centre, 11 Hutchison Rd, Newtown, Wellington
- reviewed by Sam Trubridge

Dance is by necessity, a study of 'Wa' (the space between), and this work does so with beautiful tension between these women, from the moment that they emerge within the exquisite setting, pulsing and trembling with energy. These are not just bodies in an empty space though - there is instead a tight weave between the performance, the design, AV, costume, lighting, and sound that is absolutely flawless - with an amazing synthesis of all the stage elements to make a stunning visual experience.

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BEIRUT: The power of human emotion captivates
Athenaeum Theatre Basement, Dunedin
- reviewed by Alison Embleton

The paint-stripped, dilapidated staircase down to the basement of the Athenaeum Theatre creates a strong sense of foreboding well suited to such a dark and wretched play. Once inside, the set of a dingy, one-room apartment is filled with discarded rubbish, crumbling walls and a bare mattress. Welcome to ‘Beirut’, a neighbourhood of New York where sufferers of an unnamed, highly infectious virus (Positives) are quarantined to protect the uninfected (Negatives) living elsewhere in the city.

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

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