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

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NOT IN OUR NEIGHBOURHOOD: The importance of this work cannot be overstated
Court Theatre Pub Charity Studio, Christchurch
Written and Directed by Jamie McCaskill 
Presented by Tikapa Productions 
in association with Te Whāriki Manawahine O Hauraki
- reviewed by Ruth Agnew

Jamie McCaskill has turned his experience working at the Hauraki Women’s Refuge (Te Whariki Manawahine O Hauraki) into a play that has the potential to alter the way New Zealanders view domestic violence.

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VANILLA MIRAKA: From comedy of ignorance, egocentricity and insensitivity to a deeper quality
Basement Theatre, Lower Greys Ave, Auckland
Written and performed by Hayley Sproull 
Directed by Jo Randerson 
Taki Rua Productions
- reviewed by Nik Smythe

Vanilla Miraka is an open-hearted, intimate and irreverently hilarious examination of Sproull’s upbringing and identity as ‘one-quarter Māori’. Opening the show in Māori, she recites her pepeha (personal introduction) at first with assured confidence, then increasing self-deprecating frustration when she makes mistakes ...

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SHORT+SWEET THEATRE 2016
SHORT+SWEET THEATRE 2016 – GALA FINAL: Some seriously inventive stuff
TAPAC Theatre, Western Springs, Auckland

- reviewed by Lexie Matheson

Has it been worth it to experience what has effectively been thirty pieces of theatre for me in ten days? Yes, it most certainly has. I’ve been exposed to some seriously inventive stuff, some fantastic performances, a bunch of amazingly good scripts; I’ve laughed like a mad person and had my withers wrung, so what’s to not like?

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YAATHRA - THE JOURNEY: Students share their journeys and growth through intricate dancing
Kavanagh Auditorium, Kavanagh College, 255A Rattray St, Dunedin
Natyaloka dancers choreographed by Swaroopa Unni with Taonga pūoro artists Jessie Jack and Shannon van Rooijen and Sufi poetry by Bulleya Shah, music composed by Sandeep Pillai
- reviewed by Hannah Molloy

The standout piece for me was Soundarya Lahiri, a meditation on the divine mother, danced by Sarangi Sabu. Sabu was delicious to watch, her simple gestures combining fluidly into complex, organic shapes that told this story of the beauty and divinity inherent in all of us. There seemed to be an extra movement relationship between her muscles, joints and bones, and a firmness in the movement of her hands that implied strength without losing any of their elegance.

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SWEENEY TODD THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET: More shades of seduction, corruption and vengeance than a political leader’s court case
The Civic - Auckland Live, Auckland
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim 
Book by Hugh Wheeler from an Adaptation by Christopher Bond
Originally Directed by Harold Prince 
Originally produced on Broadway by Richard Barr, Charles Woodward, Robert Fryer, Mary Lea Johnson, Martin Richards.
In Association with Dean and Judy Manos.
Directed by Stuart Maunder 
Conducted by Benjamin Northey 
A New Zealand Opera co-production with Victorian Opera 
By arrangement with Hal Leonard Australia Pty Ltd Exclusive agent for Music Theatre International (NY).
- reviewed by Michael Hooper

A bloody good show awaits those who attend this tale of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Richly flavoured with Sondheim irony and perception, it is peppered with some of our best talent and baked to a perfect crunch by director Stuart Maunder who, unlike movie director Tim Burton, avoids serving it overdone.

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SWEENEY TODD THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET: Broadway opera at its macabre best
The Civic - Auckland Live, Auckland
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim 
Book by Hugh Wheeler from an Adaptation by Christopher Bond
Originally Directed by Harold Prince 
Originally produced on Broadway by Richard Barr, Charles Woodward, Robert Fryer, Mary Lea Johnson, Martin Richards.
In Association with Dean and Judy Manos.
Directed by Stuart Maunder 
Conducted by Benjamin Northey 
A New Zealand Opera co-production with Victorian Opera 
By arrangement with Hal Leonard Australia Pty Ltd Exclusive agent for Music Theatre International (NY).
- reviewed by William Dart

Stuart Maunder's production for New Zealand Opera never missed a cue, balancing gusty grand guignol with dark poetry in which human souls emerged from expressionist vaudeville.

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SHORT+SWEET THEATRE 2016
SHORT+SWEET THEATRE 2016 – SEASON 2: Mostly sophisticated and well-crafted with often quite exceptional performances
TAPAC Theatre, Western Springs, Auckland

- reviewed by Lexie Matheson

Week Two of Short+Sweet Theatre has quite a bit to live up to, given Week One set the bar high with some very competent productions. Personally, I feel the standard is even higher in Week Two but that’s just my opinion with one of the joys of this festival being that, because everyone gets a vote, every opinion counts.

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THE FENCE: Undoubted expertise under-challenged
BATS Theatre, The Heyday Dome, 1 Kent Tce, Wellington
Written by Fran Olds 
Co-directed by Luke Hanna and Fran Olds 
Presented by The Brothers & Sisters Collective
- reviewed by Chris Jannides

So now it comes to the crunch: are they achieving their ambitions with this production? Does The Fence use story, movement and theatre to do what they claim? Does this performance empower us as an audience and make us feel connected to our wider communities or to our own stories and dreams?

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THE STREAKER: Dilemma-driven comedy
The Court Theatre, Bernard Street, Addington, Christchurch
Written by Gregory Cooper 
Directed by Mark Hadlow
- reviewed by Lindsay Clark

Commissioned by The Court to write a 'comedy with broad appeal', gleefully inventive ex-improviser Gregory Cooper has produced a zippy romp, peopled for the main part with dependably humorous stereotypes and offering plenty of scope for director Hadlow to make the most of the plentiful laughs.

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SHORT+SWEET THEATRE 2016
SHORT+SWEET THEATRE 2016 – WILDCARD 2: Important development opportunity
TAPAC Theatre, Western Springs, Auckland

- reviewed by Leigh Sykes

This Wildcard show offers five plays, four of which focus on relationships, with the fifth offering the intriguing premise of one of Shakespeare’s best known characters suing the playwright for libel.

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Arts On Tour NZ 2016
UNDER THE SAME MOON: Falls short of its promise
TSB Showplace, New Plymouth
Written by Renee Liang 
Directed by Borni Te Rongopai Tukiwaho (2016)
Presented by Omphalos Co
- reviewed by Ngaire Riley

Hweiling Ow creates the grandmother, her daughter and two granddaughters with clarity. However it was not always easy to hear the dialogue and the often low, or shadowy lighting means that subtleties of expression are lost. The performance seems to need a smaller, more intimate space or a larger, stronger performance.

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NO HOLDS BARD: Virtuoso slapstick and hilarity exposes very human vulnerability
Titirangi Theatre, Lopdell House, Auckland
By Michael Hurst, Natalie Medlock and Dan Musgrove 
Performed by Michael Hurst 
Royale Productions
- reviewed by Leigh Sykes

When the thespian/Hamlet tries to figure out his place in the world and retrace the events of his day, the audacity of letting the audience see the craft of playing is rewarded by belly laughs of sheer delight.

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SMOKEY JOE’S CAFÉ: Tight ensemble singing and several standout performances
Whitireia Performance Centre, 25-27 Vivian Street, Wellington
Words and Music by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller 
Director – Alan Palmer 
Musical director – Kate Marshall 
Choreographer – Leigh Evans 
Presented by Whitireia Musical Theatre Class of 2016
- reviewed by Jo Hodgson

If you think you don’t know the song writing team Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, think again, as there is every probability you will have heard their music. Hits such as ‘Stand by Me’, ‘On Broadway’, and ‘Jailhouse Rock’ are all penned by these musical masters ...

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Kōanga Festival 2016
SHOT BRO – CONFESSIONS OF A DEPRESSED BULLET: Theatre at its best
Te Pou Theatre, 44a Portage Road, New Lynn, Auckland
Written & Performed by Rob Mokaraka 
Directed by Erina Daniels 
Produced by Mookalucky Productions
- reviewed by Dione Joseph

But it’s not docu-drama, nor is it verbatim recitals; this is theatre: compelling, intriguing and deeply touching yet welded with so much cheeky humour it’s impossible not to recognise, laugh and blink away tears at the same time.

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EVITA: Hits all the right notes
Isaac Theatre Royal, Christchurch
Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber 
Lyrics by Tim Rice 
Originally directed by Harold Prince 
Director – Stephen Robertson 
Musical Director – Richard Marrett 
Produced by Showbiz Christchurch
- reviewed by Christopher Moore

“Any musical which begins with a funeral can't be all bad,” the producer, Hal Prince, reportedly commented after reading the first draft of Evita.

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EVITA: Engaging, accessible, dazzling
Isaac Theatre Royal, Christchurch
Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber 
Lyrics by Tim Rice 
Originally directed by Harold Prince 
Director – Stephen Robertson 
Musical Director – Richard Marrett 
Produced by Showbiz Christchurch
- reviewed by Grant Hindin Miller

Where do I begin? Halfway through the first act it strikes me that New Zealand musical theatre is in triumphant form, for this production of Evita is a triumph, a tour de force, and I am deeply impressed.

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LOLA’S GRAVE MISTAKE: Sympathy, magic and laughs
The Dark Room, Cnr Pitt and Church Street, Palmerston North
Created and performed by Ian Harman
- reviewed by Alexandra Bellad-Ellis

At the beginning of the show we find that Mr Lola Illusion, boylesque crooner and magic maker, has made a grave mistake. He has had his heart broken and has found himself in purgatory. We go with him on an adventure to hell and back, finding out how he got here, and how he’s going to get out.

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SISTER ACT THE MUSICAL: A polished performance
Opera House, Wellington
Music by Alan Menken 
Lyrics by Glenn Slater 
Book by Cheri Steinkellner & Bill Steinkellner 
additional book material by Douglas Carter Beane 
Based on the touchstone Pictures Motion Pitcture ‘Sister Act’ written by Joseph Howard 
By arrangement with Hal Leonard Australia Pty Ltd Exclusive agent for Music Theatre International (NY) 
Director: John JG Goddard 
Musical Director: Michael Nicholas Williams 
Choreographer: Stacey Neale 
Presented by: Wellington Musical Theatre
- reviewed by Ewen Coleman

There is something quite exhilarating about seeing a group of nuns on stage fast-footing it to rock music and singing their lungs out, which is what, for the first-half anyway, much of Wellington Musical Theatre's production of Sister Act is.

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SISTER ACT THE MUSICAL: Hits all the right spots
Opera House, Wellington
Music by Alan Menken 
Lyrics by Glenn Slater 
Book by Cheri Steinkellner & Bill Steinkellner 
additional book material by Douglas Carter Beane 
Based on the touchstone Pictures Motion Pitcture ‘Sister Act’ written by Joseph Howard 
By arrangement with Hal Leonard Australia Pty Ltd Exclusive agent for Music Theatre International (NY) 
Director: John JG Goddard 
Musical Director: Michael Nicholas Williams 
Choreographer: Stacey Neale 
Presented by: Wellington Musical Theatre
- reviewed by Maraea Rakuraku

From the setting and all its many smooth transitions, and the costuming to the script and, of course, to the music, this is a fantastic quality production. It is completely absorbing and entertaining. 

There’s only so many times I can describe the singing as gorgeous ...

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

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