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

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THE VOICE IN MY HEAD: Quietly intense, insightful, commanding respect
Basement Theatre, Lower Greys Ave, Auckland
Written and directed Jodie Molloy
- reviewed by Nik Smythe

There are two reasons that a train compartment is the ideal setting for the purpose of unifying the handful of women portrayed in this entertaining, quietly confronting work.

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EVEREST UNTOLD: Team Effort
Herald Theatre, Aotea Centre, Auckland LIVE, Auckland
By Gareth Davies 
Directed by Toby Leech 
Presented by Ffynroc Productions
- reviewed by Tim George

Everest Untold is pretty entertaining for what is basically a slideshow. The action is played as a presentation by Hunt and Lowe to a New Zealand climbing club, with Hunt providing context and Lowe colour commentary on certain details his more restrained colleague would rather overlook ...

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LUMINA: NZ Dance Company's 'Lumina' a mesmerising performance
Opera House, Wellington
Choreographers Louise Potiki Bryant, Malia Johnson and Steven Shropshire
- reviewed by Ann Hunt

The eight dancers were superb. Performing with strength and vibrancy, they used technical expertise to always enhance and clarify, never to overshadow meaning. We, as New Zealanders, should be very proud of this company. They are superb ambassadors.

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MANAHATTA - INDIGENOUS DANCE FORUM: Change in motion shook-awake
Dixon Place, NYC, USA
Choreographer/Director: Jack Gray
Composer: Dåkot-ta Alcantara Camacho (accompaniment by Tecumseh Ceaser, Reginald Ceaser, Jerome Kavanagh, Grace Osborne)
Adornment: Ruth Woodbury/Rosanna Raymond (Atamira Dance Company)
Av/Set Design: A/P/A Institute
Lighting Design: Dixon Place
- reviewed by Alison Cole

Every facet of Jack’s work exemplified his strength and mana as a cultural ambassador, with Aotearoa’s freedom of thought untrammelled by New York City litigious restrictions (“you want soil on the stage??” and “won’t we need liability disclaimer signs?”). New York is the epicentre of the global hegemonic culture - that power brings with it a weight of conformity, which forces the individual to change into fixed moulds in ways that are dangerous to society, including blocking the ability to see change which could be against our own interests. To push back against that weight is something the tangata whenua of Aotearoa are uniquely placed to share with the world, and the reception of Jack’s Indigenous Dance Forum demonstrates that there is an international audience ready to engage: the performance was sold out, wait-listed, with lines outside the door.

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EVEREST UNTOLD: Details but little drama
Herald Theatre, Aotea Centre, Auckland LIVE, Auckland
By Gareth Davies 
Directed by Toby Leech 
Presented by Ffynroc Productions
- reviewed by Janet McAllister

This is more of an illustrated lecture than a play; our presenters are purportedly two members of the first successful Everest expedition, but we don't really get to know them properly.

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SCOPE - NZSD CHOREOGRAPHIC SEASON 2016: A beautiful celebration of physical prowess and artistry
Te Whaea National Dance and Drama Centre, 11 Hutchison Rd, Newtown, Wellington
Season Directed by Victoria Colombus
Technical Director & Stage Manager Kirsty Chandler
Production & Lighting Mentor Glenn Ashworth
Sound Designer Te Aihe Butler
Lighting Designers Brynne Tasker-Poland & Liv Chan
Set Design Poppy Serano & Kirsty Chandler
Costume Design Donna Jefferis & Jane Boocock
Costume Assistance Fiona Grove & Rianne Gibson
Choreographers: Tristan Carter, Christopher Mills, Jag Popham, Isaac Di Natale, Breanna Timms, Samuel Hall, Tiana Lung, Holly Newsome, Jessica Newman, Isabel Estrella
- reviewed by Chris Jannides

The last piece of the evening takes the non-human mode to machinic heights of virtuosity verging on ritualistic. Temenos is choreographed by Isabel Estrella. It is an accomplished, incredibly strong group work featuring the whole cast. There are great patterns and use of in/out, up/down, circularity and wave actions on a downward pulse that releases visual surges of kinetic energy. I appreciate the fact that the focus is inward rather than out at us. There is a sophistication in being able to sustain our attention for a lengthy period of time where all we see are backs. The climax is an explosion of bodies that splay out face down from the centre of the stage, followed by the lifting of our attention to lights high up in the roof of the theatre. Nice! The worship is for floor and sky. Very appropriate for high-end dance.

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LUMINA: A thought-provoking evening of dance
Opera House, Wellington
Choreographers Louise Potiki Bryant, Malia Johnson and Steven Shropshire
- reviewed by Tania Kopytko

In Transit by Louise Potiki-Bryant explores the dangerous and illuminating liminal space between rituals or states of being. Liminality is an area of both discovery and threat in all human societies, needing ritual to bring order to chaos. The choreography brings a unique contemporary Māori movement vocabulary and symbolism to this many-layered work, which delves way back into the mythical genealogical past and forward into the present, with a narrative of uneasiness, death, murder, grief, perhaps guilt, and separateness. This is finally brought together in the joining of the breath and generations through the hongi.

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THE WIZARD OF OZ: Women are the standouts in the Wizard of Oz
Regent Theatre, Dunedin
Choreography - Francesco Ventriglia
Design - Gianluca Falaschi
Music - Francis Poulenc
- reviewed by Hannah Molloy

The Wizard of Oz was everything I wanted it to be in this quite abstract interpretation of that beloved story. The costumes were exquisite. The set was impressive in its scale. The music was romantic. The choreography was a magical blend of classical perfection with snippets of the looseness possible with other dance genres. The dancing was glorious – the dancers all looked as though they were thriving on the novelty of this work.

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A DORIS DAY SPECIAL: Effervescent and endearing
4th Wall Theatre, New Plymouth
Written by and Starring Ali Harper 
Director – Stephanie McKellar-Smith 
Musical Director & Arranger – Michael Bell 
Choreographer – Kirsty Allpress-Goudie
Produced by Ali-Cat Productions
- reviewed by Holly Shanahan

Ali Harper brings the joy and glee of Doris Day to life in this beautifully nostalgic one woman show about the life of Doris Mary Ann von Kappelhoff or, as we know her, the sweetheart singer and movie star of the 40s, 50s and 60s: Doris Day.

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EVEREST UNTOLD: An eye-opening hour
Herald Theatre, Aotea Centre, Auckland LIVE, Auckland
By Gareth Davies 
Directed by Toby Leech 
Presented by Ffynroc Productions
- reviewed by Leigh Sykes

Sometimes the two characters talk over each other, so keen are they to share their point of view, but the sense of respect and camaraderie is evident from the beginning. 

There are some points of dissension and, on occasion, the tension between the two men and their different approaches to the mountain is palpable.

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SCOPE - NZSD CHOREOGRAPHIC SEASON 2016: FUSIONS OF LIFE
Te Whaea National Dance and Drama Centre, 11 Hutchison Rd, Newtown, Wellington
Season Directed by Victoria Colombus
Technical Director & Stage Manager Kirsty Chandler
Production & Lighting Mentor Glenn Ashworth
Sound Designer Te Aihe Butler
Lighting Designers Brynne Tasker-Poland & Liv Chan
Set Design Poppy Serano & Kirsty Chandler
Costume Design Donna Jefferis & Jane Boocock
Costume Assistance Fiona Grove & Rianne Gibson
Choreographers: Tristan Carter, Christopher Mills, Jag Popham, Isaac Di Natale, Breanna Timms, Samuel Hall, Tiana Lung, Holly Newsome, Jessica Newman, Isabel Estrella
- reviewed by Donna Banicevich Gera

The cast performs as one, highlighting the power of collaboration in this art form. It is wonderful to see each individual contribution moulding itself into the professional production. Visually the experience, in the round, is outstanding. The lighting and costume design mirror the current spin on lives searching for a purpose. The set comprises eight white box frames, in varying sizes and dimensions, that track their way across the stage, enabling the entire production to fit together like one giant puzzle.

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ICE AGE LIVE! A MAMMOTH SHOW ON ICE: Over-stimulation detracts from engagement
TSB Bank Arena, Queens Wharf, Wellington
Story, music and lyrics by Ella Louise Allaire and Martin Lord Ferguson 
Co-directed by Guy Caron & Michael Curry 
Presented by Stage Entertainment Touring Productions (SETP)
- reviewed by Tess Jamieson-Kahara

I can’t help but feel a bit weirded out by the disjointed, hard-to-follow storyline, slightly tinny voice-overs and average musical numbers. 

The few actual skating and circus routines by the highly skilled cast are the most entertaining but the script could definitely do with some rewrites.

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CASTLES: ELIZA DOOLITTLE? NO. ELIZA DOOALOT
BATS Theatre, The Dome, 1 Kent Tce, Wellington
House of Sand - Eliza Sanders and Charles Sanders
- reviewed by Chris Jannides

Although the meanings of the spoken words or phrases are infused into the accompanying choreography, this only highlights movement’s inability to communicate even more, given the addition of outside verbal assistance. I’ve seen this device used often in dance. Lloyd Newson, the director of UK’s DV8, does it frequently and is a master of this word-movement marriage style of work. I am often left wondering if the movement is extraneous or if it’s drawing greater attention to the verbal content and its delivery? Similarly, I wonder if the words help us view the movement in a uniquely different way. Sometimes it simply looks like a case of ‘look what I can do’. I have no answers, but I enjoy having work like this raise these questions.

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LOVE AND INFORMATION: Poignantly mirrors contemporary experience of love and information
BATS Theatre, The Dome, 1 Kent Tce, Wellington
By Caryl Churchill 
Directed by Tabitha Arthur 
Produced by Benedict Reid
LightShade Creative
- reviewed by Lena Fransham

With approximately 57 scenes and 100 characters, Love and Information,directed by Tabitha Arthur,delivers a quick-fire – at times frenetic – pace, mostly very nifty transitions between diverse scenarios and an impressively smooth set of performances given the enormous number of scenes and characters.

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FAR AWAY: Justice done to subtle, evasive script
BATS Theatre, The Dome, 1 Kent Tce, Wellington
By Caryl Churchill 
Directed by Tabitha Arthur 
Produced by Benedict Reid 
LightShade Creative
- reviewed by Lena Fransham

We learn just enough from the questions and obfuscations to know Joan’s uncle is up to something very bad and Harper is prepared to mess with Joan’s mind – “Who did you imagine you saw?” – in order to prevent her from finding out the truth.

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THE ELEPHANT THIEF: Lots of humour counterpoints the more serious moments
Hannah Playhouse, Wellington
Written by Jacob Rajan and Justin Lewis 
Directed by Justin Lewis 
Presented by Indian Ink Theatre Company
- reviewed by Ewen Coleman

After 20 years, Jacob Rajan and Justin Lewis's theatre company Indian Ink are still bringing their unique brand of theatre to the stage.

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THE ELEPHANT THIEF: Deeply engaging at comical, visual, sonic, physical and metaphysical levels
Hannah Playhouse, Wellington
Written by Jacob Rajan and Justin Lewis 
Directed by Justin Lewis 
Presented by Indian Ink Theatre Company
- reviewed by John Smythe

When we leave home to ‘see the world’, the world we’ve left behind has a habit of catching up with us, not least because the world is one whole organism and we ignore any part of it at our peril. The part we try to deny becomes the proverbial ‘elephant in the room’.

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

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