Theatreview Weekly: 14/07/11
A selection of reviews from Theatreview from the last week.
See more recent reviews at http://www.theatreview.org.nz, the NZ Performing Arts Review & Directory
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Herald Theatre, Aotea Centre, The Edge, Auckland - SHORT+SWEET THEATRE, AUCKLAND 2011: Top 20 Week 2
- reviewed by Caoilinn Hughes
By the interval of the Short + Sweet Theatre Festival’s Top 20 (Week 2), I was already torn between two potential winners. By the end, I was pacing around the foyer, fretting over the ballot sheet. I had given 5 stars to four of the ten ‘shorts’ (10 minute plays). If only all voting were so difficult; with so many smart, witty, well-lit candidates.
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Herald Theatre, Aotea Centre, The Edge, Auckland - SHORT+SWEET THEATRE, AUCKLAND 2011: Wildcards Week 1
- reviewed by Sian Robertson
Sexual adventures are well represented in the first half. The first piece, The Reluctant Testicle by Paul Lawrence,is told from the point of view of a young man’s genitals, which are played by Jonathan Riley, Tracey Cumin and Natasha Daniel. They try to figure out what’s going on above, with limited visibility and not a lot of control about what they are pressed up against.
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Corban Estate Arts Centre, Henderson, Auckland - ARE YOU SCARED OF ME? GHOSTING PART 6: ...the weirdest thing I have ever seen
- reviewed by Jack Gray
The friend I went with has seen some of the other Ghosting series and says this is the most fully realised of the lot. She refers to a statement in the programme that says: “So the aims are serious but we want people to have a good time, and to be challenged. It should be fun, a little scary and at times even beautiful.” She says she felt all of those things ...
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Fortune Theatre, Dunedin - THE TUTOR: Very funny, passionate and very New Zealand
- reviewed by Jennifer Aitken
We were all teenagers once. We may not have all had iPads, iPhones and access to an unending stream of cash, but we all went to school and we probably all disliked maths; it is of course “a glorious waste of time,” I say borrowing the words from the maths tutor himself.
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Celebration Theatre, Hagley Park, Christchurch - SAME TIME, NEXT YEAR: Romantic comedy warms the heart, tickles the ribs
- reviewed by Alan Scott
Their old theatre might have gone with the wind, but Repertory still thrives, and, judging by the quality of this production, nothing the world can throw at it will alter that.
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Herald Theatre, Aotea Centre, The Edge, Auckland - SHORT+SWEET THEATRE, AUCKLAND 2011: Genders stereotyped in 100 minutes flat
- reviewed by Janet McAllister
Ten short plays by emerging actors take a conservative look at human relationships. It’s a little worrying how 10 10-minute plays, diverse in tone and genre, can give such a unified story of gender roles and relations as these first plays of the Short+Sweet competition.
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Celebration Theatre, Hagley Park, Christchurch - SAME TIME, NEXT YEAR: Genuine chemistry and warmth
- reviewed by Lindsay Clark
The latest Repertory production is testimony to the flexibility and perseverance of a dedicated bunch of thespians ... Here, we have a deft two hander, pattered out in the cosy intimacy of a tent.
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Te Whaea, Wellington - NGA HAU E WHA: Spine chilling at times
- reviewed by Greer Robertson
There were moments where I forgot to breathe in my spine-chilling captive state....
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Wesley Church Old Hall, 75 Taranaki St, Wellington - THE LARAMIE PROJECT: Consistent ensemble work makes for great theatre
- reviewed by Hayden Frost
It should be fairly well known by now that Long Cloud Youth Theatre, under the direction of Willem Wassenaar, is not in the habit of shying away from challenges or difficult projects. Their production of The Laramie Project ... is no exception.
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See more recent reviews at http://www.theatreview.org.nz, the NZ Performing Arts Review & Directory
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