Theatreview Weekly: 28/07/11
A selection of reviews from Theatreview from the last week including Playing Miss Havisham, Othello, and Young & Hungry Festival of New Theatre in Auckland and Wellington.
See more recent reviews at theatreview.org.nz, the NZ Performing Arts Review & Directory
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Basement Theatre, Auckland - YOUNG & HUNGRY FESTIVAL OF NEW THEATRE (AUCKLAND) 2011: Most satisfying – don’t go hungry
- reviewed by Candice Lewis
Jo Randerson’s Cow is mesmerizing, surreal and makes social commentaries that have stood the test of time. Gary Henderson’s Tigerplay leads us into the jungle of a caged mind, and Thomas Sainsbury’s zombie-infested Disorder follows on the established themes of acceptance, rejection, madness and the questioning the status quo.
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Basement Theatre, Auckland - YOUNG & HUNGRY FESTIVAL OF NEW THEATRE (AUCKLAND) 2011: Excellent duo followed by disappointing disorder
- reviewed by Janet McAllister
This medley of three one-hour plays, giving stage experience and mentoring to (mostly Pakeha) 16- to 25-year-olds, makes for an evening of two unequal halves.
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BATS, Wellington - YOUNG & HUNGRY FESTIVAL OF NEW THEATRE (WELLINGTON) 2011: Missing innovation and energy
- reviewed by Helen Sims
Young and Hungry is an institution in Wellington theatre. Every year three short plays are produced, designed and performed by a group of young people in a professional theatre, mentored by professional theatre practitioners.
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Celebration Theatre, Hagley Park, Christchurch - PLAYING MISS HAVISHAM: Classy combinations
- reviewed by Lindsay Clark
Anyone who saw Helen Moulder's performance as Dickens' somewhat goulish character in The Court production of Great Expectations , will remember the bitter poignancy of that portrayal and be both relieved to see it expanded into this light charmer of a solo piece, and gratified to have snippets of that initial role revisited.
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Maidment, Auckland - OTHELLO: World class challenging art; mediocrity is not an option
- reviewed by Lexie Matheson
Shakespeare’s Othello presents a conundrum in that it is a logical postulation that evades resolution. Jesse Peach’s elegant production does little to resolve the debate as to who should shoulder the greater responsibility for the tragedy, Othello or Iago, and that’s probably a good thing. On balance, maybe it should be left for a never-ending debate over coffee and chardonnay subsequent to the event, as there is plenty else in this production that warrants discussion as well.
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Gryphon, Wellington - RABBIT HOLE: Wrenching tale of parents’ grief
- reviewed by Ewen Coleman
What could be an overly written and over wrought play acted out overdramatically is not. It gets to the heart of the subject matter with tight uncompressing dialogue that is both painfully real yet tinged with hope rather than despair.
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Basement Theatre, Te Whaea National Dance & Drama Centre, Wellington - HAMLET: A Hamlet for our times
- reviewed by Michael Gilchrist
Right from the start, as we descend into the bowels of Te Whaea, this stripped back story about a bright student returning home to some bewilderingly wayward family behaviour rings true. This is an unusually ambitious choice for a young director in training and the ambition is more than justified.
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The Pumphouse, Takapuna, Auckland - A LION IN THE MEADOW AND OTHER STORIES: Mahy magic wins the day
- reviewed by Lexie Matheson
Mahy and Bray, then, are already quite a formidable duo and rightly so, as Mahy writes wonderfully performable stories and Bray has a feel for the magic of childhood and a gift for theatrical creation that can only exist in a man who has never truly grown up … and bless him for that!
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Celebration Theatre, Hagley Park, Christchurch - THE GREAT RUGBY ROBBERY: Big, bold and silly
- reviewed by Erin Harrington
On the eve of the 2011 Rugby World Cup final, the Webb Ellis Cup has disappeared – pilfered by Frenchmen embittered by their loss in 1987. If the All Blacks don’t lose the final, the Frenchmen have promised to stomp the cup with an elephant, then run it over with a steam roller.
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TAPAC Theatre, Western Springs, Auckland - KING ARTHUR: Brilliantly batty
- reviewed by Nik Smythe
The Outfit Theatre Ensemble brings their own original take on the characters and events of Britain’s oldest and most beloved mythological epic. It’s quite a departure from the overall style one may be used to, and from a number of the characters’ archetypes and relationships ...
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Gryphon, Wellington - RABBIT HOLE: A moving play and performance
- reviewed by Caoilinn Hughes
Reading the synopsis of American playwright David Lindsay-Abaire’s Rabbit Hole makes you wonder why any theatre company would choose to stage a play that centres so uncomfortably around grief; a play that presents the dark, despairing side of family drama, and doesn’t justify its need for an audience.
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Celebration Theatre, Hagley Park, Christchurch - SHAKESPEARE: AS YOU WRITE IT: Comical-historical-tragical freshness
- reviewed by Erin Harrington
After some mulled wine and scene setting – harpsichord renditions of pop hits; Britney Spears never sounding so good – three seasoned improvisers, clad in striped doublets and flanked by giant polystyrene pillars, take it upon themselves to school the audience in some Shakespearean basics through the performance of a brand new play.
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See more recent reviews at theatreview.org.nz, the NZ Performing Arts Review & Directory
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