Austin Harrison We are coming to the end of a year which has been hard on everyone, but few more so than our arts communities (shout out to our healthcare workers who definitely take the top spot for most rubbish year, y’all are awesome!!). On Sunday night though, you’d hardly have known how exhausted everyone is feeling. As we enter the Hannah Playhouse for this year’s Wellington Theatre Awards, the vibes are jubilant, the spirits are high and there is much to celebrate!!
Sean Burnett Dugdale-Martin Hosted and created by the one and only, unabashed, cucumber-fueled, award-winning comedy circus power trio that is Laser Kiwi, as seen on stage, screen, streets and theatres around Aotearoa. Famous for their unique style of surreal sketch circus, a combination which has taken them around the world multiple times.
Sean Burnett Dugdale-Martin Confessions of an Aerobics Instructor is a high-octane workout of belly laughs. Joana Simmons, who plays her aerobics alter ego, Joy, is airing her work out and work stories as an aerobics instructor and exercising all sorts of demons from body image to active wear. Direction from Greenroom Award winner, Elizabeth Dawson-Smith (Miss Friby, Australia) and songs by Jamie Burgess, the show features original songs, high-powered pop and rock staples and full power aerobics.
Emilie Hope I’m so glad to live in a time where queer narratives are coming to the forefront of our stories. Especially family friendly ones that focus on queer joy. The Princess and The Knight, written and produced by Brie Keatley, is one of those stories. Following Princess Ada (Angela Pelham) as she finds her true love, a knight in leather armour, Ellis (India Worsnop) and avoids marriage with her betrothed, Lysander (Daniel Nodder) and the villain Nyx (Lincoln Swinerd). This campy and fun play has some excellent snappy lines and keeps us engaged right the way through – a testament to the actor’s comedic timing and their director Katie Hill.
Emilie Hope New Zealand School of Dance - Minami Kurota & Sofija Milic. Photo by Stephen A'Court. The New Zealand School of Dance Performance Season 2022 is on until the 26th and is a showcase of first-, second-, and third-year dance students. There are two programmes over this season. The first is the All Loughlan Prior Programme (all choreographed by Loughlan Prior) which consists of ballet, and the second is the Contemporary Dance Programme, both performed at Te Whaea. I will be reviewing both programmes separately. Here is my second and last review.
Jack McGee Two hours and fifteen minutes. Making my way into BATS, up to my seat at the back of the theatre, the same question keeps coming out of different mouths. Is this play actually two hours and fifteen minutes long?
Alia Marshall Stevie Hancox-Monk in The Griegol by Trick of the Light. Photo by Phillip Merry, Axylotl Photography. It’s opening night for Trick of the Light’s newest show The Griegol and Te Auaha is alive. After a few cancellations due to Covid, we’re finally lucky enough to see this show in Poneke, and boy does it live up to the hype. Emilie Hope New Zealand School of Dance - Miguel Herrera. Photo by Stephen A'Court. I love dance shows. I love watching an artform that’s so different from my go-to. I love to dance and be in my body, but this is always next level amount of commitment, strength, and beauty. The New Zealand School of Dance Performance Season 2022 is on until the 26th and is a showcase of first-, second-, and third-year dance students. There are two programmes over this season. The first is the All Loughlan Prior Programme (all choreographed by Loughlan Prior) which consists of ballet, and the second is the Contemporary Dance Programme, both performed at Te Whaea. I will be reviewing both programmes separately. Here is my first review.
Alia Marshall It’s a relatively dreary Friday evening as we file into Circa to see Olive Copperbottom: A Dickensian Tale of Love, Gin, and the Pox, and despite not being all that familiar with Dickens, I can’t help but think this is the perfect setting.
Emilie Hope BILL BILL BILL is a silly clown show that centres on three mini solo performances by Jeremy Hunt, Felix Crossley-Pritchard, and Georgia Kellett respectively. “Disguised as a professional production,” Dastardly Productions and Knot Theatre collaborate for the first time to have a “silly ol’ time”, as the programme states. While it is silly, I struggle to have fun watching this show. Learning of the two-week rehearsal time, a lot of the chaotic nature of the show makes sense, yet a bit more time in development could have led them to create a clowning show that doesn’t make people regret their lost hour of their time – as an audience member later said to me.
Alia Marshall Red Leap’s response to Janet Frame’s novel Owls Do Cry is a triumph of contemporary theatre in Aotearoa. For the past 14 years, this company has dazzled audiences with their innovative takes on the theatrical form, earning them several awards and critical acclaim. My first introduction to the company was in a first year theatre lecture watching a clip from The Arrival, I remember being mesmerised by the visual storytelling and explosive physicality. Owls Do Cry is my first time experiencing them in the flesh, and I’m absolutely fizzing as we wait to file into the space.
Katie Hill Image by Alex Rabina. Directed by David Cox, Stagecraft’s The Woman in Black is a precisely-acted and undoubtedly eerie rendition of Susan Hill and Stephen Mallatratt’s 1987 play. The play itself is a slow burn, and not because it takes a few minutes to get itself off the ground, but because of how delightfully it builds tension. The calculated yet wonderfully human performances of Martin Tidy and Tim MacDonald paired with bold lighting choices earn the play its two-hour runtime. Warning: the following paragraphs contain spoilers, and if you’re not already familiar with the play and love the element of surprise, don’t read any further!
Sean Burnett Dugdale-Martin Horse With No Names’ show Fab Beasts is a show of two stories. The first follows the unicorns at Unicorn Property Management as tensions and water levels rise when the heavens open and only two of every kind are allowed to live. The second dives deep down into the murky world of Detective Ness (Katie Boyle): mother, lover and Loch Ness Monster. Ness races to solve a string of grisly murders, and faces her most difficult adversary yet: the patriarchy. As well as a killer with a penchant for cured meats. Winners of Spectacular Organised Chaos in the New Zealand Fringe Festival 2021, nominated for Pure Joy and Inspired by myths, and Irish folk music, Horse With No Name have written a comedy that is a loch load of fun! Sean Burnett Dugdale-Martin The Conch’s show A Boy Called Piano - The Story of Fa’amoana John Luafutu tells the remarkable story of Luafutu’s time as a state ward in the 1960’s and the intergenerational impacts of these experiences. Written by Luafutu himself and Tom McCrory, and directed by Nina Nawalowalo, A Boy Called Piano builds on The Conch’s kaupapa of harnessing the power of theatre as a force for social change. Combining physical storytelling, breathtaking visual design with elements from The Conch’s documentary film A Boy Called Piano - The Story of Fa’amoana John Luafutu (New Zealand International Film Festival 2022 and winner at the 2022 Montreal Independent Film Festival), the play stars Fa’amoana alongside his son Matthias Luafutu, Aaron McGregor, Rob Ringiao-Lloyd, and the renowned Ole Maiava, plus a stunning score performed live by Aotearoa music legend Mark Vanilau. The body of work deals with innocence, racism, systematic abuse, molestation, and attempted suicide.
Alia Marshall If The Best Foods Comedy Gala 2022 is any indication of the year ahead in comedy, we have a lot to look forward to. Having been rescheduled due to Covid, the Comedy Gala kicks off to a sold-out crowd on Friday night who’ve been waiting for this since May. The line up is packed with acts I’ve never seen before, and several who I’m dying to see, and I overhear chatter as we file in about who people are there for. The Michael Fowler Centre is packed as we enter, everyone is fizzing and everywhere you look there’s mayonnaise, what’s not to love?
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