Guy van Egmond  As the walls of Prefab Hall strained to hold the swelling music that poured off the strings of the Quartet, comments from a certain Hollywood actor that ‘no one cares’ about classical forms of art strayed into my mind and were instantly shattered. Last Leaf, Wandering East was both a classy presentation of fine compositions as well as an energetic celebration of folk tunes.
Guy van Egmond  I have to open this by admitting that, until I opened the program for Music Portrait of a Humble Disabled Samoan, I did not know who Fonotī Pati Umaga was. But many people did and, by the end of this performance, I was happy to join in the standing ovation for this legendary musician and advocate. His biographical show stretched across cultural traditions, physical abilities and artistic disciplines to produce both a portrait of a man and of what he spent his life fighting for.
Guy van Egmond Sometimes you come across a concept that’s so good, you’re simply grateful that someone thought of it. Shout-out to Binge Culture for deciding that Werewolf (or Mafia, for some) could work with 10 times the players and a sound and lighting budget. The resulting show is a great homage to the game, balancing comedy and thriller to produce a very entertaining theatre experience.
Tadhg Mackay I didn’t know what to expect as I walked into the Hannah Playhouse. I knew that this show had won the Sydney Fringe New Zealand Tour Ready Award and that it was a “coming of (middle) age story”.
Alia Marshall Pandora by Creative Motion Collective is an exploration of one of Greek mythology’s most famous stories: Pandora’s box. Circus always reduces me to a five year old, and I love history, so I’m eager to see how this production combines the two.
Jack McGee  Simon Leary (Gravity & Grace, & The Lochburns…, a million other Circa shows) is easily one of my favourite local performers. I’ve always found him to be rigorous, generous, and intelligent— particularly in Heartbreak Hotel. I say this to help contextualise my bewilderment at seeing The Glass Menagerie sold with Leary front and centre on the poster. I’m not shocked that Leary is there, I’m confused by what's not. The play's oft-celebrated female characters are nowhere to be seen.
Guy van Egmond Bare bones yet unavoidably gripping, Remote Viewing’s take on Frankenstein breathes new life into the familiar tale of bodily experiments and social isolation. Created by director Alessandro Visentin and performer Calvin Petersen, the work was billed as a solo show. However, Petersen proved to be a resourceful actor who used everything in the room--including the audience--to tell Mary Shelley’s gothic tale.
Brie Keatley In a time where there is global pressure to lock in and submit to capitalism, how wonderful it is to have a show like The Man Whose Mother was a Pirate. It shows not only our rangatahi about the importance of being silly and following your dreams, but also adults that it’s okay to do what you love - no matter how old you are.
Brie Keatley Homebodies is a piece of theatre debuting at the 2025 Six Degrees Festival. Creatively helmed by Stella Vaivai (Script and Narrative Direction), Bronya Davies (Movement and Choreography Direction) and Henry Brosnahan (Design Direction and Production Management). This earnest piece of physical theatre is a delight to attend.
Tadhg Mackay Farrago Bazaar (written and directed by Cassandra Tse) is an experience unlike anything I have experienced, theatre or otherwise. For two hours on a Saturday afternoon I forgot about Wellington, left my own life behind, stepped into the shoes of my character Mo and into a world that felt real and, I believe for everyone attending, it was.
Sean Burnett Dugdale-Martin Amélie takes place in 1990’s Paris and follows a young woman, underdeveloped in the art of deep, emotional connections with other humans as she learns to love others and to finally let someone else love her. WITCH once again delivers an incredible musical performance and transports us to the West End.
Alia Marshall Brought to us by the brilliant Te Rākau Hua o Te Wao Tapu, Out the Gate is Theatre Marae that seeks to start a conversation about incarceration in Aotearoa. Legends of Aotearoa’s theatre scene Jim Moriarty (Director), Helen Pearse-Otene (Playwright), and Tānemahuta Grey (Choreographer) have come together with 16 performers and a musician (Rameka Tamaki) to create this mahi, and I find myself excited despite the show’s promised heavy subject matter.
Sean Burnett Dugdale-Martin After their grandmother passes away, a child suspects they are being pursued by the smoke demon shapeshifter of the old woman’s stories. The Griegol is a dark fantasy in the vein of Spirited Away, for older children and adults. Combining hi-fi with lo-fi technology, and the mythic with the everyday, The Griegol is a charming, moving, and wildly inventive piece from Trick of the Light Theatre.
Alia Marshall Monument written by Emily Sheehan explores the relationship between a world leader and her makeup artist. It’s a simple fact that women in power are held to a higher standard when it comes to how they present themselves, while the men they work with just have to shave and slap on a tie. I’m someone who has adored makeup from a very young age (thank you 14 year old emo phase), and is perhaps a little bit too invested in politics, so I feel pretty excited as I enter Circa Two to watch a show centering on both subjects.
Sean Burnett Dugdale-Martin Heartbreak Hotel is for the young hearts, the old hearts, and the broken hearts. From acclaimed Wellington-based theatre company EBKM, who brought their ground-breaking Gravity & Grace to Circa Theatre last year, Heartbreak Hotel tracks a woman’s broken heart in a wrenching and relatable journey that’s studded with classic break-up songs and razor-sharp observations on the physiology of love.
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