Art Murmurs - Reviews

Seven Deadly Stunts

19/4/2018

by Laura Ferguson

One event I truly miss since moving from Christchurch is their annual World Buskers Festival. That’s one reason I look forward to the productions of Rollicking Entertainment starring husband-and-wife team Lizzie Tollemache and David Ladderman. Their latest offering, Seven Deadly Stunts, brings me more of what I crave in a busker festival-less world: excitement, thrills, fun and the bouncing curiosity of seeing feats even my imagination wouldn’t dare attempt.

Tollemache and Ladderman’s Seven Deadly Stunts is exactly as it sounds: seven sideshow acts that combine anticipation, vicarious fear and comedy. It delivers this in chainsaws, and no, that isn’t just an awkward substitution for spades.

Our Country's Good

18/4/2018

Hamish Boyle

Our Country’s Good sees the first shipload of English convicts find footing in Australia after eight months at sea. As the officers bicker on whether it is better to punish or rehabilitate the convicts, 2nd Lieutenant Clark (James Boag) assumes the role of director of a play in which the convicts find personal growth. During rehearsals, Clark begins to fall for one of them. I left this performance with mixed feelings. There were as many moments that fell short of their potential, jokes that didn’t land or tragedy that required more nuance, as there were moments that were near dead-on lovely.

Spring Awakening

17/4/2018

by Laura Ferguson

‘WARNING: DARK THEMES’ intones the piece of paper at the BATS Box Office. ‘Colourful language, sex, partial nudity, masturbation, abortion, sexual abuse, depression and suicide’: all are a hefty part of Spring Awakening, which I have braved thunder and lightning tonight to see. I confess to not knowing, well, anything about Spring Awakening before coming here tonight, but I can see people are excited. There is a certain frenzied fever-brightness to those who are already familiar with the musical. The infamy or perceived progressiveness or nostalgia from teenage years listening to the soundtrack of Spring Awakening pulses through the room as illicit desire would rush through blood.

The Composer

9/4/2018

Deanne Cherie

The new black box of Te Auaha theatre provides a generous space for the performance of The Composer, a dance circus show of the Wellington Fringe Festival. The stage, dimly lit by a soft purple light, hosts an old brown piano, draped in a silky white sheet of fabric, suggesting it has been neglected for some time. The prospect of live piano playing excites me, but is quickly followed by a loud fearful voice in my head “please dear lord don’t let this be a mime show”. I attempt to relax into the somber mood of the space and reassuringly lower my expectations.

Tröll

5/4/2018

Evangelina Telfar

Tröll is a dark coming-of-age tale that deals with a young boy’s depression that manifests as something that crawls through the walls and goes bump in the night. Otto, our twelve-year-old protagonist, takes a journey reminiscent of A Monster Calls, but with a lot more laughter and ingenious staging that captures a nostalgically nerdy 80’s world. The creepy tale explores mythology in a digital age as well as the importance of family and connection.

Seminar

5/4/2018

Corey Spence

Four aspiring young writers of different creeds, backgrounds, and skill sets each pay a renowned writer and editor $5,000 to attend a ten-week writing course, with hopes of something getting published. There’s Kate (Natalie Yatsina), the feminist writer who’s more than just her brain; Martin (Shivneel Singh), the seemingly reserved friend of Kate, who finds himself in spots of trouble and insecurity; Douglas (Jacob Masters), who is setting out to prove his talent is tied to his writing rather than his last name; and Izzy (Annica Lewis), flirtatious, determined, and constantly aware of what she wants and how she can get there. They all fall under the abrasive tutelage of Leonard (Jason Tolley), a writer-cum-editor who’s honesty is only matched by his repulsion. Seminar inspects how far we’ll go to achieve our goals and how we navigate past the obstacles in our way. Directed by Corey Sorenson, the performances are lively and we’re in for a comedic-yet-serious rollercoaster. Though at times, this rollercoaster plateaus for too long.

Maggot

28/3/2018

Hamish Boyle

Maggot is the absurd, expectation-subverting twice-removed daughter exiled to the colonies after a steamy night between The Goon Show and Monty Python. There is a damn good reason this show has the accolades it does. From the writing to the performance to the confounding choice of the show’s own title, Maggot may well be the funniest thing I’ve ever seen on stage.

Gay Icons

22/3/2018

by Laura Ferguson

Ivy Bar has huddled in a good crowd for the first show of Gay Icons, the comedy show from James Malcolm and Neil Thornton. It’s only Tuesday and it’s already been a long week so I’m looking forward to laughing and with Thornton and Malcolm, I can guarantee I will.

Dressing Up with Margot

20/3/2018

Corey Spence

Dressing Up with Margot has its audience in a talk show-style situation with the titular Margot, a somewhat established fashionista; Margot perches on her stage throne, with side table for guest sparkling water, surrounded by clothing racks and treasure troves of clothes. Split into segments where we go through some of Margot’s 99 Rules of Fashion and learn more about Sasha Tilly, the woman behind the persona, it’s a fifty-minute eleganza extravaganza with a heartwarming tale of self-empowerment at the centre.

Go To Bed, Jessica!

19/3/2018

by Laura Ferguson

Jessica McKerlie has travelled Fringe circuits across the globe and has landed in Wellington to give us her new show, Go To Bed, Jessica! McKerlie is a queer musical comedian and I count myself lucky to finally be able to catch one of her performances. I settle myself in, ready for a night of winking at clichés while simultaneously subverting them. I was not disappointed.

Committed

18/3/2018

Hamish Boyle

Clarissa Chandrahasen’s Committed is a public airing and exploration of mental illness, specifically bipolar disorder, and how New Zealand’s current mental health systems cope with that. Or rather, how they don’t. Fortunately, Chandrahasen is as adept at handling this as she is an audience. The story that weaves its way across the multi-dimensional stage is, fittingly, an emotional rollercoaster for both the audience and performer.

Miley, Moon Unit & Me

18/3/2018

Deanne Cherie

Set in the dark, funky underground Cuba Street Ivy Bar, Tegan Jones’ space for her cabaret show Miley, Moon Unit & Me is cosy, colourful and inviting. Red drapes frame the stage, and a black brick backing wall is boldly lit with red and blue lighting resembling a french cabaret club which built anticipation for potential fishnets and corsets.

Amber Topaz: The Rude Awakening - Sex, Shame and Liberation

18/3/2018

by Laura Ferguson

Amber Topaz is on stage, sequinned skirt hiked up around her waist, knickers around her knees. She warbles in a drunken Irish tone about drinking more beer, her red hair falling into her eyes haphazardly. She mimes alleviating herself in a public street. It is hilarious and undignified. I love it.

Wellingtonians

15/3/2018

Corey Spence

Wellingtonians plays off the common stereotypes of young millenials who live in Wellington, such as everyone being vegan, obsessing over chickpeas, and hating on Aucklanders. Charlie (Jacinta Compton), Aroha (Gypsy-Mae Harihona), and Jack (Ethan Morse) share one bed in their damp and dank Wellington student flat while each unpacks some very different baggage. Problems ensue when Aroha’s old flame, Cam (Mark Whittet), starts spoiling the lives of the three flatmates in very different ways.

Three Dead Dogs

13/3/2018

by Laura Ferguson

I have been eagerly anticipating Three Dead Dogs since last Halloween. The Wellington theatre company Horse With No Name is back, bringing with them this funny, uplifting, heartwarming, tear-jerking show. The title is self-explanatory and anyone who has felt that unconditional heartstring tug for a pet, family member or even stuffed animal will be able to empathise with the love and care shown in this play.