Art Murmurs - Reviews

Monster Songs

25/10/2019

by Laura Ferguson

Heading into the Random Stage at BATS the stage is lit in a red ambience, an actual stage elevated above the seating area, a rarity for BATS. The smoke machine is swirling, the band in the corner is thumping out an upbeat bass and the hairs on the nape of my neck are tingling with anticipation. Monster Songs is a supernatural pop concert filled with songs we love from pop and other from musical theatre, centred around monster-themed tunes. I love Hallowe’en, it’s my favourite time of year, so I was giddily looking forward to the show starting.

The Newlyweds: Double Date

19/10/2019

Jenny Nimon

Photo credit: Katie Hill

Real life newlyweds Eleanor Stankiewicz and Marcel Blanch-de Wilt invite improvisors from NZIF to join them each night for an improv-filled double date in their New Zealand debut of The Newlyweds: Double Date. For their Wellington premiere on Thursday evening, they were joined by none other than Jennifer O’Sullivan and Matt Powell.

Two Bros*

17/10/2019

Lizzie Murray

Introducing Wellington’s most eligible bachelors! Bachelor number one: “Bogan scum” Mike (Haydn Carter) from Reefton a sheep shearer with a heart of gold. Plaid-clad, Mike looks like he’s walked off the pages of a Footrot Flat’s comic strip. Bachelor number two: ̶K̶e̶v̶i̶n̶ Cevin “with a C” (Isham Redford) an impossibly rich, sobby “jaffa” is just as love sick as his rural counterpart. Who will win Lina’s (Monica Reid’s) Ice-Queen heart?

Mild West: Draw

17/10/2019

Jenny Nimon

Photo credit: Alex Rabina

Dunedin-based improv troupe Improsaurus take the Random Stage in the second week of New Zealand Improv Festival. Their show is a longform, character-based narrative where the story is in the hands of a coin-flipper. So improvisors, gamblers, and Westerners alike: saddle yourself up for the wild ride that is Mild West: Draw.

Cock

15/10/2019

Corey Spence

‘Boy meets girl meets his boyfriend’ we’re told on the cover of Cock’s programme: it’s more than enough detail to tantalise, to get audiences to ponder on what could possibly cause such a circumstance. We hone in on John (Jack Buchanan), a man who deals with being attracted to M (Simon Leary), a man, and W (Karin McCracken), a woman, simultaneously. But rather than a story of infidelity, Cock is a pulsating tale that inspects the hate and pain that comes with love, the imposing labels that generate fear and anxiety in our world, and how making the ‘right’ decision can sometimes feel impossible.

Off Book: The Musical

12/10/2019

Jenny Nimon

And we’re back with another NZIF instalment. Impulse Theatre graced the Random Stage on Thursday evening (and will until Saturday 12 October) with their touring show Off Book: The Musical, which is exactly what it sounds like: an improvised musical. For this season, however, the cast of six is joined by Wellington’s very own Bethany Miller, who adds a dose of cheery optimism to the mix.

Here's a Thing: NZIF Kickoff

11/10/2019

Jenny Nimon

New Zealand Improv Fest officially opened on Wednesday night, spearheaded by Here’s a Thing: NZIF Kickoff, MC’d by Jennifer O’Sullivan. This show was jam-packed with the kind of audience anticipation that any kickoff performance should hope to earn. It felt like I was back in high school, attending my first ever theatre fest.

The Pink Hammer

23/9/2019

Emilie Hope

If you’ve been reading the many other reviews that were published more punctually than this one (my apologies), you will already know the premise for The Pink Hammer by Michele Amas. Four women take part in a female empowerment workshop reluctantly lead by Woody (Alex Greig) after Maggie Taylor, Woody’s wife and heavily-mentioned-and-never-seen character, has apparently fled with the $400 pre-paid fee each woman has paid.

Force people to spend time with one another and they will become friends by the end. This we know, especially if it happens on stage. Each of the women begin almost stereotypical: Louise, played by Anne Chamberlain, is such a nervous, jittery, mousey, sweet woman, you wonder if she’s ever left the house before; Siobhan (Harriet Prebble) is the bouncy young Irish woman who is the epitome of Nelly Furtado’s song I’m Like a Bird, which played in the pre-show amongst other empowerment songs sung by women artists; Annabel (Bronwyn Turei) is the staunch modern woman pushing hard feminism down everyone’s throats; and Helen (Ginette McDonald) is the strong silent horse breeder who doesn’t have a maternal bone in her body. Not to mention Woody who is just the typical tradie bloke who doesn’t like the women’s chatter nor their presence in his tool shed/man cave.

However, Amas doesn’t let them stay stereotypical. As the play moves forward, layers peel off, the characters reveal some honest realities, allowing the characters care for one other, and in turn us as an audience to care for them.

Much Ado About Nothing

13/9/2019

by Laura Ferguson

Much Ado About Nothing is part of the Alexander Sparrow and Katie Boyle comedy extravaganza currently being hosted at The Gryphon Theatre. There are nine different shows being performed by the talented pair. After seeing Boyle’s one-woman show of The Merry Wives of Windsor earlier in the year, I was intrigued at how Alexander Sparrow would put his spin on Much Ado About Nothing. While doing all the characters. On his own. I mean, wow.

Wise Guy

12/9/2019

Austin Harrison

Wise Guy is the latest theatrical offering from the exciting young company, Soy People Productions, and is their second mainstage production at BATS. This ambitious play tackles everything from the foibles of comedy to the harsh reality of an AIDS diagnosis in a full-flight theatrical exploration.

Burn Her

6/8/2019

Annabella Gamboni

When Sam Brooks’ Burn Her opened at Auckland’s Q Theatre to rave reviews and sold-out houses, I don’t think I was alone in hoping and praying for a Wellington production. On at Circa until the end of August, Burn Her (directed by Katherine McRae) did not disappoint.

ORCHIDS

26/7/2019

Lizzie Murray

ORCHIDS is a mesmerising contemporary dance piece featuring an all-female, inter-generational cast. The sequences are introspective, expressive and explores the mysterious feminine divine and female relationships. The 55 minute performance is a revised piece by choreographer Sarah Foster-Spoull. Her time, energy and collaborative efforts with assistant director Natalie Maria Clark are evident in the beautifully layered and intricate imagery.

Bleeding Black

19/7/2019

Emilie Hope

Photo by David Unwin via Stuff.

When I think of rugby, I think of my childhood. I think of the cold Waikato winters, when we travelled down the road to our neighbour’s house, an elderly lady who had Sky TV (we did not). I snuggled up to the gas heater while my brother, dad, good ole Dawn sat on the couch. She made me a watery Milo at halftime, served with shortbread biscuits. The four of us were entertained with All Black patriotism, a little family bonding over ninety minutes every winter Saturday. I wasn’t much impressed with my watery Milo but drank it anyway. This was my experience of Bleeding Black.

TRÖLL

18/7/2019

Emilie Hope

It was a cold and wintery night in Wellington. The vampires have all vacated Circa Theatre to make room for children’s theatre in the school holidays and a tröll… In the dungeon? No. In our very walls! Award-winning theatre company Trick of the Light give us TRÖLL, a 90s Icelandic-New Zealand dial-up internet story told by an enthusiastic and easily likable 11 year old Ottó (Ralph McCubbin Howell). Ottó really likes the internet because he’s able to connect to people who also like the Dark Ages, can be 12, and choose his own name. But when the internet takes a turn for the worst, Ottó falls into darker places, places where tröll’s grow…

The Dunstan Creek Haunting

15/7/2019

Austin Harrison

Theatre company, Rollicking Entertainment’s latest offering to Circa Theatre is a deep dive into the world of hauntings and superstition. Inspired by performers Lizzie Tollemache and David Ladderman’s discovery (while on their honeymoon) of the many ghost stories which ruminate through the lands and minds of Central Otago, The Dunstan Creek Haunting is both a joyful adventure and spooky as heck.