Art Murmurs - Reviews

Legendary Divas

28/7/2016

Courtney Rose Brown

Legendary Divas is a one woman show that celebrates women, with a nostalgic look over the past. Produced by Ali-Cat Productions, Legendary Divas stars Ali Harper singing songs from divas in history who have shaped music and women today, accompanied on the keys by Michael Williams.

When Harper performs, she holds the emotion of the song as if it were her own and it is captivating. She holds the room in the palm of her hand and with every gaze held, hearts melt. Often I find my face mirroring her expressions of vulnerability as I lean forward, laughing and ready to clap along with her.

HYDE

28/7/2016

by Laura Ferguson

HYDE is a show that, like the novella it draws inspiration from, is complex in nature. This is a new iteration of the Jekyll/Hyde story, a “what if” scenario of it. In this case, what if the Hyde gene became a genetic trait within the Jekyll family?

Hinepau

19/7/2016

Bea Joblin

E te whaea e takoto nei, e te matua e tū nei ki runga, tēnā korua. E te maunga ko Matairangi, e te moana ko Te Whanga-nui-ā-Tara e hora atu ra, tēnā kōrua. E ngā kaiauaha katoa na koutou a Hinepau i tito, i hanga, tēnā koutou. E te whānau katoa i tae mai kia panui nei, tēnā koutou katoa!

Ko au he kaiako ki rō puna reo, nō reira e mohio ana au i ngā mea whakakā hikaka mā ngā tamaiti. I ahu mai ki te whakaari a Hinepau mau ana i nga karu tamaiti, a, i whai ngahau, whai matauranga, whai manaru i reira. Ki ahau nei he mea nui te āta mohio a ngā kaiauaha mā tamariki ki ngā mahi me ngā hiahia o ngā tamaiti, kia aro ai te whakaari ki a rātou. Tau kē koutou te turupa a Hinepau!

I am a teacher in Māori Immersion Early Childhood Education, and I feel like I know what gets kids excited about stories. I went to Hinepau trying to view it from a kids perspective and found entertainment, education and enchantment. I think it’s really important for performers and creators involved in children's theatre to have a careful understanding of what kids enjoy, how they work and what is relevant to them. The team around Hinepau really nail this.

Bloody Hell Jesus (Get Your Own Friends)

17/7/2016

Jessie Cooper

Energetic, entertaining and earnest, Bloody Hell Jesus (Get Your Own Friends), delivers on all fronts including the very man Himself. A kind of coming of age story, Bloody Hell Jesus follows Shelly, a New Zealand high schooler coming to terms with a forced sense of independence, when her best friend Lauren discovers a new found faith in Jesus and decides to convert to Christianity. Director Jane Yonge describes the play as being about ‘having courage to break the ties of the relationships that are holding us back from being who we really are.’

Dead Days

16/7/2016

Courtney Rose Brown

Playing a part in this year’s Young and Hungry Festival, Owen Baxendale’s script Dead Days is a dynamic piece with a black comedy forefront that is guaranteed laughs. Debra Mulholland (director) navigates moments of dark humour with moments of vulnerability and loneliness, with a slowing of pace and a stillness which creates many moments of empathy alongside laughter.

Like Sex

16/7/2016

Courtney Rose Brown

Like Sex, written by Nathan Joe (winner of Playmarket’s Playwrights B425 2016) and directed by Samuel Phillips is part of this year’s Young and Hungry Festival that is now taking over BATS Theatre for the rest of the month. Like Sex explores the sex life of teenagers, navigating preconceptions, awkward interactions and bold gestures; seven scenes, with seven different pairings playout. Cleverly structured so the person from the previous scene shares the next scene with a different person. In effect, creating a new link in the chain.

Dino Rock

16/7/2016

Matt Loveranes

The best children’s theatre gives its intended audience ample entertainment value, fascination with the theatrical art form and hopefully a life lesson that will help them develop into better human beings. The trick is to trying to weave these elements into something that’s easily digestible yet not unsubtle. And using this rubric, Kapitall Kids’ Theatre’s Dino Rock succeeds pretty well.

Dust Pilgrim

9/7/2016

Courtney Rose Brown

Dust Pilgrim is a devised work with a focus on interweaving physical performance and theatrical magic. Presented by Red Leap Theatre and directed by Julie Nolan and Kate Parker, it is a simple story of a young woman named Panuelo’s fight for freedom. Dust Pilgrim is an enchanting production which is devised by Alison Bruce, Ella Becroft and Tom Eason. The creative team weave magic with their craft and the audience is captivated.

Stage Kiss

8/7/2016

Aimee Smith

Sarah Ruhl’s main topic of investigation in her 2014 comedy, Stage Kiss, is fairly obvious. As she herself says, “I really just wanted to write a play about actors kissing”. The act of acting is a curious thing, and the blurring of lines between the performance and reality is only too common. After all, we all know how Brangelina started. Ruhl expresses a clear interest in the absurdity of whole thing, particularly when stage kissing is involved - “How weird, to watch actors kiss. It’s their job, and what a wonderful job, to get to walk in and kiss attractive people all day, but also what a weird job”. And with the amount of dry, knowing chuckles emanating the audience on opening night seemed to say one clear thing - we’ve been there.