Art Murmurs - Reviews

Performance Season 2022 – Part Two: Contemporary Dance Programme

26/11/2022

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.

Homemade Takeaways

23/11/2022

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?

The Griegol

20/11/2022

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.

Performance Season 2022 – Part One: The All Loughlan Prior Programme

18/11/2022

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.

Olive Copperbottom: A Dickensian Tale of Love, Gin, and the Pox

14/11/2022

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.

BILL BILL BILL

11/11/2022

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.

Owls Do Cry

6/11/2022

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.

The Woman in Black

5/11/2022

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!

FAB BEASTS

3/11/2022

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!