Art Murmurs - Reviews

The Three Wives of Antony

16/12/2024

Julia Bon-McDonald

Shakespeare’s original ‘Antony and Cleopatra’ chronicles the relationship of Mark Antony, the Roman politician and General, and Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt. Indecisive Productions’ The Three Wives of Antony seeks to reimagine elements of its inspiring material to reframe the text in a more feminist context, as part of this year’s Six Degrees Festival. For the uninitiated (i.e., me) the differences in the two plays might be hard to spot, but they are there. Namely, the inclusion of Fulvia, Mark Antony’s first wife, who has an offstage death in the original text.

Whōre

14/12/2024

Sean Burnett Dugdale-Martin

If the story is to be believed then Zody Takurua, the creative from Toi Whakaari behind Whōre, only had two or so weeks to create a body of work after being invited to join to Six Degrees festival at BATS Theatre when another show in the festival, Encounter, a walking tour, left the space free. Whōre, regardless of circumstance, feels at home among the Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington MFA showcase and has great promise as a development.

The King in Yellow

14/12/2024

Sean Burnett Dugdale-Martin

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The King in Yellow is a script reading as part of the Six Degrees festival at BATS Theatre and see’s a stage adaptation of the original text brought to life in the studio space three stories up. Simon Burgess, whose masters project this is, wanted their end of year project to be a work of cosmic horror brought to the stage- something exploring the themes of existentialism and the fear of the unknown, as they are core to the genre.

Verdict

6/12/2024

Abby Lyons

Verdict is a 6 Degrees Production from the minds of MFA students Alanah Munn (director and co-creator) and Pan Clark (scenography lead, hair/makeup design and co-creator). The piece aims to translate “haunted house scare acting to the theatre”. It's bold, ambitious, new and as a combo of scaredy cat and horror-fan myself: I am excited and intrigued by the premise.

Alma and the Mind Galaxy

5/12/2024

Zoe Christall

I came for the name, I stayed for the quirky characters, artful depiction of a chaotic mind and emotional renderings of a brain hurt and overwhelmed.

Art Murmurs - 2024 Highlights!

2/12/2024

Art Murmurs Team

It’s Theatre Awards season and every rehearsal room in the city is popping off with people discussing their favourite shows from the year past. Luckily for us here at Art Murmurs, we have a platform that extends beyond Toi Pōneke - this list! Here are the shows from 2024 that our team really connected with. Welcome to our soapbox.

High School: (The Improvised) Musical

28/11/2024

Katie Hill

Wellington’s Pāua Ballads are back off a sold-out Improv Fest show, and a Christmas special with High School: (The Improvised) Musical. Improvising veteran, Austin Harrison opens the show as a ruthlessly cheerful school principal, normally I’d anticipate some kind of audience-rousing activity, but it’s not necessary, this Tuesday night is crowd is warm, particularly a patch in the bottom right who whoop and holler before Harrison gets his second syllable in.

Thank You, Ten

23/11/2024

Mia Oudes

I am a complete outsider to what it is that Thank You, Ten is celebrating. I have never seen a Footlights show, but I was looking forward to sitting back to watch some musical theatre... and try to resist the urge to sing along.

Sleeping Beauty: The Pantomime

21/11/2024

Sean Burnett Dugdale-Martin

The annual Circa Theatre Pantomime is a consistent good time and a worthy watch to celebrate the last leg of the year. Written by Simon Leary and Gavin Rutherford, with Rutherford also taking the mantle of directing. This pantomime marks 20 years since the first at Circa and it’s jam-packed with double-entendre, local jokes, incredible costuming (shoutout to Sheila Horton, assisted by Sharon Johnstone and Maysie Pyatt), as well as song and dance medleys you’ll no doubt know and love (unless you’re the under 10s who got on stage and didn’t know Hot To Go by Chappell Roan).

Endling

19/11/2024

Sean Burnett Dugdale-Martin

Endling is a show about nothing. Each of its sketches, individually, have no sense of theme or emotional catalyst, and once thought of together, as a collection, they also offer no meaning. We are told by Monckton near the top of the show that if we find any underlying meaning that it is entirely our fault. To search this show for meaning would be to rummage around in an empty box. There is something to be said about emphasizing a point of meaninglessness so much that we, an audience of humans, are going to search harder for one.

The Tempestuous - Circa Theatre

19/11/2024

Jack McGee

By the time we find our seats in Circa Two, it’s all but clear that Kamala Harris has lost the election. The tone of the room is far from sombre. Sure, there’s the occasional sad-sack (myself) wearing it on their face, but mostly people are chipper, excited. It’s rare for me to come to a local show where I know there are fans in the crowd. Not friends of Penny Ashton, fans. Dyed Hot Pink in the wool, branded-tea-towel-purchasing, social-media-following, real, loyal, fans. Ashton is here to give them what they want.

The Lord of the Rings - A Musical Tale

15/11/2024

Imogen Capes

With a story so well-known and beloved as JRR Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, it is a difficult task to successfully cram the epic tale into anything the average theatre-goer can comfortably sit through. At barely less than 3 hours, The Lord of the Rings - A Musical Tale manages to weave the familiar story, ostensibly told from the Shire hobbits’ perspective, in such a way that the audience is drawn into Middle Earth to join on this quest. Though not without its pitfalls, the show is an energetic and engaging retelling of the seminal fantasy saga.

Show do Cafe

9/11/2024

Sean Burnett Dugdale-Martin

Every now and then you go to a show and think “Thank god this was made.” Show do Cafe is a warm embrace of a dance show, a mix of live and recorded music, with a thick aroma of coffee hanging in the air. It is a joyous and heartfelt immersive performance which explores the profound impact of coffee on society.

Before We Slip Beneath the Sea

28/10/2024

Jack McGee

Before We Slip Beneath the Sea is the multi-Adam-award winning, immersive theatre, partial PHD thesis, brainchild of Aotearoa theatre stalwart Cassandra Tse. It follows the residents of the fictional Eglantyne island, located off the coast of Ohariu, as they are forced to evacuate their homes due to slowly impending climate disaster. Its debut season is produced by Tse’s own Red Scare Theatre in the Aro Community Centre which doubles as the Eglantyne Town Hall. We, the audience, are fellow citizens of Eglantyne. After scribbling out some name tags, we’re let loose in the hall as the island’s farewell party plays out around us.

and the Lochburns

13/10/2024

Julia Bon-McDonald

Will Duignan’s new play and the Lochburns explores the tensions of a long-separated family coming together under less than ideal circumstances, with direction from Andrew Paterson and musical direction from Hayden Taylor. The play operates in a liminal space, on the thresholds of coming and going, loving and hating, nostalgia and trauma. We often flick backwards and forwards between the current occupants: the present Lochburns, and the former occupants: the past Lochburns. Littered with jazz standards, and the Lochburns runs the gauntlet of uncomfortable family dynamics with flair and incredible heart.