Guy van Egmond  Photo credit: Josh Hopton-Stewart A good theatre adaptation is one that retains the core of the original piece; one that culminates in the same emotional revelation, leaving an audience feeling altered and not wanting. Director Josh Hopton-Stewart hit it bang-on with Stagecraft’s production of The Seagull, by Anton Chekov.
Abby Lyons Oh That Theatre Company is a multi-award winning young theatre company whose work focuses on creating “fun, wild, camp, ridiculous while also sincere theatre’; and with the horrendous weather in Pōneke currently, this is right up my alley and I’m looking forward to a cozy piece of theatre.
Tadhg Mackay It has been a long time since I’ve seen a piece of art without having learnt about it beforehand. The Body Politic, written by Elspeth Sandys and directed by Andrew Foster, is a dramedy about four people living in an apartment block in Thorndon. How much can these people take before they need to take a stand? I went into The Body Politic blind beyond the name, when I needed to be there, and that it was at Circa. I left having watched an excellent piece of theatre that would have passed me by if I hadn’t agreed to review it.
Isaac Andrews Ivan Aristeguieta is a Venezuelan comedian, who in 2012 immigrated to Australia and has since built a stand-up career taking on the challenge of performing in a second language. On this freezing cold Tuesday night, I’m welcomed in by the warmth of the Fringe bar, to his new show tonight: Ivan Aristeguieta - Too Easy.
Isaac Andrews Tom Cashman is an eccentric Australian comedian, who in his show Tom Cashman - Everything, graces an astute kiwi crowd with an epic attempt to cover every topic under the sun. This is as a part of the NZ International Comedy Festival. I’m intrigued to see what Cashman can come up with within the hour, and what ‘everything’ entails.
Lilli Margaret Nick Robertson’s Leave to Enter is, on the face of it, the story of a guy who is stopped from entering Scotland. The reality of this show is a comedic deep dive into the psyche of young 20-something year old Robertson navigating a difficult situation with humour, sadness, optimism, and Candy Crush.
Austin Harrison Eli Matthewson has a reputation for slick, tight good quality stand-up. He’s known to work his gear relentlessly when putting together a festival show and Gutterball shows the value in that hard work. It’s a slick, tight very funny show well deserving of its mid-week sellout crowd at San Fran.
Austin Harrison “No. 3 Stars”. That’s the review Tim Batt jokes about getting on the opening night of Is Climate Change Funny Yet?. Unfortunately, due to some highly distracting audience chaos and a show which hasn’t quite got its balance right, it’s not far from my experience on opening night.
Jenny Nimon For NZICF 2023, two-time winner of NZICF Newcomer of the Year (yes, you read that right) Maria Williams brings us a new iteration of her show Anxiety…the Musical!? where anxiety is amended to ADHD following a decades-late diagnosis. For those not in the know, neurodivergence is often misdiagnosed (and mis-self-diagnosed) as anxiety due to stressors like overstimulation and masking pressure, so this is not a surprising pipeline.
Austin Harrison It’s a sold out Wednesday night in Te Auaha’s Tapere Nui for one of Aotearoa’s most well-known comedians. Famous for his snapchat filter videos featuring quirky characters and tongue-in-cheek political impressions, there is a noticeable excitement in the crowd to see the dude off instagram, live in the flesh.
Austin Harrison Lloyd Langford was a once regular international visitor to the NZ Comedy Festival and returns this year after a 4 year hiatus. The Welsh comedian of QI and 8 out of 10 Cats fame grace’s a humble Sunday evening slot at San Fran for an hour of solid gold stand up.
Austin Harrison Moonroe’s Happy Hour is a variety show featuring song, circus and a touch of burlesque created and performed by Laura Oakley and Jackson Cordery. Variety is the name of the game with this show, with some acts proving to be genuinely astonishing while some were found lacking.
Jack McGee Who do we actually make theatre for? Whenever I put on a show I wilfully delude myself about my audience. I imagine hordes of strangers coming in blind and walking out as deeply emotionally affected converts. In reality, 90% of my audience will be one degree of separation away from me or my cast. That’s local theatre, baby. Ultimately we make it for our loved ones, which while ego-bursting, is somewhat beautiful. It’s all one big school play.
Austin Harrison The Big HOO-HAA! Pōneke is a competitive improv show (a-la Theatresports) which was originally created in Perth, Australia and has migrated onto our shores for its New Zealand premiere in this year’s New Zealand Fringe Festival. Despite some opening night wrinkles, it’s a rambunctious, rollicking good time starring some of the city’s finest improv talent.
Alia Marshall If The Best Foods Comedy Gala 2022 is any indication of the year ahead in comedy, we have a lot to look forward to. Having been rescheduled due to Covid, the Comedy Gala kicks off to a sold-out crowd on Friday night who’ve been waiting for this since May. The line up is packed with acts I’ve never seen before, and several who I’m dying to see, and I overhear chatter as we file in about who people are there for. The Michael Fowler Centre is packed as we enter, everyone is fizzing and everywhere you look there’s mayonnaise, what’s not to love?
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