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.
Lilli Margaret False Idol is a sermon for the cynical; the program for this show describes it as “it’s just like going to church, only funnier and sexier”. And does it deliver! False Idol, directed by Melanie Luckman, produced by Georgia Kellett and performed by Andy Manning, is serving queer joy.
Jenny Nimon Powersuit Productions’ touring show The Culture written by Laura Jackson is a warm and pacey inside view to the relationship of two flatmates as they navigate their past traumas and dating in the modern world. It is billed as ‘a story about deep and enduring friendship’, and it’s exciting to be able to sit in on the New Zealand debut of this Sydney-set production.
Sean Burnett Dugdale-Martin Wake Productions’ stand-up show The Scottish Kiwi is helmed by ‘born and fled’ Scottish New Zealander Ryan McGhee with Michael Macauley as the warm-up act. From the winner of Best Newcomer Lower North Island at the NZ Comedy Guild Awards, this show is an up-beat romp across continents as McGhee gives comedic life to his misadventures in Scotland, Australia, and New Zealand.
Always funny, sometimes smutty, definitely gay. Jenny Nimon Wellington Footlights’ production of Soho Cinders is colourful and comical, and it’s great to see a show with such a big cast at times like these. According to the programme, the show was postponed from November last year due to COVID-19, after their rehearsal period was interrupted by lockdown. It’s a shame that the show has to go ahead at reduced capacity due to the recent move into the Red setting, but the performers don’t seem all that fazed and bring plenty of joy and energy to the stage despite the bare seating block.
Jenny Nimon That’s All She Wrote is Red Scare Theatre Company’s latest spellbinder. In a move that shouldn’t be revolutionary but is, this show puts the work of female and non-binary musical theatre writers in the spotlight. Red Scare promises cabaret but delivers a robust experience that doesn’t skimp on any of the theatrical elements at its disposal, while still preserving that stripped-back feeling that gives the music space to be heard.
Kate NorquayCupid’s Guide to Modern Romance is an improvised romantic comedy with the aim of helping us figure out this whole love thing. It’s part cute and wholesome queer romance, part self-help and 100% a feel good time.
Jenny Nimon Red Scare Theatre Company is back again—this time with Kieran Craft’s Adam NZ Play Award Shortlisted (2019) and Playwrights b4 25 Highly Commended (2018) play, Four Nights in the Green Barrow Pub, directed by Cassandra Tse. Hosted in the upstairs bar space at JJ Murphy’s on Cuba Street, this show is a warm-hearted piece of Irish theatre about a whirlwind gay romance.
Sara Hirsch Part storytelling, part stand-up, Dancing on my Own is a jovial jive through the trials and tribulations of growing up queer and with ADD while being born for the stage. Maddy Warren, a master of physical comedy, comes into her own with the awkward punch line. Unfortunately, a lack of preparation lets her down and a sixty-minute show feels like a drawn out half hour.
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