Lilli Margaret GAG REFLEX is a (more or less) one woman show, created by Rachel Atlas, and directed by Sabrina Martin. GAG REFLEX takes us through Atlas’s experiences as a performer, a sex worker, and a survivor, in a world that often feels like it is not built for women like her. This is Atlas’ first venture onto the stage as an actor, and I must say, what a strong entrance!
Hilary Norris As we enter Te Auaha's Tapere Iti, we become aware of a low rumble and cracking sounds. There is a white screen on which is projected black and white grainy film of snow and ice and several pieces of white draped furniture adorn the stage. Into this sparse world bursts 15-year-old Rory (played with consummate skill by Laniet Swann). This is her play and for the next 85 minutes she takes us on a huge emotional and physical journey.
Austin Harrison Glass Town is a new offering from Knot Theatre. They’re coming in hot off the back of Bruises (Winner – Grand Design Award, NZ Fringe 2021) and a nomination for most promising emerging company at last year’s Fringe, and I am so excited to see what they will serve up, 12 months on. They say the second album is the hardest, and I’m afraid it may well be true for this production.
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.
Jenny Nimon Frames of the Chaos is a pre-recorded solo retelling of an immigrant rights protest from the perspective of documentary-maker Shinzo. In its blurb in the Fringe programme, the show describes itself as ‘epic poetry of our time’ and touts writer and performer Hideto Ambiguous as an ‘award-winning migrant storyteller’. It sets me up with high expectations, and what is delivered does not come close to meeting them.
Jenny Nimon One Way Ticket to Mars, written by Esteban Jaramillo and produced by Deliriously Driven Productions, is a dreamy tour of grief and growing up. The whole show takes place across the span of Leah’s (Abby Lyons) leaving (to Mars) party, giving us only the private moments when characters steal away to her childhood bedroom to process their loss. It is intimate and vulnerable in a way you don’t often get to see.
Jenny Nimon Inquiet Moments, written and directed by Campbell Wright, is a physical theatre piece that explores anxiety and its impacts on relationships. Caught in a panic attack, Riley (Abby Lyons) is haunted by Wisp (Tom Hughes) and Nightmare (Emily Griffiths), the personifications of her anxiety, as she navigates memories of her relationship with Rowan (Prea Millar). It is a fast-paced and non-consecutive collection of vignettes that seems to draw its inspiration from plays like Constellations by Nick Payne, giving the audience snippets of the story to piece together as they go.
Lilli Margaret If you’ve ever wondered how 50 Shades of Grey would go down if Anna was a pragmatic Gisborne born lass, what it would be like to live in a world where Sex Bots join the union, and if you tend to enjoy a healthy serving of interpretive dance, then Declarations of Love (And Other Useless Things) will be right up your alley. Written by Emma Maguire and co-directed by Anastasia Matteini-Roberts and El Yule, Declarations of Love (And Other Useless Things) plays with concepts of love, lust, sexual expression and gender in an eclectic menagerie of scenes.
Austin Harrison Lift Off is a showcase of young talent presented by Te Auaha for the New Zealand Fringe Festival 2020. It promises “tomorrow’s taste-makers live and firing on all cylinders” and it absolutely delivers. The showcase is a triple-bill of emerging artists demonstrating talent across all disciplines of performance. There’s song, dance, music, monologue, drama, comedy and even multiple languages spoken on stage. It’s an artistic smorgasboard which guarantees something for everyone and that’s what Fringe is all about!
Austin Harrison Poe’d is an improvised play paying homage to gothic horror and it’s most well-remembered foreparent Edgar Allan Poe. The Wellington Improvisation Troupe (WIT) tackle a challenging form with gusto and courage and create a night of interesting theatre made up on the spot.
Jenny Nimon Uther Dean’s ‘Elevation’ is a piece of classic, warm stand-up comedy that lifts the room. Its lightness is exactly what Dean says he is aiming for, following a heavy season of his 2018 NZICF show My Fat/Sad, and while ‘Elevation’ does dip into some serious content, its playfulness is what makes it most memorable. Over the next hour, Dean takes us on a surprising journey with the oddly thorough dissection of the U2 song ‘Elevation’.
Jenny Nimon PETTY B*TCHES is an energy spike for a stale evening. In an hour of sass, song, and sideways looks, award-winning Aussie comedians Boo Dwyer and Tash York run a course on how to be petty, helping the audience become certified bitches.
Sara Hirsch Once There was a Woman is a poignant plunge into grief that hurtles between airborne imaginative sequences and the stark reality of losing a loved one. This slickly performed solo show from writer/performer Beth Kayes, chronicles the loss of her mother, from the shock of diagnosis to the agony of the final goodbye. Whilst some of the choices don’t quite reach their peak, Kayes is a masterful storyteller who brings warmth, humour and delicacy to this all too familiar experience.
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