• theatre
  • features
  • faqs
  • contact
  • theatre
  • features
  • faqs
  • contact
  Art Murmurs - Wellington Reviews

Reviews

Lift Off

5/3/2020

Comments

 

Austin Harrison

Picture
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!

​The first act is a 30(ish) minute musical theatre performance stitching together show tunes from Wicked, Avenue Q and I love you because through a young woman’s coming out story. The performance is fast-paced and entertaining with a gorgeous awareness of theatrical convention. Spotlighting is used to break the fourth wall for the narrator’s direct address, back up chorus happily emerge to assist each song, and are often beckoned begrudgingly or shooed away after a number. They play with time regularly freezing it to add detail, or fastforward weeks at a time. It’s a well-constructed piece and brings out many laughs and the occasional “aw” from a rambunctious crowd (who I gather are largely classmates and friends of the performers). Some of the vocals are a little rough around the edges, and musical phrasing is awkward in places but it’s a charming and entertaining story performed with great charisma by the young cast. 

Our second course is a solo piece exploring mental health through dance, movement and song. Other than some voice offers which feature Mike King and news reporters discussing mental health, and it’s surrounding stigma, all of the text is in Samoan. Though I cannot understand the language, I am enthralled by the performer’s physical and emotional story-telling (I want desperately to credit them they have no programmes or contact info, just know that if you’re reading this you’re awesome!). They have a stunning singing voice and use movement and lighting to show the shrinking and darkening of space as we journey through a fluctuating mental health story together. The only thing which pulls me out of the performance at times is a huge amount of unused space. The performer does struggle to fill the large stage in Tapere Nui in some sections and the lighting could have been better used to make the size of the space less apparent and the experience more intimate. The performance is beautifully capped by an audiovisual of (I assume) the performer as a child singing at home and then saying goodbye. It’s a short, sharp piece, with a genuine and meaningful message. I hope it’s something that will continue to be developed into a show of its own.

Finally we finish with probably the stand-out performance of the night in terms of quality. A dance troupe of eight amaze us through a set of slick and varied routines. Touches of ballroom, jazz, ballet and contemporary dance (I think, I’m not a dancer) are weaved into a cohesive and well-practiced performance. Every dance is in full control of their body, no matter how extreme the demands of the choreography are. The standout moments are when the ensemble comes together as one and dance as a single form throughout the set. These sections are well-executed and stunning to watch. This is not the first dance show I’ve seen in fringe 2020 and I can say with confidence that these young guns are holding their own against the pros, and appear to be doing so with ease. I cannot wait to see what comes out of this crew in the years to come.

To me Fringe is about everyone getting a turn on stage. It’s about being bold and showcasing your talent regardless of experience, reputation or expectation. To this end Lift Off is a fantastic Fringe show. It’s a real showcase of talented performers doing what they love and excelling at it too. I’m sure this won’t be the last we see from this crew of talented young artists, and that’s no bad thing.

Lift Off is on at 7:30 in Tapere Nui, Te Auaha until March 7th. Tickets are available at the fringe website.
Comments

    Local Honest Reviews

    At Art Murmurs, our aim is to provide honest and constructive art reviews to the Wellington community.

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    September 2021
    July 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    June 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015

    Categories

    All
    All Age Appropriate
    Art
    BATS
    Beauty Standards
    Black Comedy
    Body Positive
    Circa
    Circus
    Comedy
    Comedy Festival 2018
    Comedy Festival 2019
    Comedy Gala 2022
    Community Theatre
    Dance
    Devised
    Documentary
    Drag
    Drama
    Emerging Artist
    Exhibition
    Experimental
    Female Artists
    Feminism
    Feminist
    Festival
    For Kids
    Fringe
    Fun
    Gallery
    Gryphon Theatre
    Hannah Playhouse
    Heart + Music
    History
    Improv
    Interactive
    International
    Interview
    Ivy
    Lighting
    Local
    Mental Health
    Monologue
    Music
    Musical
    New Writing
    New Zealand
    NZ Comedy
    NZ Fringe
    NZIF
    On Tour
    Performance Poetry
    Photography
    Photospace Gallery
    Physical Theatre
    Political
    Politics
    Premiere
    Pyramid Club
    Queer
    Race
    Roxy LIVE
    Science
    Scruffy Bunny Improv Theatre
    Sexual Violence
    Shakespeare
    Site Specific
    Site-specific
    Sketch
    Solo Show
    Song
    Spoken Word
    Stagecraft
    Storytelling
    Tahi Festival
    Te Auaha
    Theatre
    Thought Provoking
    Thought-provoking
    Thriller
    Toi Poneke Gallery
    Verbatim
    Victoria University
    Violence
    Virtual Theatre
    Weekly
    Wellington
    Wellington Footlights
    Wellington Repertory