Sean Burnett Dugdale-Martin Ration the Queen’s Veggies is a solo(ish) play written by Te Wehi Ratana and Tainui Tukiwaho, directed by Tainui Tukiwaho and performed by actor Ngahiriwa Rauhina. Brought to us by Te Pou Theatre, it is an unreal retelling of real happenings. It shares the remarkable experience of the abseiling activist Te Wehi Ratana during his 48 hours at Rimutaka Prison.
Sean Burnett Dugdale-Martin 50 years ago, ABBA released their self-titled album that homed the single: Mamma Mia! To celebrate is this season of Mamma Mia! at the St James Theatre, directed by Maya Handa Naff, choreographed by Catherine Reid and musical directed by Hayden Taylor. If you haven’t been to the St James yet, this is your invitation.
Alia Marshall My Puppet Who Sighs in Pearl Shavings is a multidisciplinary trans allegory brought to us by Landfish Productions, a collective of new and emerging practitioners in Pōneke. This intimate solo work, written and performed by Raven Harvey-Lomas, promises to take us on a journey of the self: “one of its origin, and one of its end.”
Brie Keatley The Story of Hansel, Gretel and Little Red is a show by children, for children and is about the many fairy tales and fables we grew up with. Co-Directed by Devin Stilton and Jamie Byas (Byas also wrote the script.) I am enamoured by the performances of the young cast but unfortunately not much else.
Campbell Wright The Sound Inside is an enigma. I came into The Sound Inside knowing absolutely nothing about the show, and I would recommend that you do the same. However, in order to give some context for the review, the play follows a writing professor, Bella Baird (Dulcie Smart), and her student Christopher Dunn (Kieran Charnock). Their relationship develops as Bella struggles with cancer while Christopher writes his first novella. Entering the theatre, I am immediately struck by Meg Rollandi’s set. A slight haze roiled between the shadows cast by a simple desk, table, and chairs, spilling onto the bed opposite. This initial stage image set the scene for the most impressive theatre design work I’ve seen in recent years.
Brie Keatley At 11:30 am on a brisk Wellington Tuesday, the Circa foyer is filled with parents, grandparents, and children. This can only mean one thing - it’s kids show time. This time around it’s the wonderfully goofy All the Things I Wish I Could Be, featuring the lovable dads Tom Knowles and Jed Parsons (as Jeff Parsnips)
Brie Keatley As the in-house children’s reviewer for Art Murmurs, I am honoured to dust off my title for The Home Inside. Directed by Timothy Fraser, written/starring Emma Rattenbury and lead/produced by Kerryn Palmer, The Home Inside is a reflective piece of theatre about the importance of finding emotional resilience (mostly through focused breathing.) as a child.
Guy van Egmond When it comes to polished period theatre, Stagecraft takes the cake in Pōneke. ‘Stagecraft Theatre presents’ has become shorthand for well-produced and relevant classic productions, as evidenced by a packed opening-night for their current show, The Heiress. A well-chosen and -directed script, The Heiress proves to be another feather in the company’s cap.
Guy van Egmond ‘When one buys a ticket to a First Nations show, one expects to be gently and respectfully reminded that indigenous people deserve to exist.’ This line came from the end of A Nightime Travesty, in an aside where the performers took the piss out of snooty, white critics. But it was a useful line, because it summed up everything that the show was not.
Jack McGee  Teaching cycle skills at a primary school the other day, I asked a 10-year-old to define integrity for me. She said that “integrity is doing the right thing when nobody is watching.” This is one of her school values and, as a teacher coming in just for a day, it’s a relief to hear. I can turn my back.
Sean Burnett Dugdale-Martin When the email came in inviting us to review the Heath Franklin’s Chopper, whom I used to watch on Seven Days as a teenager, I became jittery. Oh my god, I thought, doesn’t this guy make low-key problematic jokes? This Boomer-Bogan persona makes me nervous in this day and age. Maybe I’ve just spent too much time voting Green in woke Wellington that I’m afraid of revisiting an icon. They say you should never meet your heroes… and the chance of finding something disappointing when revisiting old male comedians has never been greater.
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