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THEATREVIEW IN 2017
Theatreview will continue nationwide until 31 March 2017 at least. Why are we saying this? [more] 

COMPOSER PETER SKELLERN DIES [more] 
ANNOUNCING NEW ZEALAND THEATRE MONTH - update [more]
In Love with Shakespeare: SGCNZ's UOSWSF 2017 [more]

CENTREPOINT BASEMENT CO 2017 AUDITIONS Apply now for 11/3, Palmerston Nth [more] 
Theatreview seeks more voluntary managers, apply by 13/3 [more]  

For further WORK OPPORTUNITIES, go to The Big Idea  


Latest Theatre and Performance Reviews
THE WINTER�S TALE at Victoria Esplanade, Palmerston North
reviewed by John C Ross 6 Mar 2017
A strong team
Reviewers of primarily-amateur productions often face a �Don�t shoot the pianist � he�s doing his best� dilemma � but this one needs no such concession. It�s a great credit to the director, Sara Brodie, a New Zealand Arts Foundation Laureate (who is also the choreographer). [more]

See also reviews by:
 Richard Mays (Manawatu Standard);

FABRICATE at Thistle Hall, Wellington
reviewed by Chris Jannides 5 Mar 2017
Testing grounds
Balls of white wool are unravelled by five dancers. A large cobweb is made in a corner of the performing area. Some of it was already on the staircase leading into the hall. Seated audience members become anchor points as the cobweb is extended across the length of the whole dancing space, cordoned off by footlights. The cobweb is visually appealing. It does an aesthetically minimalist job of pleasingly transforming the environment. The criss-crossing threads remind me of hand-string games that children play. This is a hand-string dance on a bigger scale with dancers� bodies replacing fingers. [more]


PEDAL.PEDDLE at The Basement, Auckland
reviewed by Jesse Quaid 5 Mar 2017
Patchwork narcissi
The programme notes for Pedal invite us to enter an associative state, to deal with the images and juxtapositions as they come. The artist, they say, refuses to define things, leaving that for the audience. It would seem that she prefers to dwell on the importance of irrelevant things. [more]

See also reviews by:
 Chris Jannides
 Deirdre Tarrant

SYNTHESIS at Q Theatre, Rangatira, Auckland
reviewed by Sarah Knox 4 Mar 2017
Synthesis: They don�t come for the ladies
The show is sparkly, fun, engaging, high energy, there are beautiful bodies onstage with large expressive smiles. There is a lot to like and a lot to be impressed by. Synthesis is broken up into several sections, each profiled by prerequisite costumes changes and music ranging from old school 1920�s feels to recent pop. We see gendered solo, duets, trios, and group work. The choreography is fast, complex and difficult. [more]


ARTIMUS at TAPAC - The Auckland Performing Arts Centre, Auckland
reviewed by Carrie Rae Cunningham 4 Mar 2017
Artistic liberties taken with mythic tale
Artimus was choreographed to wow and entertain, to send people away from the theatre with a smile on their face and a twinkle in their eye. A production like this would be a huge hit on a cruise ship, in a casino, as part of corporate entertainment or in an advertising campaign selling phones or expensive perfume. And the truth of it is (and you can make up your own mind as to whether it�s a sad one or not), is that commercial dance productions like this are where the dance industry actually makes money for its dancers and choreographers instead of forcing them into poverty. [more]

See also reviews by:
 Roxanne de Bruyn

48 POINTS AROUND THE SHOULDER (IN SHORTS) at Samoa House TAP Studio, Auckland
reviewed by Jesse Quaid 4 Mar 2017
An execution of simplicity
He starts slowly, one gestural position created, held, then returned from. Another position is added, repeated, and joined to create a short sequence. Jackson�s precision is beautiful to watch, verging on inhumanly exact but with a soft edge to his form that alleviates any potential harshness. Cut off visually by the black of his top and constantly in motion his arms acquire their own agency. There is concentration and effort in his actions yet his arms moving in disconnected synchronicity are mesmerising for the audience. [more]


THE BOUNDARY RIDERS MUSICAL TALES OF NZ PIONEER WOMEN at BATS Theatre, The Propeller Stage, 1 Kent Tce, Wellington
reviewed by Tim Stevenson 4 Mar 2017
A rich vein of history mined
In this likeable, relaxed, no-frills show, Rachel Dawick goes in search of the personal histories of women who settled in New Zealand in the 1800s and turns her discoveries into contemporary folk songs. [more]


THE BLACK ORCHID PARADISA at Te Pou Theatre, 44a Portage Road, New Lynn, Auckland
reviewed by Leigh Sykes 4 Mar 2017
Thematic links add satisfying depth
�An eclectic group of misfits including a barman, a cashier, two ghosts, and a God, recall stories of their past.� It�s an intriguing premise and this new play (in a development season) uses it to explore new stories from Fiji. Playwright and Director Anjula Prakash has produced a cleverly-written work that gives those stories time and space to develop ... [more]
Chat Back
"Haha!! Brilliant." - Ben powdrell   [read full comment]

"Easily the worst thing I've seen at the Fringe. Maybe ever. What is funny or entertaining about drinking piss,..." - Dad I Don't Want To F***   [read full comment]

"Better, thanks" - Cassandra Tse   [read full comment]

"Better?" - John Smythe   [read full comment]

"Hi John, Cassandra here - I don't think the title you've given to my review makes sense?" - Cassandra Tse   [read full comment]

"Deconstruction: noun 1. a philosophical and critical movement, starting in the 1960s and especially applied t..." - dictionary.com   [read full comment]

"Here is Nik Smythe’s RNZ review of Much Ado with Jesse Mulligan." - Editor   [read full comment]

"What a depressing review: typically parading its ingenue status, with the arrogance to have good ideas (could ..." - Simon Taylor   [read full comment]

"Anatomy of a Non-Review: On Responding to 'Manifesto 2083'  By Adam Goodall Pantograph Punch Nothing l..." - Editor   [read full comment]

"Your judgement is accepted, Maria - thank you - and the final sentence has been duly revised." - Editor   [read full comment]

"Apology - when this review first went up the asterisked footnotes were inadvertently omitted. Now reinstated.&..." - Editor   [read full comment]

"I highly recommend this show, great story telling and very, very funny!! I think the final line about the Dad..." - Maria WILLIAMS   [read full comment]
News
2 Mar 2017 - THEATREVIEW SEEKS MORE VOLUNTARY MANAGERS Theatreview is seeking volunteer Schedule and Production Page Managers, for: DANCE � nationwide, and THEATRE � Auckland region [could be a venue-based job-share, for example, someone may handle all the Basement Theatre shows while someone else does the rest]. Now that our funding has run out, and while we continue to explore alternative funding models, Theatreview needs to spread the management workload on an unpaid volunteer basis.   [more]

27 Feb 2017 - Spotted on the web: Shakespeare Audio Pronunciation App now available   [more]

17 Feb 2017 - WTF! Women�s Theatre Festival Circa Theatre is proud to curate and host WTF! Women�s Theatre Festival, celebrating women�s voices and following on from 2016�s hugely successful Women in Theatre Hui. A second conference will be hosted at Whitireia on 11 March 2017 (to coincide with International Women�s Day 8 March) � Women in Theatre Hui 2 � The Next Stage!   [more]

14 Feb 2017 - CENTREPOINT THEATRE�S BASEMENT CO. AUDITIONING FOR 2017 INTAKE Basement Co., run by Centrepoint Theatre, is calling for auditions for its 2017 intake. Since its conception in 2005, Basement Co. has operated as a one-of-a-kind initiative used to find and train the Manawatu�s most talented high-school drama students in the performing arts.   [more]

12 Feb 2017 - The Old Folks Association Hall on Gundry Street, Auckland, has been a valuable resource for Auckland performing arts for many years � rehearsal space, project space, performance space.   [more]

31 Jan 2017 - IN LOVE WITH SHAKESPEARE With over 150 Shakespeare events and performances which Shakespeare Globe Centre New Zealand (SGCNZ) either produced or promoted last year throughout New Zealand, there is no doubt that the love affair with Shakespeare is burgeoning! Entering its second quarter century, preparations are underway nationwide for SGCNZ's 2017 Regional University of Otago Sheilah Winn Shakespeare Festivals (UOSWSF).   [more]

26 Jan 2017 - NEW ZEALAND DRAMATURGY: A MAVERICK UNDERTAKING IN 2016 PART II By Dione Joseph ... Dramaturgy is a shared process of learning. Here you will find the opinions, questions, challenges and observations of industry practitioners, creatives and performance academics; these are the voices of Aotearoa New Zealand on dramaturgy.   [more]

19 Jan 2017 - NEW ZEALAND DRAMATURGY: A MAVERICK UNDERTAKING IN 2016, PART I By Dione Joseph Posted on TheTheatreTimes website Playwright and dramaturge Gary Henderson points out that classic rugby analogies, although clich�d, work well because they�re specific to our culture, our country, and our people. Dramaturgy, he argues, is no different: �If you�re a rugby player you cannot break the rules, but what you can do is subvert the expected conventions,� he explains.   [more]