See more recent reviews at theatreview.org, the NZ Performing Arts Review & Directory

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AS NIGHT FALLS: Powerful performances from Black Grace dancers
Herald Theatre, Aotea Centre, Auckland LIVE, Auckland
Choreography: Neil Ieremia
Music: selected movements from Vivaldi concerti Vivaldi (Concerto in G Minor for 2 Cellos, Srtings and Basso continuo, RV 531; The Four Seasons, Concerto No 4 in F Minor, RV 297; Concerto No 8 in A Mino4r, RV522); Gareth Farr - Little Se Gongs; Nisi Dominus RV608; The Lords Prayer (in Samoan)
- reviewed by Hannah Stannard

Though the purpose of this work may lie hidden in the fallen night, the powerful performers and beautiful, explorative choreography are definitely and imprinted into the audience's minds.

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THE PRESIDENT: Unnervingly astute political satire
BATS Theatre, The Propeller Stage, 1 Kent Tce, Wellington
Written and performed by Alexander Sparrow 
Directed by Patrick Davies
- reviewed by John Smythe

There is plenty to chuckle at initially: Sparrow has Trump’s trademark phrases, intensifiers and hand gestures down to a T (aka tittle, rhymes with little); the size of various appendages comes up for discussion; we find out what the Trump Dump is …

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THREE WISE BLACKMEN: Attitude with gratitude
BATS Theatre, Studio, 1 Kent Tce, Wellington
By Tony Hopkins, Storyteller 
Produced by Moira Wairama 
Presented by BAGGAGE @ BATS
- reviewed by Margaret Austin

He recounts his personal trajectory in a moving performance piece which recalls the parts played in his life by three significant figures: his father, a street companion and a fellow American theatre director. Each is evoked with movement and anecdote, and a simple prop or accessory.

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ZEN DOG: SATORI: Unpretentiously compelling
Basement Theatre, Lower Greys Ave, Auckland
Created by Mick Innes & Roberto Nascimento 
Presented by Rebels&Robots
- reviewed by Nik Smythe

Mick begins with a sobering story that began at the last performance of his original Zen Dog, on his sixtieth birthday in the same venue, where he unwittingly suffered a stroke soon followed by a heart attack and the resultant near-death experience.

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DON JUAN: Juan Direction
Q Theatre Loft, 305 Queen St, Auckland
Based on Don Juan by Moliere 
created by A Slightly Isolated Dog 
Directed by Leo Gene Peters
- reviewed by Nathan Joe

The false illusion of immersive theatre is that the audience co-authors the play with the theatremakers. That without the audience the play would not be the same. But the reality is most interactive theatre experiences are as pre-determined and scripted as any conventional ones.

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DON JUAN: Feel the love - young dogs give it heaps
Q Theatre Loft, 305 Queen St, Auckland
Based on Don Juan by Moliere 
created by A Slightly Isolated Dog 
Directed by Leo Gene Peters
- reviewed by Janet McAllister

Don Juan is a most energetic, irrepressibly gleeful and good-natured evening out. A Slightly Isolated Dog is the name of this assured young crew from Wellington, and they know what they're doing. They tell us they are "very famous and very French" and make Vanessa Paradis puns.

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CIRCUS ALICE: A winning combination
Dunedin Gasworks Museum, Dunedin
Directed by Jonathan Cweorth 
Presented by Brophy Aerials
- reviewed by Terry MacTavish

“Curiouser and curiouser!” In Alice’s dreamworld, rules don’t apply, either for grammar or gravity, which makes it perfect for the craziness of circus. Brophy Aerials have seized on Alice in the 150th year since she went public, adorned her in gorgeous Steampunk gear, and tossed her aloft in our own darkly dangerous Victorian gasworks for this most charmingly curious of Spectaculars.

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THE GRUFFALO: Inventively told with delight, energy and skill
TSB Showplace, New Plymouth
Adaptation by Tall Stories Theatre Company 
Olivia Jacobs & Toby Mitchell, artistic directors 
Directed by Olivia Jacobs 
Produced in New Zealand and Australia by CDP Theatre Producers
- reviewed by Holly Shanahan

With only three performers, and a simple set and costumes, the dark wood and its inhabitants are brought to life with narration, stylistic movement, song, chorus and physicality.

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THE EVENTS: Intricate, fast-paced and clever theatre
The Forge at The Court Theatre, Christchurch
Written by David Greig 
Music by John Browne
Directed by Daniel Pengelly 
Musical Director Matt Everingham
- reviewed by Charlie Gates

This powerful, beautiful and moving play left me emotionally overwhelmed by its conclusion.

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THE BIGGEST: Rural life and colourful characters depicted with a big heart
Hannah Playhouse, Wellington
Written& directed by Jamie McCaskill 
Produced by Sonia Hardie 
Presented by Tikapa Productions
- reviewed by Simon Howard

The experience and skill of the acting ensemble allows the truths inherent in McCaskill’s writing to shine through. It would have been easy for many of the characters to fall into stereotypes and clichés but this never happens, as they each possess their own quirks and have different challenges to face.

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THE EVENTS: Unflinching and demanding analysis – an outstanding production
The Forge at The Court Theatre, Christchurch
Written by David Greig 
Music by John Browne
Directed by Daniel Pengelly 
Musical Director Matt Everingham
- reviewed by Lindsay Clark

David Greig's challenging exploration of the troubled path to forgiveness in the face of seemingly mindless violence is as relevant to our own society as to his Scottish homeland or to Norway, after Breivik's hideous mass killing or indeed anywhere the beast rages.

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AND NO MORE SHALL WE PART: Engaging, disarmingly real, bittersweet
Fortune Theatre, Dunedin
by Tom Holloway 
Directed by Lisa Warrington 
presented by Dean & Ella Productions
- reviewed by Reuben Hilder

And No More Shall We Part deals with themes of love, sickness, death and euthanasia, but given the weight of its subject matter retains a remarkable lightness. Everything about the production is understated, from the script to the acting to the minimal set ...

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THE PRESIDENT: Disconcertingly funny
The Dark Room, Cnr Pitt and Church Street, Palmerston North
Written and performed by Alexander Sparrow 
Directed by Patrick Davies
- reviewed by Adam Dodd

One of the things I have been told, especially when I have not been disposed to believe it, is that laughter is the best medicine. It’s a nuanced truth and one we tend to peevishly forget when of a mind to, but a social truth nonetheless – best remembered in a communal breaking of tensions and easing of minds.

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A LION IN THE MEADOW AND OTHER STORIES: A quality theatrical experience
Gallagher Academy of Performing Arts, Univeristy of Waikato, Hamilton
Based on A Lion in the Meadow, Leaf Magic and The Witch in the Cherry Tree, and the poems Magic and The Reluctant Hero, or Footprints in the Snow 
By Margaret Mahy 
Adapted for the stage by TIM BRAY 
Songs by CHRISTINE WHITE 
Incidental music by NICK GARRETT 
Staged by kind permission of Playmarket
Presented by Tim Bray Productions 
Celebrating 25 years (1991 – 2016)
- reviewed by Gail Pittaway

Lucky children in the upper North Island are being treated this month to the double whammy of Margaret Mahy stories and poems being performed with magic, music and grace, with some great visual effects, by Tim Bray Productions, who are also celebrating 25 years of performance as a company.

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INVADERS FROM MARS: Has yet to stand up and command respect
BATS Theatre, The Heyday Dome, 1 Kent Tce, Wellington
Created by the Long Cloud Youth Theatre ensemble 
Directed by Brett Adam
- reviewed by John Smythe

The plan to screen the 1958 horror film Invaders from Mars ... has fallen foul of the need to get rights, so the ensemble sets out to re-enact it live on stage.

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DON JUAN: Their excess is their success
Q Theatre Loft, 305 Queen St, Auckland
Based on Don Juan by Moliere 
created by A Slightly Isolated Dog 
Directed by Leo Gene Peters
- reviewed by Alistair Browning

I’ve been seduced! 

Five beautiful actors with dodgy French accents cajole, charm, amuse and serenade me into submission and I leap, with full consent, into their loving and very sweaty arms.

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BROWN – IT’S COMPLICATED: Clever show wraps wisdom in warmth #2
Basement Theatre, Lower Greys Ave, Auckland
Written & directed by Antonia Stehlin
- reviewed by Janet McAllister

... the first half makes us feel welcome and comfortable; the second half is a useful shake-up offering ideas (such as the defence of the church) not usually seen within theatre's white liberal enclaves.

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SHOT BRO – CONFESSIONS OF A DEPRESSED BULLET: Clever show wraps wisdom in warmth #1
Basement Theatre, Lower Greys Ave, Auckland
Written & Performed by Rob Mokaraka 
Directed by Erina Daniels 
Produced by Mookalucky Productions
- reviewed by Janet McAllister

Aiming to help others in the "secret sad club", he shows us how he felt leading up to that day in Pt Chevalier. Usefully challenging the usual "now everything's roses" plot ...

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THE PRESIDENT: Accurate impersonation with hilarity, racism, rants and superb timing
Meteor Theatre, Hamilton
Written and performed by Alexander Sparrow 
Directed by Patrick Davies
- reviewed by Gail Pittaway

Almost too gruesome to be parodic, Alexander Sparrow’s brilliant Donald Trump impersonation and script takes us into what passes for a mind of its subject, indeed into his bedroom. We get to know him down to his skin as he slowly pontificates after his morning shower ...

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BROWN – IT’S COMPLICATED: Significant issues for the nation, not just the theatre
Basement Theatre, Lower Greys Ave, Auckland
Written & directed by Antonia Stehlin
- reviewed by Hannah Stannard

Antonia Stehlin delivers yet another brave work that creeps into the bones of our national identity, sensitivity, and responsibility. Taking the director's chair, she builds on her past work Afakasi, uprooting the internal and often repressed cultural frustrations that are stories ready to be told. This work is technically polished and beautifully executed, yet deals with extremely raw, confusing internal matters.

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LUCRECE: A hugely impressive achievement
TAPAC Theatre, Western Springs, Auckland
A reinvention of William Shakespeare’s The Rape of Lucrece 
Directed by Rita Stone 
Presented by Auckland Shakespeare Company
- reviewed by Leigh Sykes

As Tarquin blames Lucrece’s beauty for his actions, I feel many echoes and connections to other Shakespeare plays ... but also to 2016 ... This blame culture is insidious, and it is apparent that Shakespeare has been making this plain for over 400 years.

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PROOF: Intelligent, funny, hip and a joy to watch
Te Pou Theatre, 44a Portage Road, New Lynn, Auckland
By David Auburn 
Directed by Chris Martin
- reviewed by Alistair Browning

Over a celebratory bottle of Champagne her dad points out that she can’t be going crazy, the mad never believe it’s them who are mad; “If you are thinking you’re going mad,” he says, “then that’s proof of your sanity.” The problem is, dad died a week ago.

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LIFEWORLD (IN FIVE PARTS): Re-opening audience eyes
War Memorial Hall, Gisborne
Choreographer: Claire O'Neil
Lighting: Natasha James
Music: Original composition by Eden Mulholland
Film Editor: Jeremy Brick
- reviewed by Jo Thorpe

O’Neil’s work has always been in the style of European postmodernist dance theatre – deliberately provocative, challenging, anarchic. But this work has a lighter touch. In a series of loosely connected scenes, the camera (Film Editor Jeremy Brick) takes us both indoors and out. We move from a contemplation of the celestial to a focus on the domestic. And the choreography, which ranges from the free to the mimetic, both illuminates and mirrors these filmed sequences. In an early clip of a stretch of sand, a seagull pecks at something dead on the shore. Eden Mulholland’s reverberant, pulsating score drives the jerky, open-chested movement of the dancers. The scene has a visceral quality which I find almost disturbing.

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