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

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YOU DANCE 2016: Dance is flourishing in our schools!
Raye Freedman ARTS CENTRE, Gillies Avenue (Cnr Silver Road) Epsom, Auckland

- reviewed by Briar Wilson

It seems the dancers and dances get better every year in YOU DANCE Festival. In 2016, Programme 1's 18 short works were presented to an enthusiastic sold-out audience.

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MILKY BITS: Vision Boards A go-go
BATS Theatre, 1 Kent Tce, Wellington
By Leon Wadham, Chris Parker and Hayley Sproull 
Presented by The Bakery
- reviewed by Tim George

When I first heard the title ‘Milky Bits’, I was trying to unpack what it could mean.

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MILKY BITS: Skewering middle class angst hilariously
Basement Theatre, Lower Greys Ave, Auckland
By Leon Wadham, Chris Parker and Hayley Sproull 
Presented by The Bakery
- reviewed by Nik Smythe

The theme underpinning their stereotype-skewering shenanigans involves the malcontented angst of the entitled middle class. Ostensibly there for each other, it’s none too subtly clear that they each yearn to be the main focus of attention.

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Kia Mau Festival 2016
TIKI TOUR: Timeless yet timely character comedy
BATS Theatre, The Heyday Dome, 1 Kent Tce, Wellington
Written & Performed by Kura Forrester 
Directed by Jessica Joy Wood 
Produced by Hāpai Productions
- reviewed by John Smythe

Kura Forrester’s comic alter-ego, Bronson Atarangi from Auckland’s Mount Roskill, is as genial and generous a bus-buddy as you could hope to find on a London to Amsterdam ‘Tiki Tour’. He’s good in a crisis too.

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OVER THE RIVER AND THROUGH THE WOODS: Charming story of family foibles
Fortune Theatre, Dunedin
By Joe DiPietro 
Directed by Jonathon Hendry
- reviewed by Barbara Frame

Families - they care for us, they love us to bits and they drive us crazy.

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HAIRSPRAY: Sweet without being sickly and righteous without being worthy
Isaac Theatre Royal, Christchurch
Book by Mark O’Donnell & Thomas Meehan 
Music by Marc Shaiman 
Lyrics by Scott Wittman & Marc Shaiman 
Director/ Choreographer – Leigh Evans 
Musical Director – Richard Marrett 
Produced by Showbiz Christchurch
- reviewed by Charlie Gates

This gloriously uplifting, crisply paced and bright musical is a triumph that bounces with vim and energy. 

Christchurch theatre company Showbiz's production of hit Broadway musical Hairspray is sweet without being sickly and righteous without being worthy.

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THE WINTER’S TALE: Incredible interactive physicality and a rich psychology
Unitec Theatre, Entry 1, Carrington Rd, Mt Albert, Auckland
By William Shakespeare 
Directed by Paul Gittins 
Unitec Shakespeare Season 2016
- reviewed by Lexie Matheson

Wonderful work such as this, with incredible interactive physicality and a rich psychology, doesn’t just happen and the outside eye, perceptive humanity and decades of craft that director Paul Gittins brings to the party are evident on every step of the journey.

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THE WIZARD OF OZ: Artistic license provokes sighs
Municipal Theatre, Napier
Choreography - Francesco Ventriglia
Design - Gianluca Falaschi
Music - Francis Poulenc
- reviewed by Kim Buckley

There are some nice touches. The all encompassing blue cloudy sky surround is clever with doors revealing and hiding elements throughout the work. The poppies immediately and deliciously remind me of the sumptuousness and glamour of post-War House of Dior. The old fashioned tea cup and huge red balloons are absolutely enchanting and the audience around me twitters with delight. The neon-lit Emerald City is cheerful.

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AS YOU LIKE IT: Quality experience for all
Unitec Theatre, Entry 1, Carrington Rd, Mt Albert, Auckland
By William Shakespeare 
Directed by Calum Gittins 
Unitec Shakespeare Season 2016
- reviewed by Lexie Matheson

UNITEC has paired As You Like It with The Winter’s Tale – in my view genius programming for both actors and audience – and I’ve heard every word, understood every intention, been wooed by every emotion and been hugely impressed by both commitment and capacity.

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THAT BLOODY WOMAN: Punked-out suffrage story a rockin' riot
SKY CITY Theatre, Auckland
Written by Luke Di Somma and Gregory Cooper 
Directed by Kip Chapman
Christchurch Arts Festival | Auckland Theatre Company | The Tourt Theatre
- reviewed by Paul Simei-Barton

If Alexander Hamilton and America's Founding Fathers can conquer Broadway as gangsta rappers, there is no reason why Kate Sheppard shouldn't kick out the jams in a homegrown punk rock extravaganza.

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OVER THE RIVER AND THROUGH THE WOODS: Joyful portrait of intimate family life
Fortune Theatre, Dunedin
By Joe DiPietro 
Directed by Jonathon Hendry
- reviewed by Terry MacTavish

The grandparents are lovingly fleshed out by four of New Zealand’s most experienced professionals, whose generosity towards each other as actors underlines the themes of the play. Hendry ... must surely have found this the dream cast to direct: a master class in acting technique.

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THAT BLOODY WOMAN: Boisterous, slick and inspiring
SKY CITY Theatre, Auckland
Written by Luke Di Somma and Gregory Cooper 
Directed by Kip Chapman
Christchurch Arts Festival | Auckland Theatre Company | The Tourt Theatre
- reviewed by Elle Wootton

... even if you don’t generally enjoy musicals, I think you will enjoy this one. Its content is significant and important social commentary on the world we live in today; it showcases impressive talent from all involved and it is undeniably entertaining.

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THAT BLOODY WOMAN: Bloody Marvellous
SKY CITY Theatre, Auckland
Written by Luke Di Somma and Gregory Cooper 
Directed by Kip Chapman
Christchurch Arts Festival | Auckland Theatre Company | The Tourt Theatre
- reviewed by Sharu Delilkan and Tim Booth

We departed That Bloody Woman‘s opening night feeling proud, informed and uplifted by the musical portrayal of this ‘her-storical’ story.

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Kia Mau Festival 2016
VERSIONS OF ALLAH: Original and innovatively staged
BATS Theatre, The Heyday Dome, 1 Kent Tce, Wellington
Written by Moana Ete
Directed by Rose Marie Kirkup 
Produced by Ohokomo
- reviewed by Ewen Coleman

In many families, the grandmother is often the one with the most influence on those growing up – often more so than the parents. This is particularly so in Pacific Island and Maori communities, which is the premise for Moana Ete's play.

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Kia Mau Festival 2016
THE VULTURES: Powerful piece of theatre pulls out all the stops
BATS Theatre, The Propeller Stage, 1 Kent Tce, Wellington
Written & Directed by Mīria George 
Produced by Tawata Productions
- reviewed by Ewen Coleman

Two sisters and a brother of a wealthy Maori whanau have assembled at the family homestead to discuss expanding their family empire.

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POTATO STAMP MEGALOMANIAC: Drink the Kool-aid
Basement Theatre, Lower Greys Ave, Auckland
Written and performed by Andrew Gunn
- reviewed by Nathan Joe

The best theatre is full of surprises. Not cheap or outlandish plot twists, but the organic sort of surprises that feel like the missing pieces of a puzzle. The sort of surprises that leave audiences smiling in awe. Andrew Gunn’s Potato Stamp Megalomaniac digs these out in spades.

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Kia Mau Festival 2016
SHOT BRO – CONFESSIONS OF A DEPRESSED BULLET: Revealing, expanding, affirming
BATS Theatre, The Heyday Dome, 1 Kent Tce, Wellington
Written & Performed by Rob Mokaraka 
Directed by Erina Daniels 
Produced by Mookalucky Productions
- reviewed by John Smythe

It is no secret that Rob Mokaraka’s extraordinarily insightful, comedic and entertaining show is about his actual life-or-death fight with depression. What is surprising is how he, as its writer and solo performer, and his director Erina Daniels go about raising our consciousness and sharing the experience.

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THE ELEPHANT THIEF: Trademark humour with some big questions
TSB Showplace, New Plymouth
Written by Jacob Rajan and Justin Lewis 
Directed by Justin Lewis 
Presented by Indian Ink Theatre Company
- reviewed by Holly Shanahan

The characters of The Elephant Thief face a world struggling to find a place for them. The forces of destruction and creation, dispossession, change and upheaval figure everywhere in their lives.

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HAIRSPRAY: Frothy frivolity misses the message
Isaac Theatre Royal, Christchurch
Book by Mark O’Donnell & Thomas Meehan 
Music by Marc Shaiman 
Lyrics by Scott Wittman & Marc Shaiman 
Director/ Choreographer – Leigh Evans 
Musical Director – Richard Marrett 
Produced by Showbiz Christchurch
- reviewed by Erin Harrington

With this in mind, I can’t get my head around a production that can’t see that staging a show about integration, and that spends as much time with its black cast members as its white ones, sees fit to have an almost entirely white cast.

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BLUE MAN GROUP: Performance art mastered with pure clowning
St James Theatre, Wellington
Co-founded by Chris Wink, Matt Goldman and Phil Stanton 
Presented by Lunchbox Theatrical Productions
- reviewed by Deborah Eve Rea

Blue Man Group is comedy, theatre, rock concert and dance party all rolled into one – with about 30 litres of paint thrown into the mix. 

Starting as street performers in Manhattan, the group now has a 25 year performance history with regular shows in Las Vegas.

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BLUE MAN GROUP: A strange yet exhilarating show
St James Theatre, Wellington
Co-founded by Chris Wink, Matt Goldman and Phil Stanton 
Presented by Lunchbox Theatrical Productions
- reviewed by Bob Mason

Entertainment in the digital age increasingly seems to be obsessed with pushing boundaries and striving to create the ultimate unique experience, if you can pardon the clichés.

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Kia Mau Festival 2016
THE VULTURES: Stylishly entertaining and thought-provoking
BATS Theatre, The Propeller Stage, 1 Kent Tce, Wellington
Written & Directed by Mīria George 
Produced by Tawata Productions
- reviewed by John Smythe

The opening image is superb: redolent of removing the covers from abandoned furniture, it may also be seen as lifting a veil or ripping the scab off a weeping sore. There is stylised posturing throughout to reinforce the vulture metaphor.

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ORLANDO: Joyously well-played
Playhouse, Gallagher Academy of Performing Arts, Hamilton
Adapted by Sarah Ruhl 
from the novel by Virginia Woolf 
Directed by Gaye Poole 
A Theatre Studies Production
- reviewed by Jan Maree

I am instantly taken with the playwright’s style: the entire cast acts as narrator; there are no traditional scenes of dialogue, as even Orlando himself prefaces his own actions with chunks of narration. Here Gaye Poole shows her genius with the expert manipulation of a large chorus.

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ORLANDO: Fun, engaging, highly accessible
Playhouse, Gallagher Academy of Performing Arts, Hamilton
Adapted by Sarah Ruhl 
from the novel by Virginia Woolf 
Directed by Gaye Poole 
A Theatre Studies Production
- reviewed by Ross MacLeod

Orlando is a play that finds a curious balance in its substance. Boiled down to a plot it tells of a young boy who gains the favour of Queen Elizabeth and the somehow becomes a woman who barely ages for the next 500 years.

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

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