Observations from the ground.
Flat City Field Notes offers reviews and essays about theatre, arts and culture in and around Ōtautahi Christchurch, Aotearoa New Zealand.
Latest Posts
Review: Rameau / Poulenc / Beethoven – wild displays of anguish and ecstacy, with a dollop of theatricality
Nick Harte reviews Rameau / Poulenc / Beethoven, presented by the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Chad Kelly, at the Douglas Lilburn Auditorium, Christchurch Town Hall, Saturday 12 September 2026. I was elatedly taken aback when the concert opened (sans introduction) with “Entrée de Polymnie” from Jean-Philippe Rameau’s final opera Les Boréades, as it’s one…
Review: Teenage Dick – Gen Z zingers meet dirty politics as Richard III goes to high school
Erin Harrington reviews Teenage Dick, by Mike Lew, directed by Pelenakeke Brown, at the Court Theatre, Saturday 12 September 2026. Richard III is one of Shakespeare’s great villains: a “deformed, unfinish’d” noble “not shaped for sportive tricks” who decides that if he can’t be the face then he’ll be the heel, and damn anyone who…
Review: And Then There Were None – a creative take on a classic play
Jordon Jones reviews And Then There Were None, by Agatha Christie, directed by Rachel O’Brien Hamilton and Ben Moore, presented by the University of Canterbury Drama Society, at the Ngaio Marsh Theatre, Wednesday 9 September 2026. And Then There Were None is one of Agatha Christie’s most enduring mysteries, sitting right up there with Murder…
Review: The Wolves and Alone It Stands – creative teamwork makes for impressive youth performances
Erin Harrington reviews The Wolves, by Sarah DeLappe, directed by Lizzie Tollemache, and Alone It Stands, by John Breen, directed by David Ladderman, presented by the Court Theatre Youth Company in the Wakefield Family Front Room, The Court Theatre, Saturday 29 and Sunday 30 August 2026. One of the great pleasures of watching youth theatre…
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