Arts and culture in Ōtautahi Christchurch
Erin Harrington reviews A Christchurch Carol, written by Gregory Cooper, directed by Dan Bain, with music from Michael Bell, at Little Andromeda, Thursday 4 December 2025. This year’s Little Andromeda Christmas show, A Christchurch Carol, localises Dickens’ classic, dropping us in the middle of the city and some of the outer suburbs for an uplifting(?)… Continue reading Review: A Christchurch Carol – everything you want for the holiday season (wit, dance sequences, smut, puppets, ghosts)
John Armstrong reviews Eat Sleep Dance Repeat, written and performed by Rachel Brebner, at Little Andromeda, Thursday 6 November 2025. I have vague memories of Stage Challenge, having taken part during my first year of high school. I recall dancing to Single Ladies in a shade of red that did no favours to a face… Continue reading Review: Eat, Sleep, Dance, Repeat – nostalgia, grit, and sheer willpower
Erin Harrington reviews Coffin Ship, by Bryn Sparks, directed by Dan Bain, at Little Andromeda, Thursday 30 October, 2025. Making serious horror theatre is really hard. I’d wager it’s the hardest genre to pull off, even more so that other speculative forms like science fiction and fantasy. Overtly demonstrative forms like the grotesque and the… Continue reading Review: Coffin Ship – an immersive new gothic horror about wronged women and the perils of revenge
Erin Harrington reviews The Ballad of Briar Grant, written by Jack McGee, directed by Lia Kelly, presented by Squash Co Arts Collection, at Little Andromeda, Wednesday 6 August 2025. In Jack McGee’s new play The Ballad of Briar Grant, Hayley (Phoebe Caldeiro) finds herself working in an apple orchard in the south of France after… Continue reading Review: The Ballad of Briar Grant – how do you like them apples?
Lisa Allan reviews Rubber Gloves: The Glad Rags Story, written by Jennifer Currie, at Little Andromeda, Friday 18 July, 2025. The stage at Little Andromeda in Ōtautahi Christchurch is awash with colour in the form of costumes and props and it is not long before the house lights dim and the two-strong cast of Rubber Gloves: The Glad… Continue reading Review: Rubber Gloves – the Glad Rags Story – bold and silly playfulness from the best cleaners around
Lisa Allan reviews Just Eat the Damn Sausage, written and performed by Harriet Moir, Little Andromeda, Saturday 12 July 2025. The crowd is buzzing as the final few seats in the Little Andromeda theatre fill up. Harriet Moir is on tour with her award-winning stand-up comedy show, Just Eat the Damn Sausage, having already enjoyed a successful season… Continue reading Review: Just Eat the Damn Sausage – a sizzler of a comedy show
Lisa Allan reviews PopRox Improv, at Little Andromeda, Saturday 14 June, 2025. It is Saturday night and the foyer at Little Andromeda is packed with punters who have come out in force to see the Wellington improv comedy troupe, PopRox, perform. It is not surprising to see a cohort from Christchurch’s own professional improv troupe,… Continue reading Review: PopRox Improv – a generous, playful and positive force
Erin Harrington reviews Coro, presented by Mon Platon Productions at Little Andromeda, Friday 13 June, 2025. Coming into the comedy show Coro I’m clearly one of a handful of audience members who’ve never seen a full episode of Coronation Street. Growing up, the woeful wail of the cornet in the show’s opening theme would trigger… Continue reading Review: Coro – a terrific comic homage to the iconic soap opera
Erin Harrington reviews Grifted and Talented with Jim Fishwick, presented by Jetpack Theatre, at Little Andromeda, Friday 11 April 2025. Multi-hyphenate creative and improvisor Jim Fishwick knows how to get the best out of performers. Their new improv? performance? comedy? humiliation? show format Grifted and Talented (a title both great and triggering) is a clever… Continue reading Review: Grifted and Talented – a hilarious game show that pits talent against treachery
Erin Harrington reviews The Snow, presented by Wintergreen Creative, at Little Andromeda, Friday 11 April 2025. The small village of Kishka is cut off from the world, and its neighbouring rival town, by an impenetrable wall of snow, and things are getting dire. Various committees of blathering adults are unable to find a solution, but… Continue reading Review: The Snow – a charming and absurd family-friendly fable about connection
Flat City Field Notes 