Arts and culture in Ōtautahi Christchurch
Erin Harrington reviews Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express¸ adapted by Ken Ludwig, directed by Dan Bain, at the Court Theatre, Saturday 2 March 2024. The Court Theatre is entering its final year in the Shed in Addington before it shifts into its new premises in the central city’s Performing Arts Precinct. Director Dan… Continue reading Review: Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express – a stylish, engrossing murder mystery
Erin Harrington reviews E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial in Concert, performed by the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Benjamin Northey, at the Douglas Lilburn Auditorium, the Christchurch Town Hall, 24 February 2024. Few films define the 1980s more than Steven Spielberg’s E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982), which centres on the relationship between 10-year-old Elliot (Henry Thomas) and a… Continue reading Review: E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial in Concert – a transformative ride
Erin Harrington reviews Love; Mum, written and directed by Sela Faletolu-Fasi, with choreography from Lapana Soli, Friday 26 January 2024, at Little Andromeda. It feels a little hand-wavey to say that in the new play Love; Mum, five Pacific women share the joys, disappointments, and heartaches of motherhood. That’s because we live in a culture… Continue reading Review: Love; Mum – a love letter to mothers, sisters, friends
Erin Harrington reviews the Anthony Harper summer season of The Odyssey, staged by Noosed Octopus at the Botanic Gardens, and directed by Dan Bain, based on the epic poem Odyssey by the ancient Greek poet Homer, Thursday 25 January, 2024. The Christchurch City Council’s summer theatre productions are a welcome way to mark the end… Continue reading Review: The Odyssey – a dynamic outdoor comedy about taking the long way home
Erin Harrington reviews The Flight Before Christmas, this year's annual Little Andromeda Christmas show, written by Cally Castell and Rebekah Head, directed by Hillary Moulder, presented in conjunction with Tusk Puppets, on Tuesday 11 December 2023. Little Andromeda’s Christmas shows have become a mainstay of the holiday season. Previous productions have been knockabout scripted farces… Continue reading Review: The Flight Before Christmas – an anarchic musical that keeps the holidays weird
Erin Harrington reviews A Christmas Carol, presented by Many Hats Theatre Company and devised by the cast, Saturday 2 December 2023. Community support organisation Skillwise does exceptional work with people with disabilities and their whānau. One of their many creative initiatives is the innovative and inclusive Many Hats Theatre Company, which provides performance opportunities for… Continue reading Review: A Christmas Carol – an important, innovative take on a seasonal classic
Erin Harrington reviews Something Rotten! book by Karey Kirkpatrick and John O’Farrell, music and lyrics by Wayne Kirkpatrick and Karey Kirkpatrick, directed by Benjamin Kilby-Henson, with musical direction by Richard Marrett, at the Court Theatre, Saturday 25 November 2023. The Court Theatre has a long tradition of presenting big budget summer musicals that seek to… Continue reading Review: Something Rotten! – a boisterous, witty musical that’s anything but
Erin Harrington reviews Long Ride Home, written and directed by Jack McGee for Squash Co. Arts Collective, at Little Andromeda, 16 November 2023. If you want to have a hard conversation with someone, everyone from internet strangers to expensive therapists will tell you it’s a good idea to do it in car where you’re stuck… Continue reading Review: Long Ride Home – an engaging, innovative two-hander that doesn’t quite make it home
Erin Harrington reviews The Haka Party Incident, written and directed by Katie Wolfe, at The Court Theatre, Friday 27 October 2023. In 1979, a group of Māori activists, who would come to be known later as He Taua, went to the University of Auckland to confront a group of engineering students who were preparing for… Continue reading Review: The Haka Party Incident – bold, ferocious, essential viewing
A midwinter restrospective for springtime: Erin Harrington reviews Ka Noho, Ka Mate, presented in the Great Hall as part of the Te Matatiki Toi Ora Arts Centre Matariki Festival, 14 July 2023. The Matariki performance (or gig? or lamentation?) Ka Noho, Ka Mate starts solemnly. Kaiako and rapper Kommi Tamati-Elliffe (Kāi Tahu, Te Ātiawa), producer… Continue reading Review: Ka Noho, Ka Mate – a journey in and out of grief that reminds us everything is here
Flat City Field Notes 