Arts and culture in Ōtautahi Christchurch
Ruth Agnew reviews Space Invaders, written and performed by Nicola Brown, at Little Andromeda, Saturday 7 September, 2024. Nicola Brown is an Ōtepoti comedian who wants to bring pelvic organ prolapse out of the dark and into conversation. Her award winning solo show, Space Invaders, invites audiences to discuss subjects rarely spoken raised in polite… Continue reading Review: Nicola Brown: Space Invaders – an intimate, brilliant, comedy hour that might just save your life
Erin Harrington reviews The Deadbeat Opera, presented by Free Theatre, adapted and directed by Peter Falkenberg, at the Pump House, Friday 6 September 2024. Where Free Theatre’s 2023 adaptation of Woyzeck offered misery on tap, their new companion work, The Deadbeat Opera, is presented to us overtly, in the show's opening preamble, as a low-life,… Continue reading Review: The Deadbeat Opera – a low-life comedy about crime, grime, and uncertain politics
Theresa Koorey reviews Sportsball, presented by Cubbin Theatre, directed by Melanie Luckman, at the Cloisters Studio at Te Matatiki Toi Ora The Arts Centre, Saturday 31 August 2024. Entering the intimate Cloisters Studio with my 3 year old, we are greeted by an equally intimate setup of cushions and chairs surrounding them. A taped marked… Continue reading Review: Sportsball – an energetic show about play and resilience
Claudia & Nathaniel Herz Jardine, in conversation, review William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, directed by Khalil Qualls at Cloisters Studio in Te Matatiki Toi Ora The Arts Centre, Tuesday 20 August 2024. Claudia: JMO Theatrics’ production of William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar may be the most political play you see this year. Yes, it contains factions and… Continue reading Review: Julius Caesar – a gripping political two-hander
Erin Harrington reviews Fun Home, music by Jeanine Tesori, book and lyrics by Lisa Kron, directed by Kathleen Burns, with musical direction from Caelan Thomas, at the Court Theatre, Saturday 10 August 2024. The Tony award-winning one act musical Fun Home is adapted from cartoonist Alison Bechdel’s beloved 2006 graphic memoir, which explores her childhood… Continue reading Review: Fun Home – a musical about memory, grief and sexuality that’s dead funny
Erin Harrington reviews The Tempestuous: A Shrew'd New Comedy by Will Shakespeare and Penny Ashton, at Lyttelton Arts Factory, 9 August 2024. Surely at some point we get to call Penny Ashton a national treasure? Her terrific new one-woman musical comedy The Tempestuous, co-written with one W. Shakespeare, certainly reiterates that she’s one of the… Continue reading Review: The Tempestuous – hot pink comedy meets the Bard’s best bits
Theresa Koorey, assisted by some junior reporters, reviews Cubbin Concert, presented by Cubbin Theatre Company, at the Cloisters Studio, The Arts Centre Te Matatiki Toi Ora, Sunday 16 June 2024. You arrive at the cosy Cloisters Theatre in the Art Centre Precinct and straight away you know you are in for something special. With thousands… Continue reading Review: Cubbin Concert – an interactive musical show full of aroha
Naomi van den Broek reviews FWB: Friends with Boundaries, by Regan Taylor and Leona Revell, produced by Rollicking Entertainment, at Little Andromeda, Thursday 30 May 2024. As a #smugmarried Gen-Xer I’m not totally sure I am the target audience for FWB: Friends With Boundaries so, armed with my most qualified single millennial friend, I head… Continue reading Review: FWB: Friends with Boundaries – a full-hearted, joyful exploration of modern intimacy
Erin Harrington reviews The Brothers Rapture – A Holy Hip-Hop Cabaret, written by Corey M. Glamuzina, with music by Matt Hadgraft, at Little Andromeda, Friday 24 May, 2024. Harold the Giraffe has nothing on Fathers Foley and O’Dea. The Brothers Rapture – A Holy Hip-Hop Cabaret presents a Behind the Music-style account of the rise… Continue reading Review: The Brothers Rapture – a verbally-dextrous comedy musical that might save your soul (and sexual health)
Erin Harrington reviews Mr and Mrs Macbeth of Heathcote Valley Road, written and directed by Gregory Cooper, at the Court Theatre, Saturday 18 May, 2024. In writer-director Gregory Cooper’s energetic new comedy Mr and Mrs Macbeth of Heathcote Valley Road it’s backstage on the opening night of a high stakes national tour of the Scottish… Continue reading Review: Mr and Mrs Macbeth of Heathcote Valley Road – an uneven backstage comedy about on and offstage disaster
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