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New Zealand Theatre Newsroom

The latest news on live theatre in New Zealand.

Review: TWO GUITARS at Circa Theatre
by Neil Brewer - March 24, 2024

What did our critic think of TWO GUITARS at Circa Theatre?

Review: MURDERED TO DEATH By Wellington Repertory at Gryphon Theatre
by Neil Brewer - March 20, 2024

Murdered to Death is a play written by Peter Gordon back in 1993. It was originally set in the drawing room of a country manor house in the 1930’s, and begins the first in a trilogy of plays starring Inspector Pratt. They are spoofs of the Agatha Christie whodunnit genre. See what our critic thought of the show!

Review: THE MOTHER at Mana Little Theatre
by Neil Brewer - March 13, 2024

The play is written by French playwright Florian Zeller and is a companion piece to his well known play The Father. While The Father deals with the the decline of the mind of an Alzheimers suffer, The Mother takes on the clinical depression of a woman adrift in middle age. 

Review: A FAT GIRLS CRY at Te Auaha
by Neil Brewer - March 12, 2024

A Fat Girl’s Cry is billed as a show about the importance of Plus Size Representation and Inclusion in the Musical Theatre Industry by taking a journey through Music, Singing, and Dance. 

Review: GRAND HORIZONS by Bess Wohl at HOWICK LITTLE THEATRE
by Glenda Pearce - March 01, 2024

What did our critic think of GRAND HORIZONS at HOWICK LITTLE THEATRE? 50 years – it’s a milestone in any marriage! Thousands of meals eaten together, years of dealing with everything marriage, cohabitation and parenthood can throw at you … Superbly directed with expertise by Penel Keegan with her eye for precision in detail, timing and well-crafted staging, Excellent from the entire cast with all the characters  played with physical and psychological truth, motivational credibility, well-shaped dialogue, and vivid facial expression.

MY FAVORITE THINGS: THE RODGERS & HAMMERSTEIN 80th ANNIVERSARY CONCERT Will Screen in Cinemas in Australia and New Zealand
by Stephi Wild - February 26, 2024

The star-studded My Favorite Things: The Rodgers & Hammerstein 80th Anniversary Concert, filmed last December, will be screened in more than 100 cinemas across Australia and New Zealand from 21st March 2024.

Review: A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE from Stagecraft at the Gryphon Theatre
by Neil Brewer - February 23, 2024

Superb production that held the audiences attention from start to finish - Arthur Miller is a legendary playwright, having penned classics such as Death of a Salesman and The Crucible.

Previews: AIGA at TE POU THEATRE
by Glenda Pearce - February 20, 2024

Exploring identity, family, and desire, AIGA is a show that ebbs, flows, dips forward into the wicked and tilts back toward the heavenly as we traverse through the experience of Lusi's beautiful and complex life story. Using music, movement and dramedy AIGA chronologically captures Lusi’s life from youth into adulthood, from 1960's Samoa, to the warrior that we bear witness to today.

Previews: O LE PEPELO, LE GAOI, MA LE PALA'AI - THE LIAR, THE THIEF AND THE COWARD at ASB Waterfront Theatre, Auckland
by Glenda Pearce - February 20, 2024

In the race to become chief, this gripping family saga explores the way of fa’a sāmoa in a modern world. The Auckland premiere of the darkly comic O le Pepelo, le Gaoi, ma le Pala’ai | The Liar, the Thief, and the Coward by Natano Keni and Sarita So plays at the ASB Waterfront Theatre 5 – 23 March as part of the 2024 Auckland Arts Festival.

Review: HYPERSPACE at ASB Waterfront Theatre, Auckland
by Glenda Pearce - February 11, 2024

What did our critic think of HYPERSPACE at ASB Waterfront Theatre, Auckland?

Review: LADS ON THE ISLAND at Circa Theatre
by Neil Brewer - February 04, 2024

What did our critic think of LADS ON THE ISLAND at Circa Theatre?

Review: JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT at Lower Hutt Little Theatre
by Neil Brewer - February 04, 2024

A touring show from a new New Zealand theatre company.

A Spectacle Of Pure Endurance THE BUTTERFLY WHO FLEW INTO THE RAVE Comes To Underground Nz Theatres To Indulge In The Pain
by A.A. Cristi - January 26, 2024

Oli Mathiesen with Lucy Lynch and Sharvon Mortimer present The Butterfly Who Flew Into The Rave, an endurance-based dance work to the seamless techno album Nocturbulous Behaviour by Suburban Knight.

Review: MEASURE FOR MEASURE at Shoreside Theatre, Pumphouse Theatre
by Glenda Pearce - January 24, 2024

What did our critic think of MEASURE FOR MEASURE at Shoreside Theatre, Pumphouse Theatre? What makes any Shakespeare production superb is the director’s ability to recognise the themes within Shakespeare’s text - his extraordinary ability to bring his characters to life by a turn of phrase, a pun, the looks they share, by a breath they take, by the pause they make, the jokes they make.

Review: A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM at Shoreside Theatre, Pumphouse Theatre
by Glenda Pearce - January 22, 2024

What did our critic think of A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM at Shoreside Theatre, Pumphouse Theatre? It’s the second night of the Shoreside’s 28th Summer Shakespeare in the Park  – and indeed,  it’s an ideally warm midsummer evening with clear skies and stars – and an enthusiastic audience awaits -  filled with anticipation.

Previews: HYPERSPACE at ASB Waterfront Theatre
by Glenda Pearce - January 16, 2024

Auckland Theatre Company and Te Pou Theatre are absolutely pumped to present the world premiere of Hyperspace by Albert Belz. Winner of the 2023 Adam NZ Play Award, Hyperspace is a sequel to Albert Belz’s much-loved Astroman, presented in 2019 and directed by Tainui Tukiwaho. So kitsch it’s cool – a ’90s homage to all the dance movies ever made.

Previews: PRING IT ON at Māngere Arts Centre
by Glenda Pearce - January 15, 2024

Move, move, shake, shake, now drop – Strictly Brown is a new clique on the block and they're here to bring the heat! Pring It On is a parody of the popular American cheerleading film, Bring It On (2000). Set against the backdrop of Polyfest, the story shines lights on the behind the scenes dramas of preparing for the world’s largest Secondary School’s Pacific Dance Festival.

Interview: Ewen Coleman a QSM Recipient for services to Theatre
by Neil Brewer - January 11, 2024

I sat down and interviewed this Wellington Community theatre icon this week-here is the result

THE EFFECT Comes to ASB Waterfront Theatre in April
by Stephi Wild - January 11, 2024

The Effect comes to ASB Waterfront Theatre this year. Performances run 16 April - 11 May, 2024.

RED, WHITE, AND BRASS Comes to ASB Waterfront Theatre This Year
by Stephi Wild - January 08, 2024

Red, White, and Brass comes to ASB Waterfront Theatre this year. Performances run 18 June - 6 July 2024.

Talk Is Free Theatre Takes Three Productions to New Zealand
by Stephi Wild - January 02, 2024

Talk Is Free Theatre (TIFT) has partnered with New Zealand-based producer A Mulled Whine to bring a collection of their celebrated productions to Auckland this month for the Talk Is Free Theatre Festival, continuing their tradition of touring tailor-adapted immersive projects around the world.

THE LIAR, THE THIEF, AND THE COWARD Comes to ASB Waterfront Theatre in March
by Stephi Wild - December 28, 2023

The Liar, The Thief, and the Coward comes to ASB Waterfront Theatre in March. Performances run 5-23 March, 2024.

Review: TWAS THE FIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS at Hutt Repertory Theatre
by Monica Moore - December 10, 2023

What did our critic think of TWAS THE FIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS at Hutt Repertory Theatre?

Review: THE CLAY CART at TAPAC
by Monica Moore - December 06, 2023

A 5th-century Sanskrit playwright who, like Shakespeare and the classical playwrights, wrote about the human condition. The Clay Cart (Mricchakatika) weaves a tale of love, loss, deception, and redemption. The tale is set in the ancient city of Ujjayina, India and focuses on a formerly wealthy Brahman, Chārudatta, who has generously given his funds away in acts of exaggerated charity. He has fallen in love with a courtesan, Vasantasenā, and the trials and tribulations of their romance, mostly caused by the King’s brother-in-law Sansthānaka, provide both drama and comedy.

Review: REHEARSAL FOR MURDER at DOLPHIN Theatre, Auckland
by Glenda Pearce - December 01, 2023

Superbly and expertly directed by the highly experienced Julia Leathwick, REHEARSAL FOR MURDER  is a deliciously dramatic delight, especially for anyone associated with the real world of theatre. It’s everything we love about the classic WHODUNNIT – a range of possible “theatrical” characters all with motives, a slowly unfolding plot which is presented with flair, and precisely executed staging and lighting.


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