NEW ZEALAND THEATER REVIEWS

Sexual politics, jealousy, conformity, idealism and expectation are stripped bare to the basics of raw desire, satisfaction and emotional need....

Giuseppe Verdi's operatic masterpiece La Traviata opened triumphantly at the Isaac Theatre Royal in Christchurch last night to a capacity audience. This production marks a welcome return by New Zealand Opera to the theatre that, following an extensive restoration from the Canterbury earthquakes of t...

New Zealand Opera's new production of Mozart's final opera The Magic Flute is an absolute delight. The Magic Flute (or Die Zauberflote) tells the story of Prince Tamino's quest for his Princess Pamina through a fairytale dream-world where she is held captive by the wizard Sarastro. Aided by his impu...

The international smash-hit musical Mamma Mia! opened last night in Christchurch at the beautifully restored Isaac Theatre Royal. It is the first of three hotly anticipated musicals to be put on by Showbiz Christchurch this year as part of a national consortium of theatre production partners....

Love and Information by the acclaimed British playwright Caryl Churchill opened last night at the Basement Theatre on Queen Street in a very polished new production produced by The Actors' Program and Last Tapes Theatre Company. The tagline reads: Sixteen Actors. Over 100 Characters. A Snapshot of l...

Mark Hadlow excels in his hilarious one-man show MAMIL: Middle Aged Man in Lycra in a sell-out season at Christchurch's Court Theatre. Written and directed by Gregory Cooper, MAMIL plays to all Hadlow's strengths as an actor and gives him ample opportunity for humour with a good dose of clowning aro...

NBR New Zealand Opera has been going from strength to strength over recent years, and this latest production of Tosca is no exception. Cleverly set during the Cold War era of Italy during the 1950s, this production stars two internationally famous New Zealanders, the tenor Simon O'Neill and the b...

Following on from successful seasons at BATS Theatre in Wellington and the famed La Mama Theatre in New York City, the five-time Chapman Trip Theatre Award nominated play All Your Wants and Needs Fulfilled Forever is a surreal existential comedy set in a hyper-realised modern age of internet-saturat...

The latest West End revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber's smash-hit musical Cats kicked off its Australasian tour last night to a packed Civic Theatre in Auckland. Nominated for two Olivier Awards (including best revival) this production of Cats was put together by the original creative team of the award...

Nic Sampson returns to the Basement Theatre as The Lord Ernest Rutherford of Nelson following a successful debut run of Ernest Rutherford: Everyone Can Science! in May 2013. Sampson (Billy T nominee 2015 and head writer for the Jono and Ben Show) writes and stars in this hilarious one man comedy abo...