James Bell News

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.

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.

What did our critic think of 'THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR' BY WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE at Shoreside Theatre?

Based on the hit 1980 film and the television series it spawned, FAME: THE MUSICAL has burst into Crown Theatre to tell the story of a group of aspiring performers. This production bills itself as being by Western Australians, for Western Australians, and in doing so shows that WA is indeed home to many talented performers and creatives. Read our critic's review.

Opening night of the second play of the Shoreside's Auckland Shakespeare in the Park - and it's raining. However, spirits undeterred - the actors and the audience move into the auditorium, and the comedy begins. The Two Gentlemen of Verona was probably one of Shakespeare's first comedies alongside The Comedy of Errors and The Taming of the Shrew. By writing a play about friendship versus love, Shakespeare was challenging more established writers of the time --namely, Chaucer, Lyly and Francis Bacon. The play incorporates many of the themes, stereotypes and ideas of his later works: how appearance and reality might not be the same thing, the use of disguises, mirror plots, and cross gender performances.

Powerful performances and fresh new perspectives - the tragedy unfolded with well-focused emotionally charged performances full of clarity and conviction.

Opening night of the second play of the Shoreside’s 25th Summer Shakespeare in the Park  – and it’s a comedy through and through.

The image of Shakespeare peering out, as if hidden from behind a barrier, as the choice of poster, entices and intrigues - and sets the scene for a pair of revealing performances - is he watching us, or are we watching him? Shakespeare's insights into the tortured depths of the ambitious and unscrupulous, paired by his playful reveal of pastoral romance set against the seven ages and stages, in human development.

As the summer evenings settle, enjoy traditional presentations of two of Shakespeare's finest plays performed outdoors in The PumpHouse Amphitheatre. Now in our 24th season, Shoreside Theatre's Auckland Shakespeare in the Park is presented by a company of professional and community actors, production crew, enthusiasts and supporters with the aspiration to stage real Shakespeare.

Directed by Hollace Starr, an associate professor of theatre at Pepperdine University, a designated Linklater Voice teacher, and a lifetime member of the Actors Studio, with an innate understanding of feminine emotional turmoil, and John Perrin Flynn's keen eye for multimedia effects, EARTHQUAKES IN LONDON tackles our chronic inability to act in the interest of our future generations. At the center are three very different sisters who are left to raise and care for one another after their mother dies and their father abandons them. Now adults, the sisters find themselves navigating a 21st century London that is at the precipice of both an existential and an all-too-real environmental crisis.

Troupe today announces the full cast for The Sweet Science of Bruising by Joy Wilkinson which transfers to Wilton's Music Hall, following its sold-out run at Southwark Playhouse last year. Kirsty Patrick Ward directs Owen Brenman (Professor Charlie Sharp), Celeste Dodwell (Violet Hunter), Jane How (Aunt George), Tom Lorcan (Paul Stokes), Emma McDonald (Anna Lamb) and Wilf Scolding (Gabriel Lamb) alongside returning cast, Ashley Cook (Doctor James Bell), Alice Kerrigan (Emily), Jessica Regan (Matilda 'Matty' Blackwell) and Fiona Skinner (Polly Stokes). The production opens at Wilton's Music Hall on 7 June, with previews from 5 June, and runs until 29 June.

Troupe today announces full cast for the The Sweet Science of Bruising by Joy Wilkinson which transfers to Wilton's Music Hall, following its sold-out run at Southwark Playhouse last year. Kirsty Patrick Ward directs Owen Brenman (Professor Charlie Sharp), Celeste Dodwell (Violet Hunter), Jane How (Aunt George), Tom Lorcan (Paul Stokes), Emma McDonald (Anna Lamb) and Wilf Scolding (Gabriel Lamb) alongside returning cast, Ashley Cook (Doctor James Bell), Alice Kerrigan (Emily), Jessica Regan (Matilda 'Matty' Blackwell) and Fiona Skinner (Polly Stokes). The production opens at Wilton's Music Hall on 7 June, with previews from 5 June, and runs until 29 June.

Featuring Jim James, bell hooks, Rachel Grimes, Wendell Berry, Joan Shelley and many more wonderful Kentucky artists, with proceeds benefiting the Kentucky Natural Lands Trust & Pine Mountain Settlement School.

Moving On: The 2019 One Acts features a mix of established playwrights and exciting, emerging younger talent. Here's the program:

The beautiful setting of the amphitheatre on the shore of Lake Pupuke and adjacent to the main PumpHouse Theatre is the perfect place to enjoy a night of Shakespearean theatre. Come early and enjoy the offerings of the French Rendezvous Cafe complete with bar facilities. Bring your own cushions and blankets if you wish and set yourself up for a great night of theatre right in the centre of the North Shore.

Troupe today announces the full cast for the World Premiere of Joy Wilkinson's The Sweet Science of Bruising. Kirsty Patrick Ward directs Bruce Alexander (Professor Charlie Sharp), James Baxter (Paul Stokes), Sophie Bleasdale (Violet Hunter), Joe Coen (Gabriel Lamb), Ashley Cook (Doctor James Bell), Caroline Harker (Aunt George), Kemi-Bo Jacobs (Anna Lamb), Alice Kerrigan (Emily), Jessica Regan (Matilda 'Matty' Blackwell) and Fiona Skinner (Polly Stokes). The production opens at Southwark Playhouse on 5 October, with previews from 3 October, and runs until 27 October.

Nakkiah Lui's new work, BLACK IS THE NEW WHITE gives Sydney Theatre Company audiences a glimpse into a different view of contemporary Indigenous family life in a fabulously funny tale of families, politics, love and loyalty.

Black is the New White is a provocative new romantic comedy commissioned by Sydney Theatre Company fromwriter and star of ABC's Black Comedy, Nakkiah Lui. Directed by STC's former Richard Wherrett Fellow Paige Rattray (now Queensland Theatre's Associate Artistic Director), the cast includes Kylie Bracknell, Tony Briggs, Luke Carroll, Geoff Morrell and Shari Sebbens, with set and costumes by former Resident Designer Renee Mulder.

Repetitive Beats, a play set during the rave era, opens in 15 days at Vault Festival.

Repetitive Beats, a play set during the rave era, opens in 15 days at Vault Festival.