Chicken Legs Theatre The Basement, Auckland | June 26-30 Pokémon. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Star Wars. These are things Richard (Hamish Parkinson) and Max (Eli Matthewson) spend their days with, their eyes constantly drawn towards the TV screen. Square Eye Pair follows these two best friends through their TV-driven days, whether they’re watching a Buffy marathon, playing videogames or just plain liking each other’s Facebook comments. The show returns to The Basement after winning Best Comedy at the Auckland Fringe Festival 2011 and touring to Dunedin earlier this year, and is set to go to the Edinburgh Festival later this year. It’s a slick, endearing lo-fi romp with a lot of spontaneity, energy, and wit to it.

By Nina Raine; Directed by Shane Bosher Presented by Silo Theatre Maidment Theatre, Auckland | June 7-30 Walking out of Tribes, I was at a loss to describe how I felt. It had ticked all the boxes for what I want in a play: fun, intelligence, and pace. But it also exceeded all my expectations. It’s incredibly fun, it’s incredibly intelligent, and it’s extremely fast-paced. It’s not only a great theatre experience; it’s a necessary one. On the surface, Tribes is about Billy (Leon Wadham), a boy who was born deaf, and his argumentative, intellectual, and inevitably troubled family. The family consists of his super-judgmental and educated father Christopher (Michael Hurst), his late-in-life novelist mother Beth (Catherine Wilkin), his wannabe opera singer sister Ruth (Fern Sutherland), and his quarter-life-crisis afflicted brother Dan (Emmett Skilton). All these characters together in one space is affecting on its own, however Tribes is not only interested in this family, but in language, and specifically the unique language that families, groups of people, and tribes use to communicate with each …

High production values and a great star performance characterize this Auckland Theatre Company rendition of Roger Hall’s poppy, frothy comedy.

An eerily relevant production of Arthur Miller’s post-war domestic drama; Anton Chekhov resurrected in 21st century London.

Three actors on three treadmills deliver this critically acclaimed play from the Rebel Alliance.