Theatre
Feb 24-Mar 1 | Reviewed by Brannavan Gnanalingam

King and Country is a performance of stories from New Zealand's participation in World War One. Covering a variety of participators from a nurse, a naive young soldier from Pahiatua, and two Maori soldiers, the story moves from idealistic young volunteers in 1914 to the aftermath of the war. In amidst their stories, the characters break into war-songs from the time, performed by the New Zealand Army Band.

Theatre
Feb 24-Feb 26 | Reviewed by Kiran Chug

THE EXQUISITELY measured strains of Shostakovich, played by The Mondriaan Quartet, open Eraritjaritjaka and the audience, wholly immersed in the music, surrenders to being enraptured. Dressed in black on an unlit stage, the musicians disappear and stop playing; the music carries on but breaks down into crackles of white noise. A light is cast over the stage, another darkly dressed figure enters, inversely creating a shadow of light on the stage, and the audience wonder if this musical collapse and play on light are merely the first of many surprises.

Theatre
Feb 25-Mar 19 | Reviewed by Melody Nixon

VIEWERS of Dr Buller’s Birds are immediately taken by the play’s special effects. Lights, booming omnipotent sound, and visual imagery combine to stimulate nearly all of ones senses. The waves roar as they roll in over the stage, birds squawk overhead and the soft image of a huia haunts the landscape. These effects are perfectly coordinated with the action on stage, creating a multi-dimensional feel that quickly draws viewers in. The special effects also allow for some imaginary sequences, as, with a very well designed set and a plethora of props, Dr Buller’s Birds is largely naturalistic.

The National Bank Festival Club
Feb 24-26 | Reviewed by Melody Nixon

THE OPENING performance of the 2006 New Zealand International Arts Festival, Mikelangelo and The Black Sea Gentlemen, embodied just the mix of intrigue, stimulation and out-of-the-ordinary entertainment festival organisers this year are aiming to provide. Melodic, gypsy-style country and western, poetic monologues, crafty lyrics, and classical instrumentals combine to place this show as one of the most bizarre and quirky of the Festival Club’s lineup.

Black Ice
Pandemonium Theatre | Reviewed by Imogen Neale

THERE ARE three writers behind Pandemonium Theatre’s production Black Ice and at least one of them was once, or perhaps still is, a sociology student. Why? Because the character of the misadventurous adventurer – with her lurid green kayak, farcical safari suit and anthropological ‘just look at all the savages’ phrases, couldn’t have been penned by anyone other than a sociologist. I must admit, given that I have just finished my Sociology MA, I went ahead and had a good chortle at anthropologies expense.