Bats Theatre
June 25-Aug 5 | Reviewed by Melody Nixon

Death and Love in Gaza retells the story of the death and life of young activist Rachel Corrie. Corrie was brutally killed in Palestine in 2003 while protesting against Israel’s unlawful and unethical actions there. Her story is tragic – the underlying story of the oppression of Palestine even more so. Death and love in Gaza attempts to spread the message of Palestinian oppression, and so creates itself as a piece of strong political theatre.

Herald Theatre
July 5-16 | Reviewed by Imogen Neale

EVERT TEXT – be it written, performed, spoken or digitally illustrated – is a sum of its characters. They need not be people; a character could be the form a beat takes, the pattern an illustration moves in, the arch a narrative travels along. All of these things, and many more, could be said to be and define the character of the text.

Herald Theatre
July 5-16 | Reviewed by Imogen Neale

SHE STANDS, centre stage, a fuming little ball of French angst. To her left, trying to tower above her by walking up a few stairs, stands the director; pouting like a little boy who just lost his Playstation rights. ‘Say it again’ he demands, ‘say it again.’ She takes a little breath (a big one would be too enraging) and she begins; ‘I honestly cannot remember...’ ‘No’ he stomps, ‘not like that...’ She is a French actor in a Kiwi take on a French play, he is a Kiwi director directing a French play of a French play. Actually it’s more complicated than that but if you go, it’ll all make perfect sense. Essentially; he wants the French play to be less French and she is French so struggles to be sans francaise. It’s an embarrassing scene, not least because the premise of it was written in the 1600’s and its themes are still pertinent today; ignorance, the difficulties of diversity and the wish to make everyone the same so we can all, supposedly, just get along.

Circa Theatre
July 1-29 | Reviewed by Nick Henry

The Country is an intelligent play of layered themes and complex characters.

Richard (Malcolm Murray) and Corinne (Carol Smith) are a married couple who have recently moved from the city to the country. When Richard arrives home with an unconscious girl he has picked up from the side of the road, Corinne is not pleased at feeling her home invaded. When the girl, Rebecca (Heather O'Carroll), wakes up, she has a few spanners of her own to throw in the works, as Corinne's hopes of a fresh start in the country unravel.

Circa Theatre
June 24-July 22 | Reviewed by Nick Henry

“WELCOME to our greek palladium” sings the chorus line as they introduce the best comic treatment of murder, war, incest and infanticide yet. It was an ambitious task, to combine the story of the Odyssey and the Illiad with a potted history of greek mythology, do it all in song and make it funny. A cast of eight play thirty-three characters between them, with some swift costume changes. Three musicians form a live band playing music by Gareth Farr. Together they pulled it off and audiences loved it.