Stadium Southland, Invercargill
Dec-1-8 | Reviewed by Renee Liang

WHAT DOES one do when visiting our southernmost metropolis? Go to the Theatre, of course. I may be the last person in New Zealand to wake up to this fact, but Invercargill these days is changing from the rather grungy, pub-ridden city that was my memory from when I last visited (fleetingly, it must be confessed) ten years ago. Not that those parts of town don’t still exist, but these days, with the rejuvenation of the city centre and the installation of large public art works and even larger public facilities, Southlanders are starting to feel mighty cultured.

Circa Theatre
Nov 24-Dec 22 | Reviewed by Helen Sims

“HOT. SEXY. Cruel. Tender. Savage. Raw.” This was how the Almost a Bird Theatre Collective production of Tennessee William’s classic play was billed. They seemed to have set themselves an ambitious challenge, mining the primal out of sublimely rich material. This was well achieved, from the impassioned performances, to the primary colours in the set and costume design and music that broke down into discordant notes. Youthful energy and enthusiasm abounded and once the play warmed up it was an intense ride all the way to its famous ending.

Gryphon Theatre
Nov 28-Dec 7 | Reviewed by Kate Blackhurst

THIS PERFORMANCE by Wellington Repertory Theatre is a veritable revue in the true sense of the word. Six women and two men present a musical variety show consisting of skits, dance routines, and songs that affectionately mock the bard. Their mixture of accents serves to highlight the global popularity of Shakespeare despite the fact that, as they point out in an early number, so little is known about him that many people just make stuff up.

BATS Theatre
Nov 30-Dec 15 | Reviewed by Gemma Freeman

WRITTEN in 1983, Revenge of the Amazons is Wellington playwright Jean Betts’s feminist re-working of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. A perennial favourite of school and university theatre groups, this is surprisingly the play’s only professional outing since its début.

BATS Theatre
November 29 | Reviewed by Helen Sims

The Wind Speaks to Wellington was the product of several months’ hard work devising a show based in humour and physical performance with a serious social message. What looks like an abysmal piece of devised physical theatre is disrupted by BATS’ Dan Greer, ostensibly possessed by the Wind God, who strikes the performers (Hannah Clarke and Scott Ransom) dumb and takes over, promising more entertaining fare.

Downstage Theatre
17 Nov 17-Dec 22 | Reviewed by Melody Nixon

A GAUDY, vibrant and somewhat cynical script gave the Downstage cast and crew of Urinetown plenty to play with opening night. A show that could tentatively be labeled as shabby postmodern, Urinetown is a pastiche of hit Broadway musicals, from A Christmas Carol and West Side Story to Fiddler on the Roof.

Gryphon Theatre
November 7-17 | Reviewed by Melody Nixon

REGRETTABLY this review is post-humus, but Stagecraft’s latest show on offer was anything but dead and done when I viewed it opening night. A convincing, well-melded team lead by Iona Anderson brought Michael Palin’s work to quirky life, and granted Palin’s feisty characters the depth they deserved.