BATS Theatre
April 15-May 2 | Reviewed by Helen Sims

WILD DUCK Productions, under the direction of David Lawrence, have updated and revised Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler for their production at BATS to place the characters in current day Wellington. As part of this re-visioning Hedda becomes a bored and somewhat unstable housewife with strong colonial roots – and a pair of pistols to match. The essentials of Ibsen’s original are all there – the recent marriage of Hedda to a kind but boring and naive intellectual (Jörgen/George Tesman), interrupted by the appearance of her mousy school acquaintance, Thea Elvsted who has been assisting Eljert (Eliot) Lřvberg, Hedda’s former love and Jorgen’s, rival with the follow up to his acclaimed book. George’s interfering but well-meaning Aunt Julia is present (although changed to his sister) and so is Max Brack, the slippery lawyer who lives next door (a judge in the original).

Aotea Centre
April 8-12 | Reviewed by Renee Liang (contains spoilers)

EXPECTATIONS were again high on the opening night of The Winter’s Tale, the next offering from the Bridge Project. Once again, they did not disappoint, serving up a nuanced and intelligent interpretation.

Downstage Theatre
March 26-April 11 | Reviewed by Melody Nixon

THE RETURN SEASON of My Brilliant Divorce at Downstage is bolstered by previous reviews which praise the show almost ubiquitously, except for Lumičre’s own gentle criticism of course. Lynn Freeman described Ginette McDonald’s performance in the first run of My Brilliant Divorce as “brilliant, McDonald,” and in this run the praise still does hold up. It is McDonald’s portrayal of every-woman divorcee Angela Kennedy Lipsky that gives this show its broad appeal. The disaster-ridden divorcee is an English version of the Americana novel Eat Pray Love’s hapless Liz; and the show has the same best selling, low and loud, humour and anguish-laden grace.

BATS Theatre
April 1-9 | Reviewed by Helen Sims

IN Bud we are offered a lone male performer on stage, Jean Genet’s long banned film Un Chant d’Amour (A Love Song) projected onto the back wall of BATS and a voice over written by the director, Roanl Trifero Nelson about a man named Bud. The narration, projected film and on stage performance seem to play loosely around the idea of the taboo, erotic (homosexual) gaze. The connection is never really established beyond this. What emerges is a piece that has excellent constituent parts – but they are just not well combined.

BATS Theatre
March 31-April 9 | Reviewed by Helen Sims

Dolores deals with dual themes of domestic violence and the tension in a sibling relationship in adulthood. Sandra is enjoying her day off, rocking out to Pat Benatar and relishing small treats like a magazine and cupcakes. The arrival of her sister Dolores, with a black eye from the latest in a long line of abusive husbands, is a totally unwelcome intrusion on her ordered life – as well as what she sacrifices to achieve it.

Aotea Centre
April 4-5 | Reviewed by Renee Liang

THE BRIDGE PROJECT is such a good idea that it’s a wonder that is isn’t done more often. Collect eighteen of the best stage actors from the UK and the US, and arrange to tour two classic plays in repertory across centres in Asia, the Pacific, the US and the UK. That Auckland was chosen to be one of these centres is perhaps a credit to the persistence and network building of the programming people at The EDGE. It was certainly a boon to the capacity audience that turned out for the opening night.

BATS Theatre
March 17-28 | Reviewed by Helen Sims

I AM usually incredibly generous and forgiving towards the production of plays by first time playwrights. The Sri Lankan conflict has recently been in the media again, so a play that examines its impact on a group of characters from New Zealand and Sri Lanka should be highly relevant. However, Serendipity was so flawed that I don’t think even the most generous of viewers could have forgiven its faults. It easily qualifies as one of the worst productions I have ever seen – and that includes a Czech version of Hamlet in which the Ghost of Hamlet’s father was a computer virus and Hamlet was on rollerblades.

Auckland Festival, Musgrove Studio
March 12-28 | Reviewed by Renee Liang (contains spoilers)

A MAN sits slumped in a chair, his face hidden from the audience. Around him two ramshackle cottages are on the brink of collapse. A jumble of old chairs is glimpsed backstage and transparent blue netting seems to shroud the whole scene.