Reviews
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13.03.2010 Review: 360 Auckland's Nightsong Productions and Theatre Stampede have premiered in Wellington a joyous, theatrical tour de force.
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13.03.2010 Review: 360 One thing that is absolutely clear about New Zealand's theatrical contribution to the 2010 International Arts Festival so far is that it has been outstanding. Shows such as The Letter Writer, Apollo 13, The Arrival and Ship Songs demonstrate an achievement of a high order. One can now add 360 to this impressive list. read on
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12.03.2010 Review: 11 and 12 Way back in the 1970s I was lucky enough to see two landmark productions directed by Peter Brook: his black box 'circus' version of A Midsummer Night's Dream for the RSC, with Alan Howard's Oberon on a trapeze, and The Conference of the Birds, based on an ancient Persian poem and developed during his fabled African sojourn (with a young Helen Mirren included in the multi-cultural ensemble cast). read on
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13.03.2010 Review: Ravi Shankar This beautiful evening of Indian classical music – two sitars, tabla, flute, treble and bass tanpura – will be remembered as one of life's treasures by the delighted capacity audience who gave generous standing ovations. read on
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12.03.2010 Review: 11 and 12 11 and 12 travels to New Zealand carrying a lot of cultural baggage. Ironic given that over forty years ago director Peter Brook arguably revolutionised the British stage with the concept of the empty space.
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12.03.2010 Review: Calexico As a band, Calexico is perfectly named: their music is a road trip to the cinematic imagination. read on
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12.03.2010 Review: The Arrival Every immigrant's nightmare: arriving in a new country faced with a strange new language, people and customs and the highs and lows of dealing with all this strangeness. read on
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12.03.2010 Review: Calexico Arizona-based alt-country ensemble Calexico was formed around the talents of songwriters Joey Burns (vocals, guitar) and John Convertino (drums): a floating cast fleshing out the live performances. read on
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10.03.2010 Review: The Letter Writer Created in collaboration with France’s Plateforme Théâtre in 2008, The Letter Writer is O’Brien’s theatrical return to her Kiwi homeland and tells the story of a young man desperate to make a better life for himself by leaving his country for another. read on
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11.03.2010 Review: 11 and 12 Since the 1960s, Peter Brook has benn searching for the essence of theatrical performance. His fervid dedication of almost monastic serverity has led him to question centuries of accumulated theatrical practices, beliefs and shibboleths. read on
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10.03.2010 Review: Mary Stuart Wellington’s Circa Theatre is staging Mary Stuart at the 2010 New Zealand International Arts Festival using a 2006 adaptation of Fredrick Schiller’s classic by Scottish playwright David Harrower (Blackbird). At a sprawling 2 hours and 45 minutes, this production is a protracted political struggle set in the late 1500’s, told through an imagined encounter between two Queens read on
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10.03.2010 Review: He Reo Aroha It's possible that He Reo Aroha has been performed overseas more often than it has been here. It must be pleasing for the performers and crew to have a full house on home ground at Te Papa's Soundings Theatre respond with the acclaim that they received last night.
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09.03.2010 Review: New Zealand String Quartet: Ten Programmed from the odd concept of the number ten being the year the tunes were written, a magical yet rather uneven afternoon string soiree ensued read on
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10.03.2010 Review: Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra, formerly just Antibalas, is a 10-piece ensemble dedicated to the groove-heavy Afrobeat genre, essentially a melding of jazz and funk rhythms - but from there it is a palette open to a world of sounds. read on
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09.03.2010 Review: Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea Mixing live music and action with film and animation Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea explores some dark places in ways that echo Heinrich Hoffmann's Struwwelpeter and that mad surrealist movie by Buñuel and Dali. Only much funnier. read on