Staging a little festive pandemonium
Childhood memories of going to see a pantomime at Christmas has inspired Dunedin’s Globe to tackle the genre for the first time. Rebecca Fox talks to director Lynne Keene and actress Jen Hughson.
Entertainment
Pair making up for lost time
Pair making up for lost time
Shaun James Kelly and Marie Varlet never had the experience of dancing in The Nutcracker as children, but they are making up for it now. Rebecca Fox talks to the pair about the traditional...
Performance of a lifetime
Performance of a lifetime
Val Caniparoli might think he is a ‘‘glutton for punishment’’ in creating his fourth Nutcracker ballet, but New Zealand audiences are glad he has. Rebecca Fox talks to the American...
Chance to travel the light fantastic
Chance to travel the light fantastic
With their cellphones in flight mode and in reclining chairs, the audience travelled the light fantastic at Anthonie Tonnon's A Synthetic Universe staged in the Otago Museum Guardian Perpetual...
Proverbial pastime by no means boring
Proverbial pastime by no means boring
My watch says it's 7.13pm. Ten or so minutes ago, when the show began, the overalled performer (who is he: a Zen master, an amateur philosopher, a tradesman with psychotherapeutic ambitions?)...
Something 'Wicked' this way comes
Something 'Wicked' this way comes
If you heard witches cackling with glee yesterday, you may have mistaken it for a Halloween prank. But it wasn't.
Unusual production produces tears
Unusual production produces tears
A simple question from a child about the idiom "watching paint dry" has led to an unusual new theatre work. Rebecca Fox talks to its creator and sole actor.
Saying farewell to the Fortune
Saying farewell to the Fortune
A group of Dunedin theatre practitioners has taken up the challenge of saying farewell to the Fortune Theatre and showing there is still life in the city's theatre industry. Rebecca Fox talks to...
Good fun that is funny
Good fun that is funny
Dr Seuss’ classic children’s tale The Cat in The Hat has been transformed into a travelling stage show. Rebecca Fox talks to The Cat, aka Nick Wilkinson.
Simple story of child’s family experience scores highly
Simple story of child’s family experience scores highly
The story is simple. Eloise, who lives in Dunedin with her mum, Karen, flies to Wellington to see her dad, Dennis, who has another lady living in his house. Things go well, sort of...
Cryptic trips inside dark soundscape
Cryptic trips inside dark soundscape
There was a tiny blue light over to the left of the stage that moved unexpectedly.
Bright and bouncy
Bright and bouncy
The audience will affect the performance.
The bit on the stage is easy: setting up's hard
The bit on the stage is easy: setting up's hard
The stage bit is easy.
Q&A: Robin Kelly
Q&A: Robin Kelly
A Q&A session with Robin Kelly, of Valerie.
Dual roles a challenge
Dual roles a challenge
It has been five years in the making and faced a few hurdles along the way but Emily Duncan’s play Eloise in the Middle will premier this month. Rebecca Fox talks to Duncan and actress Sara Georgie...
Evolving show born of personal experience
Evolving show born of personal experience
There is a certain tightly focused zeal in actor Rob Mokaraka's delivery as he talks about his show Shot Bro: Confessions of a Depressed Bullet. That is not really a surprise.
Shot Bro a tale of trauma
Shot Bro a tale of trauma
By the time the show starts, actor Rob Mokaraka has greeted people individually, let everyone know that watching the show isn’t always going to be easy, and assured them that it’s “OK to cry” if things get tough.
How I detest the arts and their constant ability to cause me to actually feel things
How I detest the arts and their constant ability to cause me to actually feel things
I hate the arts. You have to go somewhere, sit still, concentrate, be quiet, writes David Loughrey.
Dance troupe ages with grace and suppleness
Dance troupe ages with grace and suppleness
A Christchurch dance company is proving advancing years shall not stop the movement.
Rebound pushes beyond constraints of convention
Rebound pushes beyond constraints of convention
In their debut appearance at Arts Festival Dunedin, Christchurch's Rebound Dance Company present the triple bill - choreographed by the company's three co-founders - Born Out Of Curiosity, writes reviewer Penny Neilson.