Arts
By Joseph Harper
This play is called Tartuffe and is about a guy named Tartuffe and this rich family. And Tartuffe is basically this guy who pretends to be seriously Christian but is really this big phoney and everybody knows it except for the family’s patriarch who is pretty much in love with Tartuffe.
By: Aimee Walker and Dominika Polak
The worlds most well know Circus Company is back in town for a couple of weeks performing their long standing show, Saltimbanco. Saltimbanco is Cirque du Soleil’s first show to tour internationally and has been around for almost 20 years and you can see why they have a massive fan-base to date and is suitable and great for the whole family to enjoy together.
By: Natalie Clark
Shine Lady is the most recent work of New Zealand’s cutest choreographer, Ann Dewey. Ann is like your grandma but without the funny smells and hunch back: a smiley little lady with an English accent and plenty of character. Not surprisingly her dance work is often quirky and light-hearted, with a unique aesthetic that often references dogs (what did I tell you, “cute”).
I’ve seen several hybrid works from mature choreographers recently, and I am noticing a recurring theme: Dancers are destined to grow old and go batty. Everyone is abandoning their art form in favour of minimalist movement, irony and satire. It kind of makes you feel a bit ripped-off when you’re paying eight grand a year to learn to ‘dance’.
7 Days regular Jeremy Elwood packed out the Upstairs of The Basement for his second performance of his show (un)common sense. Sure, he only had to fill 50 seats to do it, but everyone that was there left with a smile on their face.
Directed by Jerome Bel
This show is great. Really, superbly great.
Take every porno you’ve ever seen (or…heard about) and picture it with hand puppets, and you’ve got the gist of this Auckland Arts Festival Show. Fittingly taking place in the Spiegeltent in Aotea Square, the show was premised by a fiery Columbian puppet named Manolo explaining “how hot and heavy” things were about to get on stage. He was NOT kidding.
Directed by Sophie Roberts
Remember Charlie Brown and his little Peanuts cartoon crew? No? Well it’s not the end of the world, but a prior knowledge certainly makes Dog Sees God, the unofficial Charlie Brown sequel, just that extra bit enjoyable.
Written and performed by Miranda Harcourt and Stuart McKenzie
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Biography Of My Skin is exactly what the title tells us it is, the story of Miranda Harcourt’s life up until now, the things that have made her into the actor and the woman she is today. The play was written for her by husband Stuart McKenzie, and performed by both of them. It was a very happy decision, I think; to put the writer and the actor together on the stage and explore differences in their styles of communication.
Triple Bill
Concert Chamber, Auckland Town Hall
As a company, Touch Compass aims to embrace diversity, to challenge our preconceptions about who is able to dance. I came away from their latest performance, Triple Bill, in absolute awe.
The show opened with Grottteschi, choreographed by Suzanne Cowan and featuring Cowan and Adrian Smith. It was a humorous and exciting way to begin the night. Cowan was “Ava the Spiderwoman”, and Smith “Argyle the Mantis Man”.