Superb staging is a hallmark of Mozart’s dramatic opera Idomeneo, set on the island of Crete shortly after the Trojan War. Ilia, daughter of the defeated Trojan King Priam, expresses conflicting emotions. She has love for her rescuer, Idamante, son of Cretan King Idomeneo, and hatred for her father’s Greek enemies, who killed both her dad and…
With five in the cast on a catwalk-like stage, this is a modern, generally slapstick and cartoonish interpretation of Euripides’ Greek tragedy Medea. In the historic work, Medea seeks revenge on her unfaithful husband. In Jane Miller’s Just a Boy, Standing in Front of a Girl, all the characters have received a contemporary makeover. Further, misogyny, fat shaming…
Comedian and actor Mary Coustas is an emotional powerhouse, whose hour-long show endears her anew to a devoted fan base. She is an enormous talent who draws upon her personal experiences (how her life has been shaped) to make us laugh and cry, through love and loss. Combining verbal and physical comedy with pathos, her stories primarily…
With music by Gabriel Faure, Igor Stravinsky and Piotr Ilyich Tschaikovsky and choreography by George Balanchine, Jewels – by name and nature – is a gem. The world’s first full-length abstract ballet, it is actually three short ballets in one and is beautiful to look at and to savour. Sandra Jennings is responsible for the staging….
Disney on Ice is always wonderful family entertainment, but 100 Years of Wonder is the best yet. What a fabulous, engaging show it is – so warm, friendly and inviting. There were seven in my party on opening night, with the youngest being four. The look on her face throughout said it all. She was like the…
The small, feel-good movie, Red, White & Brass was inspired by events surrounding Tongan locals in New Zealand at the 2011 Rugby World Cup. Like most Tongans in New Zealand, Maka (John-Paul Foliaki) is mighty excited that the Rugby World Cup is about to arrive on his doorstep. Ticket sales are soon to open for…
Revenge is the cornerstone of Is God Is, an incendiary play that explodes onto the MTC stage. What a hard life twins Anaia (Henrietta Enyonam Amevor) and Racine (Masego Pitso) have had in America’s south. It is a legacy of an ugly incident sparked by their father (Kevin Copeland) who tried to burn to death their mother…
Cinderella, like you have never seen her before. She’s an activist who refuses to be pushed around. She has strong views about the crown and its lack of action in addressing the needs of the people who are struggling to make ends meet. She is out to change that narrative. While all this seems to be driven by the…
Dinner is served, or at least about to be served. That is what we are led to believe in the latest, decidedly adventurous play at Theatre Works’ Explosives Factory, Social Dance. Talk about creating a favourable first impression. Walk up the steep stairs to the theatre, turn left and you cast your eyes over a huge dinner table…
It takes a while to understand just what is going down here, but – make no mistake – Underneath Ms Archer is a stunning, original work. Behind it are the two outstanding actors. Louise Siversen plays veteran flight attendant Kelly Archer, while Peter Houghton is cast as medieval knight Willliam Marshall. The pair wrote the piece, with dramaturgy…
