Tag: review
I’m not religious but thank god for Madonna
I listened with intent maybe 4-5 times and except for Dark Ballet (more of which below) really couldn’t find context so in an attempt to get an angle I began with 1983’s Lucky Star and made it all the way to Erotica’s Secret Garden before I had to leave the club. I learned then that I really enjoy Madonna’s vulnerable moments of Papa don’t Preach & Love Don’t Live Here Anymore, but really don’t have any connection with her dominance of the dance floor. It was around then that Madame X really whispered to me for the first time. 1. 2. Cha cha cha. This liquid fantasy opens the bottle…
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Breathe Long
Beastwars IV Album Launch, San Fran, Wellington 5 July 2019 We arrived late and just caught the end of End Boss. The diverse, good natured crowd was loving it and then awesome ockers Witchskull sent them over with a sound and presence that belied the size of the venue, and as Witchskull triumphantly left the stage the abstract LED backdrop lit up to reveal the headliner’s harbinger: IV. Beastwars’ biggest hit Damn the Sky was a dynamic and driven way to smash open a show and would’ve also been an obvious encore. For such hard sounding music, Storms on Mars is desperately vulnerable, honest and raw. I’m a dad to…
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Review: Emily Writes, Rants in the Dark
Review: Emily Writes, Rants in the Dark Rants in the Dark is a play based on the book, based on the blog by Emily Writes, whose rant in the dark “went viral” overnight, and led to her creating a space on the internet where Mums who occasionally (or regularly) say fuck can find their life experiences reflected and validated.
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Review: Mrs Krishnan’s Party
Mrs Krishnan’s Party Director: Justin Lewis Company: Indian Ink Mrs Krishnan’s Party, by Jacob Rajan
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Review: Medusa at Circa Two
“Some of it I really liked and some of it I thought ‘What the Fuck’!!!”
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Review: Meremere: a multi-media performance memoir by Rodney Bell
I’m never sure when I’m reviewing a piece how much to find out about it in advance. My approach in general is to let the performers have first dibs on telling me the story and to read as little as possible.
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Comedy fest review: White Man Behind a Desk in WMBADx: Idea worth spreading
White Man Behind a Desk has scaled heights faster than most comedians get to. For the last wee while he’s been honing his Colbert/Stewart pastiche and delivering lefty sermons with humour from behind his desk and building quite the following.
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Comedy fest review: Eli Matthewson in An Inconvenient Poof
I feel almost a paternal instinct towards Eli’s comedy. I saw him in his Billy T nominated show ‘Faith’ in 2015, then again last year in ‘The Year of Magical Fucking’ and I usually will leave it at a couple of shows to review a comic before I move on to someone else.
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Comedy fest review: Wilson Dixon in What a Country!
I have been hanging out to see Wilson Dixson for years. There’s something super alluring about what he does. The cowboy shtick that he has down to a fine art, that soft picking at the guitar as he gently woos you with his drawl and his songs. This year was my first time seeing a full Wilson Dixon hour and I wasn’t disappointed.
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Comedy Fest Review: Marcel Lucont in Etc. A Chat Show
I knew it. I knew Marcel Lucont would be a phenomenal show. I saw his show a couple of years ago when he was last in New Zealand and it was one of the shows I was most looking forward to
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Comedy Fest Review: Donna Brookbanks in You do you babes
What a joyous eruption of chaos, energy and laughter. Donna’s show You do you babes is crammed full with so much energy, so much material that it’s almost exhausting.
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Comedy fest review: Alice Snedden in Self-titled: Volume II
Alice Snedden is a fucking good comedian. I try to get along to as many Billy T Nominee shows in Wellington as possible because I often don’t know much about the comics and so frequently unearth some gold, like Guy Montgomery from a few years back. Alice is like Guy in that I went in knowing little and left being super impressed.
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Comedy fest review: Lucy Roche & Ray O’Leary in Young, dumb and full of comedy
Lucy Roche and Ray O’Leary are a couple of NZ comics on the up and up. Lucy won the National Raw Comedy Quest in 2016 and Ray was a Billy T Award nominee last year. They both have a solid resume of shows and experience but there’s still a bit of work to be done.
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Comedy fest review: James Veitch in Dot Con
James Veitch is known for his hilarious emails, no not the guy who tried to pay his power bills with a spider-drawing, but for being the guy who emails back scammers. The Nigerian Prince types.
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Review: At the Wake by Victor Rodger
At the Wake by Victor Rodger, starring Lisa Harrow Circa Theatre Opening night 6:30pm, 21 March 2018
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Review: Joan – A play by Tom Scott “about a wonderful mum by an ungrateful son”.
As a first time reviewer I was both excited, and slightly nervous when I left work on Tuesday evening heading for Circa to see Joan, by Tom Scott. I wanted very much to like what I was about to review (does anyone go to the theatre not hoping to enjoy themselves?).
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Comedy review: Louise Beuvink in Ladylike: a modern guide to etiquette
Whenever I write reviews of comedy shows I don’t feel it’s important to mention that someone is a female comedian (if they are); I guess that’s because I don’t feel it’s important to mention that the 75% of comedians I see are male
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Wellington on a Plate Preview: Gate to Plate
We are pairing up with Wellington food icons, Wellingnoms, so you can get all the best images from their Instagram account and all the best words from here. Exciting times.
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