Theatre
360 (NZ INTERNATIONAL ARTS FESTIVAL, WELLINGTON)
created by Carl Bland, Ben Crowder and Peta Rutter
NZ INTERNATIONAL ARTS FESTIVAL & THE AUCKLAND FESTIVAL (co-producers), Te Whaea (Wellington), 12 - 21 March
The highly anticipated premiere season of 360 offers audiences a brand new theatrical experience. Swivel seats are positioned in the centre of a circular stage, allowing the audience to enjoy the spectacular action taking place all around the enclosed circle.
Travelling back through the memories of a prodigal son, 360 tracks the series of events that led to his final departure. His memories paint a vivid portrait of a family who are funny, exquisitely melancholic and charmingly clown-like. Expect the unexpected as two worlds collide when the son opens the same door he closed behind him years before.
Filled with larger-than-life characters and surreal situations, 360 is a moving tale of going back to the beginning to get to the end. Spin around in your seat to choose the action in this innovative production by the award-winning creators of HEAD.
featuring Milo Cawthorne, Ray Henwood, Jonathon Kenyon, Bruce Phillips, Olivia Tennet and Edwin Wright
direction by Carl Bland, Ben Crowder and Peta Rutter
for further information and to book please visit the New Zealand International Arts Festival website
Cat & Mouse (Melbourne Comedy Festival)
by Thomas Sainsbury
FINGERPRINTS & TEETH, Melbourne Comedy Festival, 1-11 April
After only a short time based in Australia, we are very proud to have two Auckland Actors involved in CAT & MOUSE which returns for a second Australian season - this time in the La Mama Theatre as part of the Melbourne Comedy Festival. CAT & MOUSE is Lucy Wigmore's directing debut.
Roberto works in a bar and meets multitudes of women but nothing can prepare him for Cat. Drunk, desperate and on a failed date, he takes her number through pity and sleeps with her out of lust. A week later he meets Cleo: confident, indifferent, independent - everything Roberto desires. The only problem is Cat and Cleo look, sound, and smell the same, yet assure him they're different people. As Roberto juggles two passionate affairs with what may be the same woman, he's about to learn that the game has changed for good - a game that someone has to lose.
"One of those shows that you'll be talking about long after the curtain falls...must see for anyone who loves good theatre"
starring Stephen Fitzgibbon and Hannah Marshall
direction by Lucy Wigmore
for additional information including how to book visit www.comedyfestival.com.au
Mammals
by Amelia Bullmore
HOWICK LITTLE THEATRE, 6 - 27 March
MAMMALS - Speaks volumes to anyone who's in, has been in, or ever will be in a family!
In their chaotic family home, Jane and Kev don't have room for secrets. Their children take up all the space. Dirty laundry and weekend guests just have to be squeezed in. But when Kev comes home from a business trip with something on his mind, he starts a confessional chain reaction that hilariously and tragically reveals the truth about Home Sweet Home.
"A gem. The dialogue gurgles, sparkles, fizzes with compassion, recognition and wit."
starring Jo Crichton, Jess Holly Bates, Katea Duff, Terry Hooper, Carl Drake & Nikki Christensen
direction by Terry Hooper
for additional information including how to book visit the Howick Little Theatre or iTICKET websites.
That Face
by Polly Stenham
SILO THEATRE, Herald Theatre, 19 March - 10 April.
Henry has dropped out of school to look after Mummy Dearest.
Mia is about to be booted out all of her own accord.
Mummy is a beautifully spoken monster, drunkenly indulging her own decline.
And Daddy? In absentia, but rushing home from Hong Kong to fix things as only his money can.
And now it’s time for this fractured family to face a reality they have avoided for far too long.
Written when she was just 19, Polly Stemham’s trail-blazing debut left London audiences gobsmacked, picking up every award under the sun. Told with youthful swagger, tremendous heart and a dark, mischievous sense of humour, Stenham explodes the tricky interface between neglect and active abuse. When children are forced to act like parents, and parents ignore their responsibilities, who has the right to dictate the future?
In a real mother of a play, Generation Y bites back at the Baby Boomers.
featuring Andrew Grainger, Jennifer Ward-Lealand, Dan Weekes.
direction by Shane Bosher.
Flipside
by Ken DuncamSMACKBANG, TAPAC, 4 - 14 March
Flipside by award winning playwright Ken Duncum tells the story of the four survivors of the Rose-Noelle, their ability to overcome incredible odds and the realisation that once they returned the ordeal wasn’t over.
"Director Charlie Unwin has assembled a most worthy quartet of actors to portray four highly engaging, distinct characters: Peleton’s Jim is the conscientious socialist to Hudson’s churlish bossy overachiever Rick. He in turn locks horns with the boat’s gruffly authoritative captain John Glennie, played to salty perfection by Phil Vaughan. And last but not least, Will Wallace’s affable would-be loafer Phil Hoffman appears to undergo the greatest transformation – from depressed defeatist to vital crewmember in one brief near-death experience. These brief summaries don’t really do each man’s complex character justice as we get to know them fairly intimately in the course of the story." Read the full review on www.theatreview.co.nz
featuring Matt Hudson, Phil Peleton, Phil Vaugn and Will Wallace
direction by Charlie Unwin
to book call TAPAC on 845 0295 or visit www.tapac.org.nz
Hackman Theatre Awards 2009
And the winners of the inaugural Hackman Awards 2009 are as follows. Congraulations to all award recipients, especially Andrea Ariel and Todd Emerson and Elliot Christensen-Yule.THE ARMSTRONG CREATIVE AWARD FOR BEST BREAK UP OF THE YEAR...
Renee Lyons and Sam Snedden - Backstory
THE KATHRYN RAWLINGS AND ASSOCIATES AWARD FOR BEST ENTRANCE OF THE YEAR...
Sara Wiseman - Killer Joe
THE HACKMAN AWARD FOR BEST DEATH OF THE YEAR...
Michael Lawrence - Oliver
THE BUY TICKETS AWARD FOR BEST POSTER OF THE YEAR...
The Idea of America
THE ELIZABETH WHITING AWARD FOR BEST COSTUME OF THE YEAR...
Eve Gordon - As You Like It Burlesque
THE SHORT AND SWEET AWARD FOR SMALLEST PART OF THE YEAR...
Andrea Ariel - as 'The Statue' in She Stoops To Conquer
THE ODD MANAGEMENT AWARD FOR BEST CROSS GENDER ACTING OF THE YEAR...
Natalie Medlock - Song for The Ugly Kids
THE ORYZA FOUNDATION FOR ASIAN PERFORMING ARTS AWARD FOR BEST ACCENT OF THE YEAR...
Jason Whyte - Flintlock Musket/Apollo 13
THE AUCKLAND FESTIVAL AWARD FOR BEST TECHNICAL FUCK UP OF THE YEAR...
Josh Hyman for forgetting to set the beer bottle - Ruben Gutherie
THE WISE MAN AWARD FOR BEST DRY OF THE YEAR...
The cast of Christ Almighty
THE HAWKINS THEATRE AWARD FOR BEST WEAPON OF THE YEAR...
Michael Galvin's Religious Rhetoric and Propoganda - Station to Station
THE SMACKBANG AWARD FOR AN ACTOR/ACTRESS PLAYING A CHARACTER WITH A DISIBILITY/MEDICAL CONDITION OF THE YEAR...
Claire Van Beek - Little Blonde Hen
THE EMERGENCY ROOM AWARD FOR BEST STAGE MANAGER OF THE YEAR...
Anders Falstie Jensen - for Stage Managing 28 shows in The Fringe
THE PLAYMARKET AWARD FOR BEST LINE IN A KIWI PLAY...
Everything in 'Banging Cymbal Clanging Gong'
THE APRA AWARD FOR BEST SOUND EFFECT IN A PLAY...
Sean Lynch, Piano/Harp - Flintlock Musket
THE AUCKLAND THEATRE COMPANY AWARD FOR BEST USE OF A PROP...
Everything in Ooh Baby Baby
THE STAMP AWARD FOR BEST PASH OF THE YEAR...AUDICENCE CHOICE!!
Rachel Foreman and Todd Emerson - Autobahn
THE JOHNSON & LAIRD MANAGEMENT AWARD FOR BEST PERFORMANCE OF A CZECHOSLOVAKIAN SUPERMODEL IN AN AUCKLAND BASED COMEDY/DRAMA...
Chelsie Preston Crayford - Ruben Gutherie
THE THEATREVIEW AWARD FOR BEST ENSEMBLE ACTING OF THE YEAR...
Killer Coconut Crew - Once Were Samoans
THE PAANZ AWARD FOR BEST SINGING IN A PLAY
Elliot Christensen-Yule - The History Boys
THE SILO THEATRE AWARD FOR BEST DANCING IN A PLAY...
Cast - My London Sojourn
Chapman Tripp Theatre Awards 2009
Chapman Tripp Theatre Awards 2009 Winners.The winners of the 18th annual Chapman Tripp Theatre Awards were named on Saturday 6 December, at Wellington's St James Theatre. Taika Cohen, whose latest feature film Boy was recently selected in competition to the prestigious Sundance Film Festival, hosted the event, which was produced by Mark Westerby.
100 Wellington theatre productions qualified for this year's awards, judged in 19 categories. Judges John Smythe (Theatreview), Lynn Freeman (Capital Times), Laurie Atkinson (The Dominion Post), Uther Dean (Salient), Helen Sims (Lumiere) and Elspeth Sandys (The Listener) judged the categories, with Harry Ricketts serving as arbiter.
Full list of categories and winners follows:
MONTANA AWARD FOR MOST ORIGINAL PRODUCTION OF THE YEAR
The Intricate Art Of Actually Caring - The Playground Collective
DOWNSTAGE THEATRE AWARD FOR THE MOST PROMISING MALE NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR
Jack Sergent-Shadbolt - The Intricate Art Of Actually Caring
CIRCA AWARD DONATED BY TACT FOR THE MOST PROMISING FEMALE NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR
Sophie Roberts - Wolf's Lair
TOI WHAKAARI: NZ DRAMA SCHOOL & VICTORIA UNIVERSITY OF WELLINGTON AWARD FOR THE MOST PROMISING NEW DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR
Eleanor Bishop - The Intricate Art Of Actually Caring
THE THEATRE AWARDS TRUST AWARD FOR COSTUME DESIGNER OF THE YEAR
Dawa Devereux - A Most Outrageous Humbug
GROUSE LIGHTING AWARD FOR LIGHTING DESIGNER OF THE YEAR
Adam Walker - Death And The Dreamlife Of Elephants
WETA WORKSHOP AWARD FOR SET DESIGNER OF THE YEAR
Tracey Monastra - Death And The Dreamlife Of Elephants
WESTERN AUDIO ENGINEERING AWARD FOR SOUND DESIGNER OF THE YEAR
Stephen Gallagher - The Blackening
CONSTANCE SCOTT KIRKCALDIE AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING COMPOSER OF MUSIC
Erika Grant, Isaac Smith & Amanda Mclean - Bedlam
PETER HARCOURT AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING NEW PLAYWRIGHT OF THE YEAR SPONSORED BY BATS THEATRE & TAKI RUA PRODUCTIONS
Arthur Meek - Collapsing Creation
THE ORBIT CORPORATE TRAVEL AWARD FOR SUPPORTING ACTRESS OF THE YEAR
Michelle Amas - Rock 'n' Roll
CHAPMAN TRIPP AWARD FOR SUPPORTING ACTOR OF THE YEAR
Christopher Brougham - Collapsing Creation
MAYOR’S AWARD FOR SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTION TO THE THEATRE
Bill Sheat
THE ABSOLUTELY POSITIVELY OUTSTANDING NEW NEW ZEALAND PLAY OF THE YEAR
Collapsing Creation - Arthur Meek
EAT WELLINGTON ACCOLADE FOR OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE
Miranda Harcourt - Biography Of My Skin
ST JAMES THEATRE CHARITABLE TRUST ACCOLADE FOR OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE
Geraldine Brophy - Blood Wedding
CHAPMAN TRIPP AWARD FOR ACTRESS OF THE YEAR
Erin Banks - A Brief History Of Helen Of Troy
GAIL COWAN MANAGEMENT & ODD MANAGEMENT AWARD FOR ACTOR OF THE YEAR
Jed Brophy - The Blackening
THE MUSEUM HOTEL AWARD FOR DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR
Joint winners:
Leo Gene Peters - Death And The Dreamlife Of Elephants
Tim Spite - Biography Of My Skin
CHAPMAN TRIPP AWARD FOR PRODUCTION OF THE YEAR
Collapsing Creation – Downstage Theatre and Conditional Productions
This Other Life
Silo Theatre 2010
the ties that bind a family
the legacy of our ancestors
the dark shadow of the american dream
the infectious nature of optimism
the cataloguing of the human condition
the whole boy-hates-girl thing
THIS OTHER LIFE - JOURNEYS THROUGH EXISTENCE
9 March - 10 April THAT FACE by Polly Stenham. Direction by Shane Bosher. Featuring Andrew Grainger.
4 June - 3 July WHEN THE RAIN STOPS FALLING by Andrew Bovell. Direction by Shane Bosher. Featuring Alison Bruce and Jennifer Ludlam.
24 July - 14 August ASSASSINS by Stephen Sondheim & John Weidman. Direction by Oliver Driver.
20 August - 18 September HAPPY DAYS by Samuel Beckett. Direction by Michael Hurst. Featuring Cameron Rhodes.
24 September - 16 October THOM PAIN [based on nothing]. Diretion by Peter Elliot. Featuring Oliver Driver.
26 November - 18 December GLORIUS. Direction by Shane Bosher.
For further information see www.silotheatre.co.nz.