Glenda Pearce

What did our critic think of CALL GIRLS BY JAMES CARRICK at THE PUMPHOUSE Theatre, Takapuna, Auckland?

Prepare to be entirely entertained and amused yourself when you take the young ones along to see Tim Bray’s hilarious holiday production, Mrs Wishy-Washy.  Well-respected Auckland’s leading theatre for children and for ingenious interpretation, this is yet again imaginative theatre at its finest. In fact, it’s quite simply genius!

Looking for family theatre – for the July holidays – this is definitely worth investigating. Get along on this exciting journey! Even if you’re not usually live theatre goers, this latest treat at HOWICK LITTLE THEATRE will definitely appeal to school aged children, parents and grandparents… and it’s educational too.

What did our critic think of FIVE GO ON AN ADVENTURE at Pumphouse Theatre, Auckland?

What did our critic think of AURELIA at Howick Little THEATRE?

What did our critic think of GRAND HORIZONS at HOWICK LITTLE THEATRE? 50 years – it’s a milestone in any marriage! Thousands of meals eaten together, years of dealing with everything marriage, cohabitation and parenthood can throw at you … Superbly directed with expertise by Penel Keegan with her eye for precision in detail, timing and well-crafted staging, Excellent from the entire cast with all the characters  played with physical and psychological truth, motivational credibility, well-shaped dialogue, and vivid facial expression.

In the race to become chief, this gripping family saga explores the way of fa’a sāmoa in a modern world. The Auckland premiere of the darkly comic O le Pepelo, le Gaoi, ma le Pala’ai | The Liar, the Thief, and the Coward by Natano Keni and Sarita So plays at the ASB Waterfront Theatre 5 – 23 March as part of the 2024 Auckland Arts Festival.

Exploring identity, family, and desire, AIGA is a show that ebbs, flows, dips forward into the wicked and tilts back toward the heavenly as we traverse through the experience of Lusi's beautiful and complex life story. Using music, movement and dramedy AIGA chronologically captures Lusi’s life from youth into adulthood, from 1960's Samoa, to the warrior that we bear witness to today.

What did our critic think of HYPERSPACE at ASB Waterfront Theatre, Auckland?

What did our critic think of MEASURE FOR MEASURE at Shoreside Theatre, Pumphouse Theatre? What makes any Shakespeare production superb is the director’s ability to recognise the themes within Shakespeare’s text - his extraordinary ability to bring his characters to life by a turn of phrase, a pun, the looks they share, by a breath they take, by the pause they make, the jokes they make.

What did our critic think of A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM at Shoreside Theatre, Pumphouse Theatre? It’s the second night of the Shoreside’s 28th Summer Shakespeare in the Park  – and indeed,  it’s an ideally warm midsummer evening with clear skies and stars – and an enthusiastic audience awaits -  filled with anticipation.

Auckland Theatre Company and Te Pou Theatre are absolutely pumped to present the world premiere of Hyperspace by Albert Belz. Winner of the 2023 Adam NZ Play Award, Hyperspace is a sequel to Albert Belz’s much-loved Astroman, presented in 2019 and directed by Tainui Tukiwaho. So kitsch it’s cool – a ’90s homage to all the dance movies ever made.

Move, move, shake, shake, now drop – Strictly Brown is a new clique on the block and they're here to bring the heat! Pring It On is a parody of the popular American cheerleading film, Bring It On (2000). Set against the backdrop of Polyfest, the story shines lights on the behind the scenes dramas of preparing for the world’s largest Secondary School’s Pacific Dance Festival.

Superbly and expertly directed by the highly experienced Julia Leathwick, REHEARSAL FOR MURDER  is a deliciously dramatic delight, especially for anyone associated with the real world of theatre. It’s everything we love about the classic WHODUNNIT – a range of possible “theatrical” characters all with motives, a slowly unfolding plot which is presented with flair, and precisely executed staging and lighting.

What did our critic think of OLD LOVE at HOWICK LITTLE THEATRE?

What did our critic think of MISERY at Dolphin Theatre, Auckland?

What did our critic think of THE TWITS at THe PUMPHOUSE Theatre, Takapuna, Auckland?

ÉMILIE by Sophie Lindsay is a new, high-energy, comedy-drama, filled with original music performed live and larger than life characters.

Bunga’s Paradise is ‘Isope’s search for what Utopia could look or feel like for Pasifika, it is also a challenge to the Aotearoa we currently live in. It’s his attempt to envision and hope for a new world. It is contemporary dance, it is theatre, it is an endurance work and most importantly it is Tongan. 

What did our critic think of WAIT UNTIL DARK at Howick Little Theatre?