Tim Bain

When writing reviews or your thoughts on a piece of theatre you sometimes feel like you are repeating yourself, every review you must say if a show was either good or bad, you try to justify it, you can even talk about the entire show. Saving Grace is different, different because how does one write a review about a show when around every corner there is a twist? A change in tact? When everything you thought you knew changes from the start to the end!? I am going to say it, but writing this review is probably just as hard as marketing this show would be as all that can really be said about it is that an unlikely friendship forms between a street kid with a chip on her shoulder and a lonely unemployed carpenter. And from there two hours of 'stuff' begins.

There comes a point in every show where you make the decision if you like it or not, sometimes it could be half way, others it could be five minutes in (as bad as that is, it happens), but in most cases though it is at the end after you have talked about it, thought about it and reflected. This was not the case with Home Land. Within the first opening lines my choice was made and I was spot on for the entire show. This is the show to beat for any Director in 2010 for two reasons, the understanding of the script and the understanding of the playwrights intentions.

HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL will close on 2/21 at Canterbury Children's Theatre.

There just seems to be no escaping Wildcat fever and this February is no different for Christchurch as Canterbury Children's Theatre is really upping the anti with the Christchurch Premiere of the Disney smash, High School Musical 2.

There just seems to be no escaping Wildcat fever and this February is no different for Christchurch as Canterbury Children's Theatre is really upping the anti with the Christchurch Premiere of the Disney smash, High School Musical 2.

The final performance of 2009 year for the Court Jesters and what utter perfection is was. For those over the globe who don't know what Scared Scriptless is, let me explain. For nineteen years a 'troupe' of improvisers create and delight each and every Friday for their audience scenes made up out of thin-air. Simple in concept, but this show is no little hum-drum-tiny-out-the-back of a shady bar affair. These are improvisers at the top of their game in New Zealand. This is a show which has added shows on a Saturday night to keep up demand, it always sells out it 'usual' home of The Forge and this year as even filled to just under 300 people a per show some of the weeks.

Anything Goes is the show that every company in the world has staged or will stage during their time. It's constantly put on by High Schools. Amateur companies. It's been revived. It's referenced and parodied in modern day pop culture. Family Guy. Summer Heights High and now, The Court Theatre in Christchurch is staging their concept of one of the 'greatest musical comedies of all time' to what can be described as the best it can possibly be.

There comes a time when you just want to sit back and enjoy a show and Divine Divas had promise, a lavish, full-scale show which pays tribute to all the great Diva's of the past several decades. It described itself as a Las Vegas style show. It described itself as a grand night out. It described itself as an Un-Boy-lievable experience. I describe it as self indulgent fun for the performers not the audience and shouldn't the audience be the ones having just as much fun as the ones on stage?

And so we have it, the final scripted performance for The Forge in 2009. Backstage is the performance which puts actors on a stage and lets the be as big, brash, bolshy and over the top as they possibly can be and what a treat it is.