The Auckland Arts Festival is back for 2023, with dozens of events across Tāmaki Makaurau running until March 26. For reviews on the big theatre performances hitting the stages across the festival, check back here for insights from the New Zealand Herald team - proud supporters of the Auckland Arts
Auckland Arts Festival 2023: The Unruly Tourists and other theatrical highlights from the festival
Jennifer Ward-Lealand, left, William Kelly, Josha Cramond and Frith Horan as titular tourists in NZ Opera's The Unruly Tourists. Photo / Andi Crown
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While the text is obviously geared in sympathy towards the family - dropping some of the less forgivable parts of the story, such as the roofing scam that saw one member of the group flee the country on a false passport - it is a welcome turning of the tables to give them a voice and explore what it’s like when feeling the rage from the team of 5 million at once.
Part of the humanisation comes through Ebony Andrew as Manaia, a journalist struggling to stand out and tell the stories she wants, who breaks the story and becomes sucked into the public outrage. Andrew makes for a compelling focal point, and while pegging the whole event on one journalist feels like a way of excusing some of the public vitriol as a media masterplan - and it’s best avoided getting into this outsider reading of modern media culture - she sells Manaia’s internal conflict while providing a grounded centre to the over-the-top elements of the rest of the story.
The Unruly Tourists excels at drastically exaggerating an already overexaggerated event. Every local tic and quirk that we love mocking ourselves over is taken to new heights here, starting with the opening scene where the tourists are grilled immediately about what they like about New Zealand, building towards the standout moment where Phil Goff sings about wanting the family hung and quartered, in a moment where the audience is encouraged to participate in calling for deportation.
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The finer details of the costuming and staging help heighten the opera’s themes of othering. The chorus wears bright blue Kiwi hats throughout - occasionally with the addition of mayoral chains or judicial grandeur - to differentiate Manaia and the family further. It all unfolds in the round with much of the audience seated at tables amongst the performers, keeping the audience at the centre so that we all remain in a way complicit in how the family were treated.
This is a production that became dogged with controversy last year, after members of the NZ Opera board quit in protest at the existence of this comic opera. And while The Unruly Tourists feels more comparable to the Les Miserables style of musical theatre than it does to Mozart, commissioning this piece is by far the smartest thing NZ Opera has done in years. There is a limited shelf life to a work so heavy on references like this, but this smart, fresh and outstandingly funny show is bound to bring in new audiences who are happy to laugh at themselves, and the production values, sharp writing, and gorgeous music and vocals will hopefully convert the crowds from cultural tourists into full-blown natives.
The Unruly Tourists is on until March 26th at the Bruce Mason Centre. Reviewed by Ethan Sills
The Picture of Dorian Gray
Everyone knows the story Dorian Gray. Oscar Wilde’s 1891 novel is likely amongst the most adapted, reimagined and referenced works from in the English language, to the point that even if you are not a scholar of Victorian literature, you will be familiar with the story of the boy who sold his soul for beauty, and the portrait that hangs in his attic.
You will have never seen it quite like this though. The Picture of Dorian Gray, brought to the Auckland Arts Festival direct from the Sydney Theatre Company, is a dazzling, mesmerising production, a one-act wonder that can only be seen to be believed. Director Kip Williams had crafted the most meticulous and meta-theatrical show you could find, shaped entirely around actor Eryn Jean Norvill, who has the mighty task of performing all 26 characters in the show.
It may sound like a gimmick, but set aside any expectations you have about what a one-person show can be. This production constantly challenges its own limitations and your expectations in a multi-media show that unfolds with military precision, full of endless surprises that makes full use of the Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre stage in a way no production has before.
There are so many elements of the production worth talking about, from the use of cameras and screens, to the ever-present role of the behind-the-scenes crew that removes all pretence of a fourth wall. Yet what Williams and his team have created is best experienced with limited knowledge of what is to come.
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Instead, let’s talk about Norvill, as this show is truly all about her. It would be doing her a disservice to describe the Australian actress’ performance as anything other than legendary. She brings every single character to life, no matter how briefly they are on stage or through what medium they appear, with such ease and skill that it is impossible to look away. While her Dorian gets the most attention – taking him from doe-eyed youth to haunted older man – she finds the humour, sadness and humanity in all the major players, moving with such singularity through the whole show that there is never a moment she is not present in some capacity.
It is thanks to her and the ingenuity of this production that you will be left thinking about The Picture of Dorian Gray for days after. This show sets a new benchmark for what one-person shows can achieve, and don’t be surprised to see its influence on the theatrical world linger for years to come.
The Picture of Dorian Gray is on at the Aotea Theatre until March 25. Reviewed by Ethan Sills
Samulnori!: The Power of K-Rhythm
The young performers behind Samulnori!, radiate delight at being able to share their take on traditional Korean performing arts.
The group of four drummers, one wind instrumentalist, and “the best dancer in Korea” Kim Suhyun make up the current version of Variety E-seo, originating from the Korea National University of Arts.
The title of the show itself, Samulnori!, is a Korean name for a quartet of percussionists, and this group’s way with rhythm is the focus of the show. Punters who covered their ears when the musicians appeared from behind the audience were potentially in for a hard time, as this was a show where a multitude of polyrhythmic beats dominated the late morning performance.
However, periods of calm and grace, were also presented and gratefully received after the excitement of the kkwaenggwari, jing, buk and janggu players putting everything they had into intense works like their version of a rurally originated Samdo Nongak Garak composition.
It’s no wonder that after giving their all, performers needed a few moments to catch their breath before explaining the meanings behind their treasured taonga.
Variety E-seo’s final flourish was a busy performance of a Pan Gut; a musical and dance combo that finds everybody on stage and many of the cast wearing sangmo (hats with a variety of different types of ribbon) that are fluttered and whipped into hypnotic patterns.
The percussion quartet are the beautiful, beating heart of Samulnori!, but Suhyan’s dance solo, and the excellently atonal wind instrument work of Kim Hyseoung added some extra flavour that a few more tastes of would have been delicious.
These fantastic ambassadors of Korean culture can stand strong and proud that they turned a slightly sleepy crowd into energetic enthusiasts caught up in the magic of the seeds Variety E-seo’s ancestors planted.
Samulnori!: The Power of K-Rhythm was performed at Q Theatre on March 26th. Reviewed by Shaun D Wilson.
Blanc de Blanc: Encore
The Spiegeltent is a staple of the Auckland Arts Festival, and one that’s been sorely missed during the years of Covid cancellations and disruptions. It is thankfully back dominating Aotea Square once again, with a wonderful spot of fun for this year’s residency.
Strut and Fret’s French-inspired cabaret, Blanc de Blanc, ruled the Spiegeltent during the 2019 festival, and they are back with their Encore performance.
There was a certain degree of trepidation on my part heading to the opening performance. The original performance is not one I remember fondly – in my 2019 review, I compared it to a cheap bottle of plonk over the champagne dreams the show was trying to invoke – so its return was not something I was rushing to the box office for.
Four years on though, and Blanc de Blanc: Encore is a completely different experience. This refreshed sequel is a smoother, more structured and significantly sillier show that better sells the sexiness the first one tried for.
Our bumbling MC duo of Felix and Remi open the show with an extended wardrobe malfunction bit that sets the tone for the self-flagellation to come. The two are the glue that makes this show work – their willingness to put every part of their bodies (and I do mean every part) on the line ensures there’s a relaxed atmosphere throughout, and only serves to heighten the main performances when they come.
There are some stunning set-pieces as part of the show, including breathtaking aerial stunts, a mesmerising hula hoop performance and song and dance numbers that spotlight raw talent and daft comedy in a perfect blend.
It’s the willingness to be self-deprecating that makes Blanc de Blanc: Encore such a success. Whereas its predecessor fixated on selling sexiness, Encore makes sexiness the butt of the joke – sometimes literally – for an entrancing mix of circus stunts and R-rated comedy that never fails to entertain.
Blanc de Blanc: Encore is on until March 26. Reviewed by Ethan Sills.
Rupi Kaur
Rupi Kaur graced the Auckland Town Hall stage radiating positive energy with a flair that only a woman whose been told many times they can’t do something, does.
The sold out crowd cheered as she laid down the rules of the night. If something resonates with you, scream it.
And boy, was there noise.
A poet, artist and performer. Kaur provides a fresh take as a voice of this generation - bringing the bygone medium of verse to the forefront by using contemporary means like social media and the vocabulary of a millennial.
Although you’re sat amongst a sea of women, and boyfriends who’ve been dragged along, it feels like you’re meeting a friend over a brunch.
She tells you that boy is trash, you’re better than who you think you are, and let’s you know you’re not alone - even on the days you feel like the darkness of the world could swallow you whole.
If the Auckland crowd is anything to go by, she’s managed to do what many of our high school English teachers could not: make poetry cool again.
She performs some of her work to dutifully selected tracks. One sounds like she’s entered a Destiny’s Child music video bringing the nostalgia of your 20s with it.
Kaur also makes her Punjabi-Sikh heritage known and the resilience that comes with it. Her tribute to her immigrant parents made one audience member stand in solidarity - a salute to their shared upbringings no doubt.
The journey through loss, love, and friendship has you completely enthralled from beginning to end. A tear, a laugh, and cheeky grin. Kaur’s ability to echo what you’ve felt but haven’t been able to describe makes you feel seen, heard, and appreciated.
Rupi Kaur performed at the Auckland Town Hall on March 24th. Reviewed by Chelsea Daniels.
Skyduck: A Chinese Spy Comedy
Sam Wang’s chaotic but delightful bilingual one-man exploration of ‘90s geopolitics and action films is a lot to take in, but worth the ride. Wang expands the world he began a decade ago at his 20-minute Toi Whakaari drama school graduation show with gusto, a plethora of props and screens, as well as a delight in song and explosions.
A multitude of characters are deployed by Wang, most engaged in either espionage or military duty, working either with or against each other. Wang’s birthplace China, his chosen home Australia, Japan and the US (provider of much of his pop culture reference material) are all represented and get time to shine on stage.
The basic plot is semi-incomprehensible and somehow also relatively simple, in the fine tradition of many a big blockbuster. All of it boils down to various attempts to retain or obtain the famed Skyduck flight simulator, which could help boost the nation that holds the device’s military prowess. By convincing the audience that the agents can meaningfully match The Matrix’s bullet-time manoeuvre, they even manage to shrink down into dolls and interact with computer code. Eventually, the plot of the bad-dream drama Inception is invoked, when the spies escape our physical plane.
The team behind Skyduck finds small, brilliant ways to expand the world of what is essentially one man, with a decent amount of clutter, on a small stage. A couple of Transformers-like main props, with a few simple adjustments, can tell the audience that Wang is now another character, or in a completely different place dreaming of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.
The screens on the Skyhawk and projected behind Wang are bursting with information, letting the viewer know where in this anachronistic ‘90s we have just landed. They also add dimension to the stage by showing close-ups of Wang piloting his flight simulator via an onboard camera.
Some may find that with all that information on display, surtitles to translate characters Captain Yan and Agent Chang’s Mandarin dialogue end up slightly unclear, but, for many, the cavalcade of information will just add to the technicolour theme-park-ride feel of this rollicking good time.
Skyduck is on at the Herald Theatre until March 19. Reviewed by Shaun D Wilson.
The Savage Coloniser Show
Every few years in New Zealand theatre, a show comes along that is a true must-see – a work that, if you miss it, you are going to endure years of people talking about how great it was while you kick yourself for not being part of that experience.
Wild Dogs Under My Skirt is the most recent example of that for me. The 2019 adaptation of Tusiata Avia’s poetry collection is spoken of with such awe and reverence that it’s impossible not to feel regret whenever it is mentioned. The reputation of its predecessor made The Savage Coloniser Show a can’t-miss experience as soon as it was announced for this year’s Auckland Arts Festival.
Adapting Avia’s 2020 collection, and reuniting with director Anapela Polata’ivao and producer Victor Rodger from Wild Dogs, this new work lives up to its name: a savage, unrelenting fight against racism, colonialism, and New Zealand’s selective approach to outrage and our history.
This show is all about its words and performance. The simple set features just seven chairs with pig hunting knives strapped to their backs, placed behind a white cloth curtain that serves as a screen for the show’s projections. The seven performers, including former Shortland Street performer-turned-Hollywood actress Frankie Adams, are the focus, taking turns addressing the audience as the play moves between Avia’s poems, commenting on everything from James Cook to Judith Collins, the New Zealand Wars to the March 15 mosque massacres.
Each poem brings a different set-up, different tone, a different method of performance. Some discuss genocide before segueing into comedic critiques of being “othered” at parties. Whether the scene is comedic or confrontational, the actors beautifully deliver every subtly choreographed moment.
The 2019 Christchurch terror attacks are as much at the heart of this work as colonialism is, using the country’s response to that tragedy to critique our unwillingness to address the crimes of our settlers and early politicians and their lasting legacy. It is a perspective that challenges you as a white audience member to reconsider the scope of New Zealand’s history. I did feel uncomfortable when the comparisons between historic and recent tragedies were first made, but Avia’s work has such an unflinching point of view, delivered with such bluntness in its words, such charm and emotion by the astounding cast, and so well-constructed by the creative team, that by the haunting final moments, the show’s argument is undeniable.
The Savage Coloniser Show was reduced to a political attack point before its premiere, picked over by the likes of ACT leader David Seymour for its views on white people and James Cook’s legacy, but that surface-level, out-of-context reading does little to represent the full scope of this powerful, confronting, and often bleakly funny show from a viewpoint rarely given such a stage. By the end of the 70-minute runtime, Avia and the actors sell such a bold take on New Zealand’s past that if you walk away feeling offended by the content, you may have to accept that they are talking about you.
The Savage Coloniser Show was on at Q Theatre. Reviewed by Ethan Sills.
