KEY POINTS:
My Name Is Gary Cooper
Venue: Maidment Theatre, 8 Alfred St, ph 308 2383
Season ends: Oct 13
Playwright Victor Rodger has crafted an elegant revenge drama based around the 1953 movie Return to Paradise that had Gary Cooper - then one of America's hottest stars - filming a movie in a remote Samoan village. The play creates a platform for a Pacific Island voice that can speak back to an industry that carelessly uses romanticised visions of island life with scant regard for the diverse ways in which its visitations impact on the local population.
Robbie Magasiva plays a Samoan character named Gary Cooper after his mother entered into an ill-fated liaison with a member of the film crew. He effortlessly commands the stage and seems to be enjoying a role that allows him to knowingly toy with the sex-symbol status that is shamelessly exploited in the marketing of the play. The gritty realism of the Samoan perspective is convincingly brought home by Anapela Polataivao's portrayal of a hardcase prostitute. Nora Aati gives a moving performance as Gary Cooper's mother; Goretti Chadwick is engaging as a film studies student, and Jennifer Ward-Lealand gives a nuanced sketch of a fading starlet in a loveless marriage. The play moves beyond the familiar Samoan stereotypes and greatly extends the range of Pacific Island writing. Paul Simei-Barton
River Magic
Centrestage Theatre, Orewa, Sep 28 & 29, ph (09) 426 7282
The Real Thing
Silo Theatre, Lower Greys Ave, to Sep 29, tickets at Ticketmaster
Serial Killers
Titirangi Theatre, Lopdell House, to Sep 29, ph 817 7658
Murder by Chocolate
Herald Theatre, Aotea Centre, to Sep 29, tickets at Ticketek
Kids' 24 Hours Deadline Theatre
Herald Theatre, Sep 30, tickets at Ticketek
Rumpelstiltskin
Bruce Mason Centre, Takapuna, Oct 1-5, tickets at Ticketmaster
The Tale of Peter Rabbit and Benjamin Bunny
Playhouse Theatre, Glen Eden, Oct 1-6, tickets at iTicket
Hair
Westpoint Performing Arts Centre, Oct 3-Oct 20, tickets at iTicket
Les Miserables
Raye Freeman Arts Centre, Silver Rd, Epsom, Oct 4-6, tickets at iTicket
Grandma McGarvey and Grandpa's Slippers
The PumpHouse, Takapuna, to Oct 6, ph 489 8360
The Cut
Silo Theatre, Lower Greys Ave, Oct 10-Nov 3, tickets at Ticketmaster
The Taming of the Shrew
Musgrove Studio, 8 Alfred St, Oct 11-Oct 20, ph 308 2383
The Terrace
Centennial Theatre, Auckland Grammar School, Epsom, Oct 12-Oct 14, ph 0274 864 300
