Theatre review: A Stab in the Dark, Little Shop of Horrors - Auckland Arts Festival

Hayley Sproull during the recording of Little Shop of Horrors. Photo / Silo Theatre, Auckland Arts Festival and Jumpboard Productions

The Auckland Arts Festival has been one of the unluckiest in the country over the past two years – their 2022 festival is the third in the row to be disrupted by Covid outbreaks, and you can only imagine the heartbreak and despair caused by such constant, ongoing interruptions.

All festivals can learn from their experiences, though, and after the previous interruptions, AAF has been one of the few festivals to have digital offerings waiting to go in case of an outbreak. And while digital can never replace the live experience, it's a far better alternative than nothing.

It would have been a complete shame if A Stab in the Dark had gone completely unseen. The latest work from Nightsong and creatives Carl Bland and Ben Crowder, this innovative show stars Joel Toebeck as doppelgangers John and Warren, and follows the tense and confounding events that occur when they meet each other.

Joel Toebeck, right, faces off with a puppet police officer. Photo / Supplied.

With a circular, multipurpose wall as the main set piece, the play throws numerous elements together – projection, dual characters, narration, animation and, most notably, an oversized policeman puppet as the play's central secondary character, trying to understand what's unfolding.

The level of innovation and creativity on display is exactly what people have come to expect from Nightsong, and it translates well enough on camera thanks to the digital elements already worked into the production. It's a shame audiences can't yet see these incredible puppets and props in person yet, but the digital premiere offers a nice teaser of what to expect.

The technical elements are the play's major assets, alongside Tobeck's wonderful performance, built on numerous subtle shifts between his two characters. The plot, while tightly crafted with numerous twists and small developments, annoyingly lags near the end when the puppets and props take a back seat – hopefully the eventual live premiere can tighten up the story to keep the pacing alive.

Barnie Duncan produces live sound effects during Little Shop of Horror. Photo / Silo Theatre, Auckland Arts Festival and Jumpboard Productions

One of the festival's other major digital offerings is Silo Theatre and Live Live Cinema's lockdown edition of Little Shop of Horrors. This extreme production, directed by Oliver Driver sees four performers – Hayley Sproull, Bryan Coll, Duncan Barnie and Laughton Kora – redub the 1960 film (no, this isn't the musical version!) from the comfort of their respective homes for one 90-minute take.

Live Live Cinema is audacious enough at the best of times, but the scale involved in staging this in separate rooms has to be seen to be believed. The film barely registers as you watch in awe as these performers pull off the impossible, dubbing multiple characters, playing instruments and creating their own homemade sound effects in perfect harmony.

No part ever suffers for the wider product – the music is catchy and entertaining, the sound effects are hilarious for the sheer novelty of seeing them being done live, and the seamless switching between numerous characters is done flawlessly. It's hard to pick a favourite there, but Sproull's very Kiwi New York waitress near the end was a personal highlight.

The talents of all involved are mesmerising, and while it will never replace the real thing, being captured so intimately for digital highlights the magic of theatre and the passion that goes into making these projects come alive.

What:
A Stab in the Dark & The Little Shop of Horrors - Lockdown Edition, presented by the Auckland Arts Festival.
Little Shop of Horrors is screening online until March 27. You can get tickets here