KEY POINTS:
This year will be my Year of Theatre Design because looking back over the past 12 months, design contributed greatly to my most memorable moments, for the right and wrong reasons.
Excellent professional theatre should be a seamless combination of play-writing, performance and design elements. And in a world of high-definition graphics and music-on-the-go, the elements of set, costume, lighting and score/soundscape need to work hard. Design can't just be well-crafted - it must help to tell the story. Getting the balance right is difficult.
An early highlight was This is How it Goes at the Silo Theatre in February. With Neil LaBute's firecracker script, strong direction from Jeff Szusterman, finely balanced performances from Mark Ruka, Sara Wiseman and Roy Snow, and pitch-perfect set and costumes by Simon Coleman and Elizabeth Whiting, it was a visceral experience no other medium could match.
In the same month, I was charmed by Pandemonium Theatre's Black Ice which paired experienced theatre practitioners with high-school graduates, giving them the chance to experience a professional theatre process.
While the performers were amateur they never outstayed their welcome and John Verryt's superior production design skills added greatly to the creation of a vivid fairy tale that was a refreshing tonic to muggy, everyday Auckland.
It has been a busy year for Verryt, who designed a number of shows for the Auckland Theatre Company and the Silo, including Twelfth Night, Gliding On and the up-sized Badjelly the Witch. In November he took his theatre career to a new level by designing and directing the cabaret Berlin, which is now playing to sell-out audiences at the Silo.
Also from the Silo, I enjoyed The Jungle for its X-rated script and fine performances from Jodie Rimmer, David Aston, Phil Brown and Eryn Wilson, and Take Me Out for its great balance of incredible writing, engaging performances and solid design.
From mid-year onwards three Auckland Theatre Company shows couldn't have been more different from each other. The Blonde, The Brunette and The Vengeful Redhead, a one-woman show penned by an Australian; The Ocean Star, a new Kiwi comic drama written by Michael Galvin for four performers; and Sweet Charity, a big-cast Broadway musical still playing at Sky City.
While very different, all three shows were notable for performances from cast members. Kerry Fox was a standout in The Blonde, Greg Johnson was touching in The Ocean Star, and Jackie Clarke is singing and dancing up a storm in Sweet Charity.
Not so enjoyable were the design elements and I am on the record as being dissatisfied with aspects of all three productions. As Auckland's leading professional theatre it is vital that Auckland Theatre Company shows leadership in all aspects of theatre craft and storytelling, especially as next year's programme hints at grander aspirations.
In what may be a controversial choice, I am picking The Holy Sinner as my show of the year. It might not have quite cracked the play-writing, performance and design combination, but it was unforgettable with directors Marie Adams and Mike Mizrahi delivering on their promise of an awe-inspiring and visually stunning experience.
The Holy Sinner was part of the International Festival in Wellington where it provoked a storm of vociferous criticism for its glossy good looks. It featured the lighting design of Bryan Caldwell - as he is my husband, I am no doubt leaving myself open to criticisms of nepotism by picking it as my show of the year.
In advance of any complaints, let me point out that I have just disclosed my potential conflict of interest and more relevantly, other critics agree that Caldwell's work for The Holy Sinner was memorable and have nominated him for a Chapman Tripp award with the set designer Grant Major.
Some might think it a shame to choose a work staged in Wellington as the show of the year but The Holy Sinner was created in Auckland with plenty of Auckland talent and, of course, many Aucklanders travelled to Wellington for the festival.
With the Silo and ATC exporting shows to Wellington and around the country, and actors and designers travelling to different cities to work, regional theatre boundaries are blurring. No matter where the actor, director, playwright or designer hails from, high standards of professionalism are needed to ensure theatre thrives in New Zealand. As an ephemeral art form, it needs a balance of performance and production values to live on in the audience's hearts and minds.
