Tag: theatre

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Auckland Theatre Company’s 2027 Season

John Daly-Peoples

Cameron Rhodes as Poirot

Auckland Theatre Company 2027 Season

John Daly-Peoples

Auckland Theatre Company has just announced its 2027 season, with eight plays that run the full gamut of the theatrical experience. There are twists on beloved classics, a world-class psychological thriller, a picture of end-stage capitalism and a portrait of an unlikely but real man.

Alongside productions of audience favourites – Agatha Christie’s Death on the Nile, Twelfth Night and The King’s Speech – are exciting new works by New Zealand playwrights, including two world premieres by Arts Foundation Laureate Victor Rodger ONZM and many of New Zealand’s talented storytellers and theatre-makers back to the Company – Anapela Polata’ivao ONZM, Cameron Rhodes, Jennifer Ward-Lealand CNZM, and Michael Hurst ONZM.

“The nature of theatre is the gathering of people in the dark to enter a world created by artists. Spectators may learn, be challenged, be entertained. It could be all three,” says Auckland Theatre Company Artistic Director and CEO Jonathan Bielski. “Each show is made with aroha and manaaki by the actors, playwrights, creatives, builders and stitchers, crews and staff of Auckland Theatre Company. Each is a gift to you, our audience of theatre-lovers.”

MISERY

26 JAN — 20 FEB

By William Goldman

Based on the novel by Stephen King

In this isolated, snow-gripped cabin of 1987, there’s nowhere to run and nowhere to hide.

From the King of Horror, Misery is the ultimate psychological thriller: a tense game of cat and mouse between writer and reader, patient and nurse, fan and celebrity. From page to screen to stage, Misery brings two of New Zealand’s most recognisable actors, Michael Hurst ONZM and Morgana O’Reilly, together to play the roles made famous by James Caan and Kathy Bates.

She’s his number one fan. He’s living a writer’s nightmare. This ice-cold plunge into Stephen King’s twisted mind, directed by Simon Bennett.

THE BOY FROM VAIALA
2 – 14 MAR
By Victor Rodger

Victor Rodger ONZM has written an affectionate love letter to his highly unlikely but utterly fabulous Uncle Pasi, Pasi Daniells Silva – father of three, maître d’ to the stars and founder of an iconic drag bar.

As Pasi approaches his 90th birthday, his nephew Levi presses him for stories from a life that has sashayed from Vaiala to Vegas, Hawai’i to Wellington. Full of sass and wit, featuring Grindr and God, this biography doesn’t shy away from the darker side of the mirror ball.

Directed by Anapela Polata’ivao ONZM and starring Semu Filipo as Pasi, this celebrates one of the most unlikely Samoan men of his generation.

A collaboration between Auckland Theatre Company, FCC, Te Ahurei Toi o Tāmaki Auckland Arts Festival and Creative New Zealand’s Festival Commissioning & Presentation Fund, managed by PANNZ.

THE KING’S SPEECH

6 APR – 2 MAY

By David Seidler

London, 1936. Albert must step forward and save his family. The Windsors are caught in a constitutional crisis as World War II looms. This is the inspiring story of how a man found a voice, got the words out – and saved a nation. Ryan O’Kane (Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express) stars as Bertie, the king who stutters, alongside Wesley Dowdell (North by Northwest) as speech therapist Lionel Logue.

Inspired by David Seidler’s experiences as a child with a stutter, the film won four Academy Awards, and the West End production was a four-star hit. Benjamin Kilby-Henson directs the production, which had an extended sell-out season at The Court Theatre in Christchurch.

Auckland Theatre Company presents a production by The Court Theatre. By special arrangement with Music Theatre International (Australasia).

HELEN CLARK IN SIX OUTFITS
14 – 30 MAY

By Fiona Samuel

The sold-out satire of gender and power was a talk of the town in 2026 – and now it’s back for another term. Fiona Samuel MNZM retraces the remarkable journey of a Waikato farm girl who became New Zealand’s first elected female Prime Minister and a global voice through her work at the United Nations and beyond.

Jennifer Ward-Lealand CNZM plays Helen the Elder, with Lauren Gibson as Helen the Younger, as they deconstruct her public image and private self through six outfits. The play examines social expectations, private compromises and public masks – and asks: if Helen Clark broke the glass ceiling, where are we now?

Last year NZ Art Review wrote about the play – “Helen Clark in Six Outfits uses the notion of tracking Helen Clark’s career through reference to the clothing she wore at various stages of her life. It is a concept which even the stage version of Clark rejects going on a rant about how she has always been judged by appearance – her hair, her teeth, her voice and her marriage. All those notions which are rarely used to demean male parliamentarians.

The play traces the life of Helen Clark from school kid through to the present as she climbs both the academic and the parliamentary ladders to her unsuccessful bid at becoming the Secretary General of the UN.

Along the way we/she remembers the fluctuating fortunes of National and Labour governments as well as encountering the major political figures of the time – Phil Goff, Jim Anderton, David Lange, Jonathan Hunt, Jenny Shipley, Judith Tizard and even Winston Peters -is he still alive.”

SENSE AND SENSIBILITY

13 JUL – 1 AUG

By Jane Austen and Penny Ashton

When Elinor and Marianne Dashwood are rudely evicted from their childhood home after their father dies, their brother inherits everything – leaving romance their only route out of ruin. But should heart or head rule who takes their hand?

New Zealand playwright Penny Ashton gives Jane Austen’s iconic novel a uniquely theatrical spin, packed with her trademark mischief. An ensemble of six women, including Bronwyn Ensor (Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express),Lisa Chappell (Fallen Angels) and Jackie Clarke MNZM (Jackie Goes Prima Diva) play all 24 characters. Directed by Margaret-Mary Hollins, expect frocks, feminism, spice, hilarity and bold physical storytelling.

BECOMING JEFF BEZOS 

20 JUL – 15 AUG

By Alex Medland

A young woman idealises the Amazon-founding billionaire so much that she’s changed her name. She’s tracking down someone who has lived in the Southern Alps for 30 years and is very keen to keep her location secret from the government. When they meet in a dystopian New Zealand, the culture clash couldn’t be worse – and the whisky doesn’t help.

Nī Dekkers-Reihana (Tiri: Te Araroa Woman Far Walking) and Nicola Kāwana (North by Northwest) star in this premiere by Alex Medland, the youngest-ever winner of the Adam New Zealand Play Award, directed by Jason Te Kare (Scenes from a Climate Era). When you’ve opted out of the world, what does success look like? How do you survive when you’re neck-deep in the system?

TWELFTH NIGHT 

19 AUG – 29 AUG

By William Shakespeare

SPECIAL LIMITED SEASON 

When shipwrecked Viola washes ashore with nothing but the clothes she’s standing in and a twin brother, she’s certain has drowned, she reinvents herself as a young man, as you do. As love-letter-driven hijinks ensue, a second survivor of the shipwreck arrives, looking a lot like Viola. 

Created by a dynamic duo making their directing debuts with Auckland Theatre Company, Katrina George  and Miriama McDowell , the production drops Shakespeare’s classic into a glamorous modern-day Illyria. In this dazzling South Pacific resort, the sun never stops shining, and everyone is a little lonelier than they look.

Alongside the strictly limited season of this work are two weeks of performances just for schools, made possible by Woolf Fisher Trust and the Douglas Goodfellow Charitable Trust.

AGATHA CHRISTIE’S DEATH ON THE NILE

14 SEP – 10 OCT

Adapted for the stage by Ken Ludwig

After Murder on the Orient Express smashed every box-office record in Auckland Theatre Company’s books, the Company follows up with another mystery from Dame Agatha Christie, adapted by Ken Ludwig. In the searing heat of Egypt, a group of curious characters boards the steamer Karnak on the River Nile, little knowing their cruise will be beset by murder and mayhem. Famous Belgian detective Hercule Poirot must investigate every passenger, unravelling romantic tensions, old rivalries and the influence of a spooky sarcophagus.

Cameron Rhodes returns as Poirot, leading a cast of 11 in this lush, sweeping and cinematic New Zealand premiere, directed by Eleanor Bishop and designed by Tracy Grant Lord.

NZ Arts Review wrote about the previous Agatha Christie production  Murder on the Orient Express “The result is an actor’s piece to die for.  And this cast do more than just deliver.   The entire cast is let loose, projecting archetypes rather than convincing portrayals of real people.  Each character is distinct, their backgrounds are as varied as their accents and the ensemble functions as a singular unit predominantly by using that essence of great comedy – precision timing and the credibility of relationships between them.”

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The Royal New Zealand Ballet’s Sleeping Beauty tours New Zealand

Preview: John Daly-Peoples

The Sleeping Beauty

Royal New Zealand Ballet

Sleeping Beauty

In association with New Zealand Community Trust (NZCT)

29 Oct-Dec 20, 2026

The Royal New Zealand Ballet final ballet of its 2026 series invites audiences to enter a world of fairytale magic as Greg Horsman’s acclaimed production of The Sleeping Beauty returns for a nationwide tour from October to December 2026.

Celebrating the arrival of summer and the festive season, this spectacular production revives one of the Company’s most cherished works. Since its triumphant premiere in 2011, The Sleeping Beauty has become a favourite with audiences across Aotearoa, with more than 42,000 people experiencing its original nationwide tour. 

“It is wonderful for the Royal New Zealand Ballet to return to The Sleeping Beauty to bring our 2026 season to a close,” says Artistic Director Ty King-Wall. “Created for our company, Greg Horsman’s production is an evocative and respectful staging of one of the great ballets of the 19th century. We look forward to a new generation of dancers taking on these coveted roles as this much-loved story awakens once more.”

Set to Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s iconic score, The Sleeping Beauty tells the timeless story of Princess Aurora, whose destiny is altered by a wicked curse before true love awakens her from an enchanted sleep. Combining exquisite classical choreography with breathtaking theatrical design, this production offers an unforgettable ballet experience for audiences of every generation.

Greg Horsman’s elegant choreography honours the grandeur of the classical tradition while bringing warmth, humour and humanity to one of ballet’s greatest masterpieces. Richly detailed sets and costumes by acclaimed designer and former RNZB Artistic Director Gary Harris transport audiences into a storybook kingdom filled with glittering courts, enchanted forests and unforgettable fairytale characters.

Adding an unmistakably New Zealand touch, the production features magical elements created by Wellington’s Wētā Workshop, whose artistry brings an extra sense of wonder to Aurora’s enchanted world. Together with Jon Buswell’s atmospheric lighting design, the production creates a visually stunning theatrical experience that continues to captivate audiences more than a decade after its premiere.

Following its success with the RNZB in 2011, Horsman’s production travelled across the Tasman after the choreographer joined Queensland Ballet in 2012. Since then, it has been staged there several times to widespread critical and audience acclaim, cementing its reputation as one of the most beautiful contemporary interpretations of this enduring classic.

The 2026 tour will feature live orchestral accompaniment in Wellington, Christchurch and Auckland, with Hamish McKeich conducting. Performances in Wellington will be accompanied by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Christchurch performances by Christchurch Symphony Orchestra, and Auckland performances by Auckland Philharmonia. Performances in all other touring centres will be accompanied by a recording of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.

“We’re proud to support the Royal New Zealand Ballet as it brings this remarkable production to communities around the country,” says NZCT’s GM of Grants, Marketing and Communications, Ben Hodges. “The tour will give thousands of New Zealanders, including many living beyond the country’s main centres, the chance to experience the magic of world-class live ballet.”

Perfect for first-time ballet-goers, devoted dance lovers and families looking to share a magical experience together, The Sleeping Beauty is the ideal pre-Christmas outing. Overflowing with romance, adventure, dazzling dancing and unforgettable music, this much-loved production promises an afternoon or evening of enchantment for audiences of all ages.

PRODUCTION TEAM

Choreography: Greg Horsman
 

Music: Pyotr Tchaikovsky
 

Set and Costume Design: Gary Harris
 

Lighting Design: Jon Buswell
 

Conductor: Hamish McKeich

Live Orchestra 

Wellington: New Zealand Symphony Orchestra 

Christchurch: Christchurch Symphony Orchestra 

Auckland: Auckland Philharmonia 

* All other venues: Recorded performance by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra

TOUR SCHEDULE

Wellington: St James Theatre
29 October-7 November 2026

Christchurch: Isaac Theatre Royal
11–14 November 2026

Invercargill: Civic Theatre
18 November 2026

Dunedin: Regent Theatre
21-22 November 2026

Hamilton: BNZ Theatre 27-29 November

Auckland: Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre, Aotea Centre
3-12 December 2026

Palmerston North: Regent on Broadway
16 December 2026

Napier: Municipal Theatre
19-20 December 2026

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Cirque Alice full of elaborate acts and surprises

Reviewed by John Daly-Peoples

The Cirque Alice cast take their final bow

Cirque Alice

Civic Theatre, Auckland

August 28 – September 6

Reviewed by John Daly-Peoples

 My invitation to Cirque Alice said that the dress code for the event was A Touch of Wonderland, a request which quite a few people had taken up with several sequined jackets and dresses seated close to me and some children wearing their Frozen dresses. The Civic Theatre was at its best as well, with the winking stars and the occasional comet streaking across the ceiling of the theatre.  The theatre itself was flossed up with spotlights and laser light sparkling across the stage and audience, creating the setting for an extravagant evening. Then we were reminded of where we are and who we were to meet when the White Queen commanded us to ensure there was no flash photography or it would be “off with your head”.

Cirque du Soleil shows are always elaborate gymnastic displays, but they are always imbedded with a story or narrative which loosely holds all the characters and the events together.

The advertising for Cirque Alice said it was a reimagined Alice in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll’s classic tale of characters and adventures but like a lot of Cirque show after establishing the reason for being there the evening takes on a rather casual approach to the narrative. The characters are all immediately recognisable – Alice, White Rabbit and Mad Hatter but their adventures and exploits take you to another realm.

The show featured a lineup of some of the greatest circus and magic performers on earth – from America’s Got Talent: Fantasy League, and Cirque du Soleil the cast members were among the very best acrobatic, music and dance talent in the world.

The various acts were set to an enthralling soundtrack of newly arranged contemporary takes on some of the world’s favourite classical hits – Lakme, Swan Lake and Flight of the Bumble Bee while the costumes designed by Angele Aaron were stunning.

The March Hare and Alice

Alice (Layla Schillert) is on stage a lot of the time and with her brilliant soprano voice she wowed the audiencia with some captivating singing. There are even has a few sequences which have been taken for the book. So that when she drinks from an unlabelled bottle, she ends up fifteen metres above the stage with a vast train of a dress.

But it is the Mad Hatter (Darren “Dizzy” Partridge) who is the stand-out performer and one of the few characters who speaks to the audience He is the part magician who gets audience members on the stage. We also get quite a lot of The White Rabbit (Raphael Papo) playing his violin.

The various acts are cleverly structured so that there are spectacular acts where the audience holds its collective breath for several minutes along with acts which are just amazing for the dexterity of the performers as they create small, intimate, poetic moments.

The Caterpillar

One of these poetic more acts was The Caterpillar (Munkhjin Tuvd, Bayarmaa Ganbat, Shinechimeg Otgonbayar and Dolgorsuren Ganbold) where the four performers balance and intertwine with each other bodies creating extraordinary patterns and rhythms.

Then there were acts where you can’t really believe what someone is attempting. There have been many cabaret acts where performers balance a short platform on a ball, managing to keep their balance, but when The Dormouse (Daniel Onofre) starts to pile six tubes on top of each other your heart is in your mouth and then while he is wobbling on this pile of tubes, he introduced a couple of hula hoops which he threaded through his legs and body – ridiculously complicated.

The White King and White Queen (Mathieu and Myriam Lessard) wearing roller skates performed a duo, spinning around on top of a small circular stage and it looked a bit inelegant. Roller skating is pretty difficult at the best of times but the balancing and twirling that they engaged in started to seem impossible. Then when they began spinning with the King supporting the Queen with only a strip held between their two mouths the act became unbelievable and dangerous.

There were a couple of acts where the performers strength and skill was obvious. The Knights (Fadhili Rashidi and Ibrahim Mwaimise) walk around, climb steps and ladders all the time balancing each other on their heads. They did it all with such grace and ease that it makes you think it must be easy, until one of them nearly trips and you realise it’s not that easy.

A Cirque du Soleil show is always more than just entertainment. You get to see people whose skills are exceptional and whose acts are refined to the point that they transcend regular circus and acrobatic performances such as we regularly see the at the Auckland Festival. This is what years of practice, concentration and commitment can achieve.

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The Royal New Zealand Ballet’s stylish Winter Season

Reviewed by John Daly-Peoplea

Birthday Offering – Mayu Tanigaito and Laurynas Vejalis Image: Stephen A’Court

Royal New Zealand Ballet

Winter Season

Aotea Centre

July 23 – 25.

Reviewed by John Daly-Peoples.

The Royal New Zealand Ballet’s Winter Season featured a triple bill featuring and two contemporary ballets, and the premiere of Sir Frederick Ashton’s more classical, Birthday Offering.

Ashton was the principal architect of the “English style” of classical ballet and choreographed Birthday Offering in 1956 for The Royal Ballet’s 25th anniversary, Birthday Offering. The ballet was originally a tribute to fourteen of its premiere dancers which included New Zealand ballet legend Dame Rowena Jackson along with Dame Margot Fonteyn.

Danced to Alexander Glazunov’s waltzing music the work demands perfection and precision and that is what the dancers delivered.

The seven female dancers each danced sequences which displayed their various talents and took inspiration from the Glazunov score. One of the dancers performed like a clockwork Coppelia, another gave a display of gentle, relaxed limbs while another presented a more romantic approach.

The seven dancers handled all the intricacies of the dance with a calm serenity, all using their body, arms and legs expressively.

Their displays presented what amounted to a primer of modern classical dance which they performed with technical virtuosity and panache.

When the female dancers partnered with their male partners both dancers became more animated and expressive but there was not the engaging emotionalism one might have seen later– not the sort of dancing seen between Fonteyn and Nureyev

There were some stylish vignettes, there was elegance and beauty, but it was too formal with a lack of heart.

This was simple ballet staged cleanly and stylishly in colourful mid-length gowns (Kenneth Rowell) that bounced along to the spritely footwork.

Ultra Folly – Jemima Scott and Kirby Selchow Image: Stephen A’Court

Sarah Foster-Sproull’s Ultra Folly opened with the dancers appearing to communicate with each other using their own form of semaphore in a homage to the choreographer Crystal Pite. Then, dancing to La Folie, music from the seventeenth century but played by Jordi Savilo and Hyperion XXI, they displayed a range of engaging dance routines with sharp moves and gesturers, mirroring the music and exploring the notion of communication.

Their dancing took inspiration from a range of sources varying from the courtly dance of the seventieth century to Highland dance while at other times their dancing evolved from the chance encounter on the street to the meeting of two lovers.

Then there were the more elaborate group interactions, the dancers appearing create hieroglyphics or an elaborate signing system and they became bound up in their intricate dance movements.

The almost tactile music was reflected in the dance at times as it morphed from the mechanical to the sensual.

Stand to Reason Image: Stephen A’Court

South African Andrea Schermoly’s Stand to Reason which was the more political of the three works took inspiration from the pamphlet “Ten Reasons Why A Woman Should Vote” written by Kate Shephard in 1888 in which women had to clearly convince, explain and justify their right to political participation.

The text of the pamphlet was projected onto a screen behind the all-female dance ensemble who were dressed in black tunics which referenced the women of Sparta, or the Amazons as well as a nod to the various black clad New Zealand sports teams.

The notion of the strong woman was also highlighted in the way that the dancers confronted the audience often fixed their gaze on us.

The dancers performed the roles of support and impetus normally taken by male dancers and while much of their movements had an aggressive quality with great physicality this was tempered by more subtle gestures.

In the final sequence of the work danced to the music of Beethoven the intensity of the dancing increased as the volume of the music increased with raw energy, breast beating and frenetic dancing. The dancers seemed to be struggling against unseen forces as they broke the bonds restraining them just as the sound system seemed close to imploding.

While the music by Johann Paul von Westhoff, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Marin Marais, drove the work, the choice of male composers seemed at odds with the feminist nature of the work.

In two of the works the lighting played a significant part with the surreal lighting of Daniel Wilson in Ultra Folly and the minimalist approach by Andrew Lees in Stand to Reason.

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RBG: Of Many, One. A Timely Reminder and a Triumph

Auckland Theatre Company and Auckland Live present

RBG: Of Many, One

A Sydney Theatre Company production

By Suzie Miller

Dir Priscilla Jackman

Design David Fleischer

Lighting Alexander Berlage

Soun design Paul Charlier

With Heather Mitchell

ASB Waterfront Theatre

Until 7 June

Reviewed by Malcolm Calder

Sometimes things are timely.  At others, times are the thing.

In contemporary America the role of Ruth Bader Ginsburg in shaping American judicial practice could not be more pertinent.  Affectionately known by her supporters as ‘RBG’, this iconic woman inspired generations of women to break gender barriers, to face up to gender discrimination and to both pursue and achieve civil rights for all.  Following a stellar career as an academic and jurist, her ultimate ambition was to reshape the very architecture of the American judicial system – the United States Supreme Court by becoming only the second woman – and first Jewish woman – to do so, serving in this role at the pinnacle of her career for 27 years until her death in 2020. 

Her achievements were a slow yet methodical process, frustrating yet elevating and timely given the social changes wrought during her lifetime.  As Ginsberg herself has said ‘real change, enduring change, happens one step at a time’.

Yet, a mere half dozen years after her death, the separation of powers is being slowly unwound. Political will and government imperatives are inchingly influencing juridical wisdom, and many of her views and principles are starting to become regarded as minor ones.

In this powerful, nuanced and reflective work, playwright Suzie Miller has created something one can get one’s teeth into.  She has produced something that is a powerful, appetising and highly intelligent work the like of which is a rarity.  What a joy.

Heather Mitchell – on a simple set, with only a spotlight, a single chair and the occasional prop triumphs.  She creates some notable characters – none of whom we actually see – that are only figments created by the genius of the actor working with Miller’s words.  From husband Marty (who I could swear was just offstage), to subtle discussion and argument by phone with a basketball-focussed Bill Clinton, to the pragmatic and political realism of a Barack Obama and ultimately the nonsensical idiocy of the current incumbent, the small and even frail figure of RBG emanates wisdom, consideration and a power that belies her physical presence.

As noted, David Fleischer’s set is spare and subtle, enabling Alexander Berlage to light things in a magical way introducing sizing and scale, while Paul Charlier’s score intelligently reflects her lifelong interest in opera underpinning everything.  Collectively, director Priscilla Jackman has welded together a team that has created a theatrical triumph.

So congratulations to ATC for ensuring we continue to see high-level Sydney Theatre Company work.  And STC itself never fails to raise the bar.

RBG: Of Many, One is what I long for every time I go to the theatre.  Do not miss this.

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One man and … his dog

Reviewed by Malcolm Calder

Social Animal

By Damon Andrews and Stephen Papps

Director Damon Andrews

Choreography Caroline Bindon

Lighting and Sound Liam Twentyman

Featuring Stephen Papps

Q Theatre (Loft)

Auckland

Ends 12 April

Reviewer Malcolm Calder

An Anecdotal Soundtrack of my Life

Following a brief run in Wellington, Stephen Papps’ one-man show Social Animal graces the upstairs room at Q for the next week or so.

I lost track of how many and didn’t count anyway, but Social Animal enables Papps to reveal a panoply of characterisations that amply display his skills as a character-actor of some standing. These are the people in and around Joe’s rather narrow world which is that of a fading and insecure

mediocrity. Some are colleagues, some wield power and others don’t. But all are his friends – albeit in different ways and at different times. But only occasionally so. It is the world of theatre after all.

Almost incidentally the central character Joe Quigley – the fading actor – deals with his own realities by finding another reality. A dog. And not just any dog, but a former racing greyhound. And getting there enables Papps to reveal a further panoply of dog characterisations. That’s it a nutshell.

For me, the dogs were the highlight of this one-man performance. I was never in doubt about which dog was which and what they were up to. Pretty much doggie things really.

Before we got to the dogs though, many characters were introduced from the top of the show – some only fleetingly – and I must admit to being a little confused a couple of times. The standout character of course never exists at all … although this only serves to heighten the final denoument.

There are some great comedy lines, many bitter-sweet moments, some hilarious schlapstick and a heap of pace changes. All of which lead to an up, then down, then up again finale.

Worth a look.

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Duck Pond: Classy and skillful

John Daly-Peoples

Duck Pond

Circa

Auckland Arts Festival

Aotea Centre

March 12 – 15

John Daly-Peoples

In the hands of the Australian company Circe the world’s most romantic ballet is re-imagined as a circus spectacular, full of Circa’s signature physicality and shot through with cheeky humour and a thoroughly contemporary energy.

The audience is swept away by this tale of swans and hapless princes sparkling with quirky touches like the sequinned flipper-wearing duck army and a burlesque black swan. There are sumptuous aerials performances, jaw-dropping acrobatics and many feathers.

The show has been seen around the world and a review of Duck Pond in The Guardian by Lindsey Winship was enthusiastic.


“Australian company Circa are masters of modern circus, often eschewing obvious exhibitionism, and instead weaving acrobatic skills with a dance and theatre sensibility to make mood pieces.

The name is a parody of Swan Lake and it borrows from the famous ballet – shards of Tchaikovsky’s score feed into Jethro Woodward’s soundtrack – and also from another fairytale, the Ugly Duckling. So we get a love triangle of sorts between a prince, an ugly duck and a vivacious black swan. The conceit might seem to promise a more conventional narrative, but it delivers something a little different. The mood is understated, classy, colours of black and gold, a clan of performers in shimmering velvet catsuits. The music is a constant underscore rather than a game of set-ups and climaxes.

There is a lot of beautiful skill on show. Acrobats climb up human towers; flyers somersault between bases. Their formations of three are especially inventive: ornate arrangements of bodies in fine-tuned equilibrium, toes anchored on hips, lower backs, shoulders, anywhere they can get a foothold. There are some lovely moments of flow between couples who lift and fling, curl and unfurl, balance and counterbalance. Bodies tie themselves in knots on the trapeze; others soar on the silks. The ugly duck is revealed to be a swooping swan; the black swan has a dominatrix moment walking over a man’s bare back in red stilettos. But there are lulls too, such as a pillow fight that turns into an anticlimax.

Story-wise, director Yaron Lifschitz puts a couple of nice twists on the Swan Lake narrative but it lacks a big emotional payoff. Low-key lyricism, rather than transactional tricks for applause is Circa’s way and Duck Pond is a lovely show, with warmth, skill and some wow moments.”

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Red Phone: Conversation, audition or art event

John Daly-Peoples

Red Phone, Developed by Boca del Lupo 

Aotea Centre, Circle Foyer

March 4 – 7   11.00 – 5.00   Free Entry

Reviewed by John Daly-Peoples

In 1926 the iconic red telephone box which was designed by British architect Sir Giles Gilbert Scott first appeared in the UK making communication between individuals easier.

Now 100 years later as part of the Auckland Arts Festival telephone users can enter a modern telephone booth as participants in an art event which breaks down the boundary between artist and audience.

For the next three days on Level 3 of the Aotea Centre, you can be part of an art event where you become the actor in scenarios which you create.

Pick up your phone and you are connected to another random audience member or friend. You are confronted with a teleprompter which provides you a collection of scripts, including one by New Zealand playwright Victor Rodger.

You become part of an evolving dialogue which is part theatre and part social intervention. You become both performer and spectator, creating unique dialogues which will surprise, embarrass and entertain you. 

Jay Dodge, one of the creators of Red Phone“When this project started, we had five or six local writers, and now we have representation from dozens of countries.

“We asked writers to connect and think about what they love about performance but in a creative way where they can be free and not obliged to reflect what is happening right now,” said Sherry Yoon another creator. “There is so much now going on right now, that we will see artists being both reflective and relevant to now, but also to engage in work that can continue on past our global pandemic. What really resonated with us and the presenters and artists we have engaged is to give audiences a work that isn’t here to replace theatre but is in essence of what we love about live performance — the emotional ride, the intimacy, etc.”

This free installation by Canadian interdisciplinary theatre company Boca del Lupo has toured Canada, Norway, and Latin America to critical acclaim. Now it is presented in Auckland for a strictly limited season. 

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Rocky Horror Show: An Anecdotal Soundtrack of my Life

Rocky Horror Show

By Richard O’Brian

GMG and Trafalgar Entertainment

Director Christopher Luscombe

Set Hugh Durrant

Costumes Sue Blane

Choreographer Nathan M Wright

Lighting Nick Richings

Sound Gareth Owen

With (alphabetical) Laura Bird, Haley Flaherty, James Bisp, Kristian Lavercombe, Ryan Carter-Wilson, Daisy Steer, Stephen Webb, Morgan Jackson, Edward Bullingham, Jesse Chidera, Nathan Zach Johnson, Tyla Dee Nurden, Bethany Amber Perrins

Civic Theatre, Auckland 26 Feb – 9 Mar 2026

Then Isaac Theatre Royal, Christchurch

St James Theatre, Wellington

Reviewer Malcolm Calder

27 Feb 2026

Many words have been spilled detailing the Rocky Horror story, some with a little licence, so I won’t reiterate them here.  Rather, what follows are a couple of more personal anecdotal recollections.  Well, maybe a couple of reflections towards the end.

When in my early teens I joined a bikie gang hooning around the streets of Hamilton and haunting bars on weekends.   A pushbike gang.  In milk bars.  And most Saturdays we would go to the ‘pitchers’ at the Embassy ‘pitcher’ Theatre – especially for the b&w serials which updated and changed weekly.  The Phantom, The Lone Ranger, The Roy Rogers Show with Trigger, etc.  Our parents were not exactly supportive of our adventures but tolerated them mainly after trotting out the usual parental missives of the day … you know, smarten yourself up son, wash your face, get a haircut, and taking the mudguards off does NOT necessarily make your bike go faster!  But we did.  And maybe even managed the very occasional haircut from the apprentice barber next to the Embassy (remember, these were pre- Beatles days.

Fast forward a dozen or more years, by which time I was living in the UK and had developed something of an interest in ‘legit’ theatre.  A friend convinced me to accompany him to the ‘veddy, veddy proper’ Royal Court Theatre in Chelsea’s Sloan Square.  Apparently a budding youngish Australian theatrical tyro named Jim Sharman, already with productions of Hair and Jesus Christ Superstar to his name, was putting together an experimental and very avant garde piece called They Came from Denton High.  It had been originally devised by an actor no one had heard of called Richard O’Brien, and was planned as only a very brief season at the tiny, semi-round, and recently-renovated roof space of the Royal Court known affectionately as simply ’The Upstairs’. 

There were heaps of improvisation, script changes, musical variations, some additions, some deletions and, just prior to opening, Sharman felt that Rocky Horror Show better aligned with its intermeshed themes of transvestism, a satirical take on horror movies and science fiction all built around a full-on rock score.  My friend and I were both becoming enamoured of the new, the daring and the provocatively different and to say we were blown away would be an understatement.  This show ventured where theatre had rarely been before.  It was rough, raw and totally outrageous.  I remember being particularly enthralled by the pure power and presence of Tim Curry and a by the omnipresence of a rather scrawny little bloke playing Riff Raff.  Richard O’Brien we discovered later.

Many others were similarly excited of course.  Rocky Horror Show had somehow struck exactly the right chord at exactly the right time in 1970s Britain.   Fairly rapidly, various eminent British producers saw its commercial potential, it was upscaled to a more proscenium-arch staging and the rest, as they say, is history.

Subsequently I moved onto various humble roles in the industry and have been fortunate to have either seen, or hosted, many productions of the Rocky Horror Show across the US, Australia and New Zealand as well as Europe.  In several different languages. 

Fast forward a few more years and I even recall convincing a couple of rather cynical American friends to accompany me to the recently-released Rocky Horror Picture Show at a drive-in near Philadelphia in 1976.  Unfortunately, that particular screening cooincided with a rather heavy snowstorm and both wipers and the plug-in heater-on-a-pole had to work overtime.  Needless to say, the car bounced up and down more than a bit and my American friends enrolled on the spot as members of the international Rocky Horror Show cheer squad.

Or, a few years on again, an Australian colleague’s costume hire business in Adelaide avoided bankruptcy only as a direct result of seemingly endless late-night, dress-up singalongs at the Goodwood (‘pitcher’) Theatre.

I even recall seeing a stage production in Barcelona where the audience knew all the words.  In English!

Anyway, I digress.  Fast forward quite a few more years and I returned to Hamilton where, celebrating Rocky Horror’s 50th anniversary, the Hamilton Operatic Society staged a remarkably workmanlike pro-am production under the capable guidance of David Sidwell.  Initially I felt the bronze statue of Riff Raff in Victoria Street sort of acknowledged this and I thought how kind of the city fathers to allow some well-made street art.  However, a little research revealed, only then, that Richard O’Brien hailed from Hamilton.  I had previously known of him only as an actor chasing his dream in London and had always presumed him to be English.  I had no idea.

However … there’s more.  The Embassy Theatre is now long gone and so is part of the block adjacent – which used to be a barbershop.  That is where statue stood … on the very spot where the apprentice barber had cut my hair, and that of the entire bikie gang, all those years ago!

Today my understanding is that Richard is now a Patron of HOS and the statue has been relocated to the recently- opened new BNZ Waikato Regional Theatre.  How appropriate.

This Rocky Horror Show has a crispness and a professionalism that will linger.  It extended from before the house lights went down, right through to when they went up again.

This was a cast of strong experienced actors rather than one padded out with soap stars, rock singers and ‘personalities’ as has sometimes been the case elsewhere.

Laura Bird’s opening Science Fiction – Double Feature. backed by a strong, tight and semi-visible band under Adam Smith, sets the scene and made one immediately sit up and think ‘wow this is serious stuff’.  She was followed by the Brad and Janet’s Damnit Janet with a Janet (Haley Lafferty) who bore an uncanny (if unintentional) resemblance to a certain Deputy Mayor!

From there it … well it just flowed.  James Bisp gave us a surprisingly strong Brad, Stephen Webb an even stronger Frank N Furter, and Kristian Lavercombe (Welsh-born but we’ll claim him as ‘ours’) a Narrator that was deliciously nuanced, through to the dynamically scene-stealing Eddie (Edward Bullingham) and a truly professional ensemble.  That showed everywhere.  In spades.

This current production of Rocky Horror Show goes on to Christchurch and Wellington after its Auckland season and that is to be applauded.  In fact the Civic, and perhaps other venues too, has been looking and feeling a little forlorn of late and to see a full-on high-calibre British music-theatre production on its stage is something to be savoured.  So congratulations to the producers on this venture.  Let’s hope there’s more to come.

A delightful ending to the evening too when elder statesman Richard O’Brien was introduced to the stage post-curtain to rapturous applause, and who then brought on Little Nell Campbell, the original Columbine back in 1973.

I can return my outfit to the costume hire now.

Categories
Reviews, News and Commentary

Royal NZ Ballet’s contemporary Macbeth

John Daly-Peoples

Branden Reiners (Macbeth), Ana Gallardo Lobaina (Lady Macbeth) Image: Ross Brown

The Royal New Zealand Ballet 

Macbeth

Wellington, Auckland and Christchurch

March 2026

John Daly-Peoples

The Royal New Zealand Ballet open its 2026 season with a contemporary reimagining of Macbeth, Shakespeare’s most brutal tragedy. Created by internationally acclaimed choreographer Alice Topp (Aurum, Logos, High Tide), the ballet unfolds in a ruthless modern world shaped by political ambition, media manipulation and the fatal seduction of power. 

The production will feature Ana Gallardo Lobaina as Lady Macbeth and Branden Reiners as Macbeth.

 “Macbeth is one of Shakespeare’s great tragedies, exploring themes as current today as they were when first written,” says Alice Topp. “An epic story fuelled by political ambition, passion, desire for power and the burden of guilt, its potency endures. Our Macbeth is set in a hierarchy-hungry, high-society city, where political storms, media frenzy and personal ambition collide.” 

While ballet companies across the world regularly perform “Romeo and Juliet” and “A Midsummers Night Dream” based on Shakespeare’s plays very few of his other works are performed.  “A Winter’s Tale”, “Hamlet”, “Othello” and “The Tempest” are occasionally performed.

Just in the last couple of years there have been other productions of Macbeth with the National Ballet of Japan performing “The Tragedy of Macbeth” by British choreographer and director Will Tuckett in 2023 and last year the Dutch National Ballet presented a “Lady Macbeth” choreographed by Helen Pickett.

This new co-production with West Australian Ballet will see Macbeth premiere as part of the Aotearoa New Zealand Festival of the Arts in Wellington and the Auckland Arts Festival, before touring to Christchurch and Dunedin. Presented in association with Avis, this ambitious new work places Shakespeare’s iconic story of ambition, power and moral collapse into a volatile modern world shaped by political manoeuvring and relentless media scrutiny. 

At the centre of the ballet is the rise and fall of Macbeth and his formidable wife –  a dazzling power couple whose ascent to influence is as intoxicating as it is catastrophic. Propelled by ambition and fanned by public adulation, the Macbeths scale extraordinary heights, only to find themselves consumed by guilt, paranoia and violence. Through the visceral language of contemporary ballet, their psychological unravelling is laid bare in an explosive portrait of power gained and power lost. 

For Topp, the translation of Shakespeare’s dense, language-driven tragedy into movement is not an act of reduction, but of revelation. “Shakespeare’s text might be dense, but it also has movement written into the language,” she says. “The story is a psychological drama, full of behaviours, emotions and atmosphere. All the movement is right there in his words, and my role is to find where those emotions land in the body and let them speak physically.” 

 Award-winning designer Jon Buswell, a long-time RNZB collaborator, will create both set and lighting, shaping a darkly glamorous world that reflects the ballet’s volatile political landscape. Costumes are by Sydney-based designer Aleisa Jelbart, renowned for her bold contemporary designs across ballet, opera and theatre, bringing a sharp modern aesthetic that underscores the work’s themes of power, status and image. 

The production will also feature a newly commissioned contemporary score by composer Christopher Gordon, performed with a live string ensemble from the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. Layering full orchestral textures with driving, heavy-metal influences, the music provides an unrelenting pulse that mirrors the characters’ accelerating descent. 

Ana Gallardo Lobaina (Lady Macbeth) Image: Ross Brown

Ana Gallardo Lobaina has danced numerous roles for the RNZB including Cinderella and Stepmother in Loughlan Prior’s Cinderella. and she featured roles in Alice Topp’s Aurum and Logos. 

Branden Reiners joined the Royal New Zealand Ballet in 2023 and his roles to date include Siegfried and Rothbart in Swan Lake, Tybalt and Lord Capulet in Romeo & Juliet, Serenade, the ‘Clay’ pas de deux in Alice Topp’s Logos.

 Artistic Director Ty King-Wall says the new production showcases the RNZB at its most daring and expansive. “Macbeth is the Royal New Zealand Ballet as you’ve never seen us before,” says King-Wall. “Alice is bringing a world of bloodshed, betrayal and intrigue to our stages, in a cutting-edge production which draws upon the versatility of our dancers, the skill of our technical team, and demonstrates our incredible artistic range as a company.”  

Macbeth stands as one of the most ambitious new works in the company’s recent history. A bold and bloody retelling of Shakespeare’s tragedy, it promises audiences  
a searing, high-octane theatrical experience – one that speaks urgently to the contemporary world while honouring the enduring power of the original story. 

2026 TOUR DATES 
Wellington, St James Theatre, 25-28 February 

Auckland, Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre, Aotea Centre, 4-7 March  

Dunedin, The Regent, 13-14 March 

Christchurch, Isaac Theatre Royal, 18-21 March