Reviews
Selected reviews of shows and events at AAF 2023.
The Picture of Dorian Gray
“Mesmerising, inspirational, oozes expense, with the attention to detail in all its elements.”
— Theatreview
“A Festival Triumph.”
— NZ Arts Review
Blanc de Blanc Encore
“[I]t suggests, it implies, it teases and it is all done with outstanding showmanship.”
— NZ Arts Review
“That show, that night, reminded me exactly of what the arts are supposed to do.”
— The Big Idea
Revisor
“[A] biting cabaret-like satire revealing the corruption and absurdity within a bureaucratic institution.”
— NZ Arts Review
“Kidd Pivot is a profoundly physicalised partnering harmony, and a highly intelligent collaboration of sequences and narrative.”
— Theatreview
“The audience barely breathed throughout the entire performance, stunned at the tight skills they were witnessing.”
— OnDancing
“Revisor is so riveting in its escalating frenzy and increasing abstraction.”
— TheatreScenes
“[E]xquisite skill, precision and technique are juxtaposed, masked, highlighted, celebrated.”
— DANZ
Scored in Silence
“A surreal mixture of theatre, dance and mime.”
— NZ Arts Review
“[A]ltogether an astonishing work.”
— OnDancing
Requiem
Rodger Fox Big Band 50th Anniversary: THE BIG DRUM OFF
“[T]ime flies when you’re enjoying yourself.”
— NZ Arts Review
Festival, Week One
A little controversy, a lot of spectacle
— The Spinoff
Skyduck: A Chinese Spy Comedy
The Gesualdo Six: The Wishing Tree
Light from Tate: 1700s to Now
“[An] exhibition filled with light, colour and drama.”
— NZ Arts Review
Emil and the Detectives
High Quality Kids Theatre
— NZ Arts Review
“[A] satisfying blend of action and visual effects.”
— Theatreview
He Huia Kaimanawa
Force of Nature: Celebrating 100 Years of Forest & Bird
“[A] landmark concert demonstrating the abilities of our contemporary composers.”
— NZ Arts Review
Festival, Week Two
All spaces great and small
— The Spinoff
SandSong: Stories from the Great Sandy Desert
“Themes of cultural belonging, ancient organic connections to land and nature, and thousands of years of emerging stories.”
— Theatreview
“[O]ne of the most distinctive theatrical voices in the Australian performing arts industry.”
— TheatreScenes
Sugung-ga: The Other Side of the World
The Chosen Haram
“[T]here is joy in the physicality and the trust the artists have in each other that transcends everything else.”
— Theatreview
The Savage Coloniser Show
“Anyone who resides in [New Zealand] is sure to see a part of themselves in the show.”
— TheatreScenes
The Unruly Tourists
