Austen Found

It wasn't till Penny (Ashton) introduced the show that I realised Austen Found sounds like "lost and found." An appropriate title for a newly discovered (secretly improvised) musical by Jane Austen - all the actors are lost as they perform this "found" piece.

The theatre was packed and there was even a waitlist to get in. It was one of the most popular items at the 2018 Improv Festival with good reason. The actors were seasoned professionals with excellent voices. There were a couple of hiccups when they forgot character names but they built it into the "script."

We were treated for a performance of Greed and Gullibility.  A couples greed for pineapples, a mans greed for women and woman's greed for admiration were posed against the gullibility of two young women. One women's brother constantly reminded her how stupid she was while the other only realised her gullibility when the guilt of her intended was revealed.

It was very impressive that the cast were able to pull a mostly comprehensible storyline out of thin air and have the audience cheering for the happy ending.

(The Return of) The Unicorn's Story Cabaret

This show was unexpected. The opening banter with the audience was perhaps the funniest and went on so long I thought it would be the entire show. Good use was made of the improvisors in the audience for parts that required participation. It might be cheating but it makes for a much better show.

It was a little mystical with the fates, ghosts, a mermaid and a spell caster. I'd never thought I'd see an improvised live action game of Dungeons and Dragons but as soon as they said Dungeon Master I knew it was coming. It was a weird mix.

The act with the most amount of prepared material fell the most flat - they were a little slapstick but kept missing the mark and the lack of audience participation was felt.

All in all a bit of a mixed bag which could have benefited from tighter control.

Space Patrol 5: The Next Generation

With warm memories of the epic (10 hour long) SciFi Improv show DeepSpace Naenae (directed by Jennifer O'Sullivan with Matt Powell and Brendon Bennetts) from the NZ Fringe 2017, I had high hopes for Space Patrol 5: The Next Generation at the New Zealand Improv Festival 2018 (directed by Matt Powell and Brendon Bennetts).

And to be frank, they had me with the set, the lighting, the smoke machine and the music. Everything else was a bonus. And there was a lot of bonus.

It had everything you would want in a SciFi soap opera - the stock dramatic one-liners, "Captain, its a trap!", the corny hand-made props (made by members of the audience - you don't get any more audience participation than that!), it had the running around and the fight sequence and the moment of slick evasion of the plot problem at the last moment "Ah, we did it!" It didn't do the "red shirts" joke, but that's probably a good thing.

And it had everything you would want in a Improv comedy show - it had the running gags that very quickly drew the audience in, the juxtaposition of contradictory memes (the planet of the Kardashians), the moments of self reference "I just did that for dramatic tension", the big man rolling out of the scene and hiding behind the prop because he wasn't supposed to be visible, and the cast forgetting the name of the weird and dangerous plant - teasing the audience with the possibility of falling out of character.. but catching us before we fell.

And because we gave of ourselves to be amused, the audience gave it a warm and enthusiastic reception. A joyful and quirky experience indeed.

Under Milk Wood

Projections play on sheets hung across the stage, depicting a seascape, a small town, as a voice drones...and continues to drone. The pictures are still beautiful but it drags, as do the dreams of the town people. The images become different bedspreads. Then, a sunrise through projector and light coming from behind, lovely.

Set in the small town of Llareggub (Bugger-All) there are quirky characters and nothing ever really happens. Narrators become townspeople and townspeople swap personalities. It's all small town life. The acting is wonderful, each person manages to distinguish between characters as they continue the rolling verse.

Is it a poem? Is it a play? No, it's just boring.

Unfortunately this show failed to capture my interest. It's supposed to be a comedy but there were mostly titters throughout the audience instead of the expected raucous laughter. A shame as it was a very good performance showcasing some of the best actors at Circa.

Performances: 13 October - 10 November, times vary
Tickets: $52

Toilet (Show Me Shorts Film Festival 2018)

The short film winners this year were primarily dark, with the exception of the very strange music video Laugh it Off. Which is worth watching for a laugh.

My favourite of the pick, which I would recommend to anyone (without fear of them being traumatised), has a bit of a dark underbelly but on the surface is amusing. Toilet won the Special Jury Prize for Production Design.

Set in an alley and a public toilet this is a complete story in itself with a message or PSA rounding it to be something greater. It stays in your mind once you leave but keeps a smile on your face rather than a shiver in your body. 

The Addams Family, A New Musical

The performance starts with an overly long light play as if they've realised they need to give students some experience in managing the lights. Overly long is a good descriptor for the show; it's two and a half hours. I'm surprised that they didn't trim the script. There are unnecessary scenes and an entirely unnecessary chorus, though they do provide an interesting array of costumes and death makeup.

On to my last complaint then I'll tell you how much I loved it. This is a pre-existing script with a giant, glaring problem; the Wednesday Addams I know and love would never compromise herself for some boy. The boy in question isn't anything special, neither is the father but who could stand up next to the other amazing characters on stage?

Some consideration was given to looks but I couldn't understand why Wednesday didn't have black hair. Morticia didn't have quite the right look but her attitude was everything, making me realise that perhaps I no longer wish to be Wednesday Addams, I'd rather be the mother. She and Gomez were very strong actors, carrying everyone else along with them though they only lagged a step behind.

Everyone sung and everyone had amazing voices, some hitting notes I'm sure would crack but it was only when you barely noticed that there were a couple of wobbles. The songs were great too, I made a mental note to look up a cast recording as there's sure to be one somewhere.

It made me a little philosophical. In these days it is almost a comfort that "death is just around the corner."


Performances: 7-15 September (times vary)
Tickets: $30

Modern Girls in Bed

This is the second time I've seen a play with Georgina Beyer and she's been mentioned. I'd like to say that we attended together, that we're friends, but we just happened to have attended two performances at Circa at the same time. It was amazing watching this play about famous, legendary, New Zealand women when there was one in the theatre with us. And then she was acknowledged, not that they knew she was there. It was a beautiful moment.

The two parts of the play felt like they were talking to different people. The first half was for those in their 20's and 30's, though they were sparse in the audience [tell them to go see it!], the second half was for those in their 40's and older. Perhaps being staged at Circa this may miss the younger audience, which is a huge shame because it talks to them -there are references that frankly most people didn't get, because of this, often I was the only one laughing.

If it could be called a complaint or a criticism, that's my only one.

The script was perfect, the casting, the costumes, the scenery, everything. It was funny, it was emotional, it was political (without being preachy). It was about family and sisters and mothers and friends and women and our place in the world. It was very, very topical. Although the script was developed in 2016 and 2017 they'd added to make it more relevant. The conversations could be going on in any home right now.

Actually, you should go see it.

Performances: 1-22 September, various times

Tickets: $52

Cabaret de Paris

If you've ever seen burlesque you'll be disappointed at how quickly you see a woman in a g-string and topless (no pasties), you'd almost feel cheated. The breasts should come at the end with fanfare. Anyway, there are a lot of Vegas girls which I'm guessing Vegas stole from Paris. It feels cheap either way.

The magician is predictable but still good. The best is the "amateur" magician or the showman who entertains when merely adjusting the microphone. He was the highlight of the show, we could have disposed of all the rest.

It looked like the male dancers would strip but instead ladies in can-can dresses danced to techno music, when they finally get to the can-can itself, it's underwhelming.

The second half was much better than the first; there's burlesque and singing and the showman has an excellent set. Finally a man strips, it isn't the one you want but it's followed by shirtless men. Sadly their shirts were back next time they appear. 

Unfortunately they got the message that breasts are the show stoppers and used them again in the final act, cheapening the whole thing.

My advice? Skip the first half and pay for the cheap seats.

Next show: Christchurch, 28 August

Sweet As Hutt Chocolate Challenge

The winter school holidays are a perfect time to throw a hot chocolate challenge. Who doesn't love sugared up children? This year there are added events in hopes that in future years it might become a festival.

There are 16 cafes participating this year from small Chai to more established chains like Muffin Break (incidentally the only one in Queensgate).

If you'd like to taste some you'd better get in quick as the last day is Sunday (29th).

Here's a brief review of each of the offerings:

Fellow on the Green: Melted Snowman
The Hutt War Memorial Library has a new café! The hot chocolate is excellent but the snowman is more for show than eating.

Fix Federation: Salted Caramel Fix
The highlight of the challenge. Actual salted caramel sauce throughout the hot chocolate. The drink and the accompanying cookie are divine. Not to be missed.

Roadhouse Bar and Grill: Cookies and Dreams
They rebranded just in time for the challenge. A bar rather than a café which means there's an alcoholic option! Presentation is nice but the hot chocolate is average.

Bellbird Eatery: Lovely Little Lavender
The new café at The Dowse. Surprisingly pleasant and beautifully presented. The kids will love the purple sparkles and making their white chocolate melt.

Buzz: Creamy Peanut Butter
The cream cheese on top was lovely but I didn't manage to get any peanut butter somehow.

Hot Gossip Café: Spiced Maple Hot Chocolate
The maple is lovely but sadly the hot chocolate is too spicy to drink. Points for cinnamon shortbread dipped in chocolate.

Fellow on the Drive: Fellow Hot Cocoa
Simple, traditional with a lovely hint of cardamom.

Chai Coffee: Red Velvet

The colour of this is beautiful but be careful the kids don't get it on their hands. The cream cheese topping was also a big winner.

Colab Café: Flowering Blossoms

It was fun to watch the marshmallow blossom but the drink was too rich and bitter for even the adults to finish.

Gotham: Hazelnut Hot Chocolate
Nice, not terribly different from a regular hot chocolate. The brownie is good.

Muffin Break Queensgate: Hot Choc Ginger Ninja

I'm not sure why you'd put ginger in a hot chocolate but the gingerbread man was great.

Shine Café: Vegan Peanut Butter Hot Chocolate

If you pick the right options this is great! Go for the coconut milk and vegan chocolate. Hits of coconut, chocolate and peanut butter.

Beforetime Express: The Time Machine
Why would you put coffee in a hot chocolate? Normally people drink hot chocolate because they don't drink coffee...also kids...having said that, you can't taste the coffee and the presentation is better than the picture.

Cuffs Café: S'morelicious
Standard hot chocolate but excellent side pieces - melted marshmallow between biscuits.

Giuseppes: Mid Winter Christmas at Giuseppes

They only opened on Saturday (21st) and I'm not sure what the big changes were. Another white hot chocolate but reasonably good.

Small Batch: Four Hot Singles
Easy to drive past, not many food options. The hot chocolates are presented well but taste like raw cocoa. One to miss.

You can find out more on the Facebook page or at your favourite participating Lower Hutt café

The Vicar of Dibley

Why sit in a cold theatre when you could be home in bed? You might need to keep your jacket on or even take a blanket and make sure you had a good sleep the night before (the show doesn't finish till 10:30) but watching The Vicar of Dibley at Hutt Repertory Theatre is worth it.

If it weren't for the frequent changing of scenes, which cause a lull, you wouldn't notice the length of the show at all. The actors are excellent, you could almost believe you were watching the TV programme. The stage is, well, obviously a stage but they've worked out how to use the limited space well for two separate sets.

You should go see it - but you can't - the whole season is sold out.