The New Zealand Government’s change to the give way rule in 2012 is not the most obvious premise for a musical, but it works. Through witty lyrics, gentle mockery of bureaucracy, and less-gentle criticism of people who are enraged against change, Give Way – The Musical is a highly entertaining couple of hours.

As a new work, it feels somewhat unfinished. The score is purely piano, albeit expertly executed by Hayden Taylor. More orchestration would elevate the mood of each song and clearly differentiate them. More ensemble numbers with harmonies would be good too. When the cast do get to harmonise, it sounds amazing. What lifts the production to being worthy of the Circa One stage is the quality of the casting and the technical aspects.

As protagonist Sophie, Lily Tyler Moore is a strong performer, anchoring the story with her excellent vocals. Jackson Burling as her love interest is delightful. He, like the rest of the cast, deftly plays multiple roles. Carrie Green is engaging as policy wonk Tanya and the moments where she shines vocally are highlights. Bronwyn Turei is equally engaging and her activist Nic and Sophie’s dad are standouts. Alex Greig excels in creating a sympathetic but entertaining portrait of Randall, the unhinged policy advisor who originally changed the give way rule.

Tony de Goldi’s excellent set design is reminiscent of a roundabout on which the actors move a wheeled table and a few office chairs to create the scenes. Vertical panels around the outside remind me of the mats I used to play on with toy cars as a child. Goldi’s accompanying wardrobe design is also spot on, with the walk shorts and socks combo instantly recognisable as the public service uniform of the 1970s. Excellent lighting design by Will Smith adds visual interest and the falling rain effect early in the first half is a wonderful surprise.

Only Wellington creatives could successfully make a musical about policy change!

Guest artist Christopher Cross opened the evening and it was immediately clear that he had a strong fan base in attendance. He was well supported by a talented backing band, featuring Andy Suzuki on wind instruments and three backup female singers. He performed his best-known hits, including Sailing, Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do), Think of Laura, and All Right, culminating in his stunning guitar solo on the smash hit Ride Like the Wind.  

Formed in California in the late 1970s, Toto’s music combines elements of pop, rock, soul, funk, hard rock, rhythm and blues, jazz, and blues. Leader and guitarist Steve Lukather may be the only original member, but this current touring lineup consists of top musicians whose individual musical CVs are too vast to mention. Five of the seven band members shared lead and backing vocals throughout the performance.

The intro music set anticipation levels high for the first song Child’s Anthem. The band was already at full throttle, but it was hits Rosanna and 99 that had the fully engaged crowd singing along. The latter featured the slick bass guitar of John Pierce. Warren Ham on saxophone added a beautiful jazz dimension throughout. For I Will Remember, lead vocalist Joseph Williams got the crowd to sing along with him a cappella to check the venue acoustics! Pamela featured the silky keyboard skills of Greg Phillinganes, whose beautiful solo then led into I Won’t Hold You Back. The funky Georgy Porgy was followed by a solo spot by keyboardist Dennis Atlas – who was brought into the band mid-tour and “had to learn the whole show in two days without any rehearsing”. Lukather’s gorgeous ballad I’ll Be Over You highlighted the striking lighting show and Don’t Chain My Heart showcased his guitar virtuosity. Drummer Shannon Forrest’s blistering solo spot was a highlight. I’ll Supply the Love got the whole crowd up.

Toto’s biggest hits Hold the Line and Africa ended the two-hour-long show on a euphoric high. Rock royalty at its best!

Your favourite Mancunian soap opera gets the comedic parody treatment over five cliff-hanging episodes in Coro, thanks to local improv maestros Nina Hogg and Austin Harrison. Whether you’re a three-times-a-week Coronation Street devotee or an inexperienced newbie to Manchester’s best-known cobbled street, you’re bound to laugh your knitted socks off in this 50-minute show.

Be prepared to be part of the action too. The whole audience is encouraged to join in with the theme tune at the start of each episode, accompanied by Hogg and Harrison on kazoo, squeaky recorder, or barely grade one clarinet. The front couple of rows of audience are also co-opted to be wardrobe minders, tossing ties, woolly jumpers, cardis, leopard-print jackets, flat caps, and bald heads to the two actors as needed.

Playing several characters each, often two at the same time (or even three in one hilarious scene from Hogg), both actors are a non-stop whirl of energy, embodying each famous identity beautifully. Despite concerns expressed pre-show, their Manchester accents are on point and their vocal delivery varied and expressive.

Several plots roll through the five episodes and are neatly tied together by the end, starting with a fatal train crash and ending with the birth of a baby – also tossed from the audience in a moment of comic genius – to teen parents. All your favourite soap tropes are here, including confusion over a non-existent extra-marital affair, mixed-up medical prescriptions, inter-generational strife, and superannuitant dating apps.

The sort of show that could be performed anywhere, Coro needs only simple lighting changes between scenes and a few props to facilitate its superlative performers and clever writing. Hogg and Harrison are taking the show to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival later this year and I’m sure it’ll go down like a two-storey terraced house on fire.

Britain’s longest-running TV soap is ripe for parody and Coro manages to strike the balance between entertainment and upholding the relatable, working-class core that has made the show so successful. Best of luck in Edinburgh, team!

If a goofy, funny, heartfelt, heroic adventure is what your little one enjoys, then KidzStuff Theatre for Children’s Badjelly the Witch is the show to check out these school holidays!

Meet the lovely brother-and-sister duo of Rose (Adriana Calabrese) and Tim (Haydn Carter) as they look for their beloved cow Lucy (Calabrese and Carter), who was stolen by Badjelly (wonderfully portrayed by creative director Amalia Calder) and her giant Dulboot (Dryw McArthur).

Joining in on their adventure, the set and props (creatively designed by Andrew and Laura Loach) transport you between the different locations of the story and introduce you to all the cute characters that help Rose and Tim find their beloved cow. Alongside these friends that we meet along the way, the enthusiastic audience ventures through forests and mountains to bring Lucy home. Technical manager Deb McGuire creates magic by changing the vibrant lighting, music (Geoff Davidson, with lyrics by John Cairney), and sound effects on cue with the scenes. And from a little person’s perspective, when the theatre illuminates red, we all know what that means!

The costumes and puppets are colourful and bring the characters to life with talented voice acting from Calder and McArthur. Davidson’s music brings the show together so well and Cairney’s fun lyrics have everyone dancing and chiming in. The audience is on edge to see what happens next, and the cast improvises beautifully to interact with us during the show, which keeps us all on our toes – and not just the kids amongst us!

Of course, after every show, I always love to ask Mister Six what his favourite part was. “My favourite was the cricket, the witch, and the giant!” Full of surprises, Badjelly the Witch has the audience pitching in with the rescue, belly laughing all the way.

We love chaos, mess, magic, and a good belly laugh! Kitchen Chaos ticks all the boxes and so much more.

In Kitchen Chaos, Spray (Lizzie Tollemache), Wipe (Darlene Mohekey), and the whole audience are invited to a surprise birthday party. Everyone is so excited and we all help prepare for the surprise. Wipe is so goofy, with a weakness for chippies and cake, and often comes up with brilliant ideas that Spray goes along with. While goofing around, there is an accident and the duo needs to fix the situation pronto. They enlist the help of the audience, a very helpful cookbook named Edmonds (voiced by original production director Greg Cooper), and some magic!

The colourful set and props (production design by Rollicking Entertainment) enhance the magical experience. The magic itself is mind-blowing – just some of the reactions I overhear are “wow,” “that’s unbelievable,” and “how did they do that?” The sound effects and lights are on cue and create hilarious scenes.

The playful and mischievous vibe is so contagious that Mister Six could not stop laughing, dancing, and just wanted to join in the fun. The magic intrigued him so much that when we got to meet Spray and Wipe after the show, he had to know how they did it. He also showed them his dancing skills and we all danced together in the foyer. They were happy to indulge their newfound fans with photo opportunities and high fives!

He was still dancing as we left, and we were having a good giggle when we discussed the show afterwards. His favourite parts were the magic, Spray and Wipe being stuck together when they high fived, and the sneaker juice! Guess what, though? Kitchen Chaos had me laughing even harder than my son at some stages. Bringing out the excited kid in all of us, we had the best fun and laughs at this must-see show.

Are you one of the Fish People? Even if you’re not and have no idea what that means, there’s still much to enjoy in this Kate Bush tribute show cum comedy cabaret. If you are one of the Fish People (i.e. Bush’s die-hard fans), you’ll be hoarse by the end, so frequent are the opportunities to sing along with Sarah-Louise Young’s impressive vocals in An Evening Without Kate Bush.

Bush’s fans are nothing if not supportive and the spirit of collective celebration is strongly encouraged through Young’s frequent audience engagement. Don’t sit in the first couple of rows if you’re shy about being lured to the stage. One brave couple slow danced to Don’t Give Up while Young sang Bush’s part beautifully.

While not trying to do a straight impression of one of pop’s quirkiest divas, Young pulls off a spirited and highly entertaining homage. Her powerful voice doesn’t quite have Bush’s freakishly huge range, but who other than Kent’s favourite daughter could sing the opening notes of Wuthering Heights? Young, to her credit, doesn’t try. Her renditions of Bush’s biggest hits and some lesser-known B sides are stunning and her ability to pull off Bush’s signature dance moves is astonishing and hilarious by turns. The comedy highlight is a rendition of Babooshka in Russian, including its correct pronunciation of BAH-booshka.

Stage manager Will Spartalis becomes an unintended star when Young’s head mic battery fails not once but twice. Young’s stellar ability to improvise song lyrics about buying more double As at the supermarket makes this technical glitch even funnier.

With just a red leotard plus various add-on costume pieces and wigs, a few props, and some fantastically creative lighting effects (all by Young), the performer’s segues between songs are a joy to watch and keep the show flowing.

If you want to howl with the Hounds of Love, go Running Up That Hill with the other Fish People, or snigger knowingly at the Stranger Things reference, you can’t go wrong with An Evening Without Kate Bush.

2025 marks 50 years since the death of Soviet composer and pianist Dmitri Shostakovich, considered by many to be the most significant composer of the 20^th century. Orchestra Wellington is marking the occasion with an entire season – The Dictator’s Shadow – dedicated to his life, from his early success as an internationally celebrated teenage prodigy to his censured adult career beset with threats of imprisonment and death during Stalin’s purges. Celebrating Shostakovich’s teenage years, this opening concert also features the work of his fellow prodigies Georges Bizet and Felix Mendelssohn.

Prodigy opens with Bizet’s Symphony No.1 in C Major, written as an exercise while Mendelssohn was a student at the Paris Conservatoire. The orchestra launches into the neat and cheerful first movement with precision and clarity. The horns are maple-syrup toned and perfect. The orchestra draws out the romanticism and contrasting moods of the symphony, but we can still taste the slightly pedantic quality of this schoolboy piece.

This is followed by Mendelssohn’s Concerto for Violin op. 64 in E minor, a surprising choice, since this is not one of his early works. Concertmaster Amalia Hall takes the stage as our soloist and delivers the kind of performance we have come to expect from her: dynamic, engaging, and technically masterful.

Finally, Shostakovich’s first symphony, which he wrote as a graduation piece from the Leningrad Conservatory at only 18. Symphony No. 1 op. 10 in F minor is famous for its melding of modernist style and classical structure, with a satirical quality that became Shostakovich’s signature. The orchestra accentuates the dynamics of the piece, opening with intensity and almost harsh phrasing. Brass, percussion, and woodwinds spark against each other in the first movement, progressing through moods and colour. The sultry, mournful oboe and stochastic trumpets of the second movement are disturbingly delicious, before we are plunged into the turmoil of the glorious finale. Conductor and music director Marc Taddei leads the orchestra in a dexterous and evocative performance of this masterpiece, which bodes extremely well for the rest of our Shostakovich season.

In a programme of two parts, we were transported from the delights of a Roman holiday to an epic, Romantic masterpiece of Russian longing, magnificently played by Russian virtuoso pianist Daniil Trifonov.

A perfectly crisp start, followed by the smoothest woodwind and then rich, deep, balanced strings built excitedly to the party that is Berlioz’s Roman Carnival. Conductor Umberto Clerici, animated and energetic, perhaps caught up in the mood, brought the orchestra to the final flourish, a piece of precision percussion on two tambourines.

Respighi’s Fountains of Rome was a slightly more sedate but still majestic tour around the city. From the early morning start, past majestic sights, Clerici skilfully led the audience and orchestra on a joyous and delightful excursion.

The Times described Trifonov as “the most astounding pianist of our age” and after hearing him play Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 3 in D Minor, an almost full house of more than 2000 people wholeheartedly agreed.

A lyrical start, briefly overwhelmed by the lower strings, picked up as the complexity this concerto is famous for grew into something intense, rich, and gorgeous. Trifonov brought a tangible sensitivity to the movement and flow. He took full control in the ferocious, intricate passages and incredible cadenza.

The second movement started with strong, quiet intensity before the piano came rumbling in, then the melody came forward, clear but still intense and especially light over the lower register. The confluence of strings and piano in the third movement created a huge sense of freedom and richness.

There is more to this concerto than a showpiece of a pianist’s technique. At times it almost seemed as if Trifonov was listening to his piano breathe, reflecting on the relationship between them. This piece demands the right musical interpretation and balance between the piano and the orchestra. The NZSO, Clerici, and Trifonov absolutely nailed it on the night.

Leni Riefenstahl was Hitler’s beautiful and brilliant filmmaker, creating the Third Reich propaganda-fest Triumph of the Will for him. She also documented the 1936 Berlin Olympics, her last film to achieve a theatrical release in the wake of her post-war fall from grace in Europe and Hollywood. Throughout her life, she clung to the belief that she was innocent and knew nothing about the Nazi atrocities and that she, like millions of others, had fallen under the spell of a charismatic dictator.

Jan Bolwell’s new one-woman play delves into Riefenstahl’s mindset with a first-person commentary on her rise and fall and fervent self-defence of her role in the Holocaust. She was a strong and self-possessed young woman who, through her drive and lack of qualms about manipulating men through sex, rose to artistic heights in dance, theatre, and film before meeting Hitler and reading Mein Kampf.

Helen Todd’s production design is simple yet beautiful. A long oblong of white light defines the area in which Bolwell moves. On the back wall is a projected sequence of black and white photos in front of which are two tall, clear Perspex panels that divert slanted images onto the stage floor. This is a brilliant creative touch that lends a wonderfully cinematic quality to the whole. Bolwell’s simple black dress adds to the monochrome effect. Music composed by Jan Bolton and sound effects (Neal Barber) provide a soundscape that effectively supports the narrative.

Bolwell owns the stage, resisting the urge to descend into hyperbole and passion to deliver Riefenstahl’s deeply vain view of herself. By the end, my friend and I agreed we didn’t buy her version of the truth, which was clearly the point. As Bolwell states in the programme, we’re veering again towards fascist autocracies and the excuse of being blinded by charisma is one that’s far too easy to hide behind. Supping with the Devil makes the past real and relevant through one woman’s self-delusion.