RICH PEOPLE CRY TOO (and other lessons I learnt from Telenovela)
BATS Theatre, The Stage, 1 Kent Tce, Wellington
19/02/2023 - 21/02/2023
Production Details
LUCY DAWBER
Passion, betrayal, violence, and romance. These are the staples of a good ‘Telenovela’. But what does a kiwi, non-Spanish speaking, third generation Latina have in common with this outlandish style of television?
Funny, observant, absurd and charming, Rich People Cry Too (and Other Lessons I Learnt from Telenovela) is a show that pays homage to the lavish world of Telenovela, while interrogating what it means to try to connect to a culture that you have never experienced.
BATS Theatre – The Stage
19, 21, 22 February 2023
6pm
BOOK
Dance , Dance-theatre , Physical , Solo ,
1 hr
This clever succinct and smart theatre piece needs to be seen.
Review by Deirdre Tarrant 20th Feb 2023
Billed also as …and other lessons I learnt from Telenovela…. the title of this work intrigues me. A solo show devised, written and performed, with a good chunk of autobiographical content, by Aucklander Lucy Dawber.
This is a thoroughly satisfying and professionally delivered experience with great staging, tele visuals and lighting. Her movement, gestures, script coordination, comedic timing and ability to switch characters are excellent. Alternating between slick, sassy and Spanish and a kiwi girl, we share something of her own family background and attend a professorial dissertation on life.
Dawber is by turns culturally astute, opinionated, personable, disarming and totally charming. She interacts with her audience with ease and a gloriously direct manner – we are her students and for a semester we listen , laugh and learn. We all want to be her ‘favourite’.
Philosophy, psychology and her perceptions are part of a series of lectures. She is fabulously articulate on Love, Money and Conflict, to name just three of her topics. There is wisdom, pathos and real laughter. As we exit the theatre the girl behind me sheds a tear – the person beside me laughs happily. Life is like that and this clever succinct and smart theatre piece needs to be seen. One of the best Fringe shows I have been to and I have been to many!
So 2023 Fringe has started on a high for me. Go to Bats and enjoy! Rich People Cry Too ( and ther Lessons I Learnt from Telenovela). The title still intrigues.
Copyright © in the review belongs to the reviewer
Comments