Review Archive
Dr Lori Leigh works as a professional director, playwright, and dramaturg. Her directing works include Dog Sees God (BATS Theatre), Holding On (BATS Theatre), Short Sharp Scripts (IIML/Circa), The Winter’s Tale for Wellington Summer Shakespeare, The Two Noble Kinsmen (VUW), Twelfth Night and Much Ado About Nothing for Shakespeare Globe Centre’s NSSP, and Long Ago Long Ago (BATS Theatre).
As Artistic Director of PlayShop Performance Company, Lori has performed in and directed many improv shows including the award-winning 10 Things I Hate About Us and This Fair Verona, an improvised adaptation of Romeo and Juliet. She has also served as dramaturg for Auckland Theatre Company’s Romeo and Juliet and Wellington productions of Twelfth Night and A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Bright Orange Walls. For her play Revelations, Lori was nominated for a Chapman Tripp Theatre Award (now Wellington Theatre Awards).
Lori teaches theatre at Victoria University of Wellington where she is a permanent lecturer. In 2015, she received an Early Career Teacher Excellence Award from the University in recognition of outstanding teaching. Lori obtained her Masters of Education at Tennessee State University, a Master of Fine Arts from Sarah Lawrence College in New York and her PhD at Victoria University. She was a recipient of the prestigious New Zealand International Doctoral Research Scholarship which fully funded her PhD in New Zealand.
Lori’s research focuses on Early Modern, particularly Shakespearean, stagecraft, performance, and dramaturgy—including gender in Shakespeare, representations of gender, identity, and sexuality in theatre, and playwriting and script development. Lori has published chapters and articles on Shakespeare with Oxford University Press and Shakespeare, the journal of the British Shakespeare Association. She has published a full-length monograph with Palgrave McMillan titled Shakespeare and the Embodied Heroine.
Welcome to the review archive.
Theatre and dance reviews since 2006.
SOLOTHELLO
Hamilton, Palmerston North, Tauranga, Auckland, Wellington, Napier, Nelson, Bay of Islands
14/02/2015 - 05/04/2017
"Transfixing magic at Waitangi..
"Original, captivating and charming..
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MEASURE FOR MEASURE
Wellington
01/09/2015 - 05/09/2015
"Presented with a passionate intensity..
"Brave, ambitious, artful..
DOWNTON AdLib
Wellington, Palmerston North
02/08/2015 - 28/02/2016
"Cracking pace, quick wits, broad skill set..
"A farcical evening bedecked in bathos and caricature..
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CONVERSATIONS WITH MY PENIS
Auckland, Wellington
30/04/2014 - 14/02/2015
"A smut-free, heartfelt play..
"Quirky, amusing and more..
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PLUS ONE
Wellington
30/10/2014 - 30/10/2014
"Delightful and satisfying..
OTHELLO
Greytown, Wairarapa, Wellington
04/07/2014 - 20/07/2014
"Truly immersive and memorable despite missed opportunities with gender-switching..
LITERALLY ANYTHING
Wellington
25/02/2014 - 01/03/2014
"An improvised delight..
BULLET CATCH
Wellington
22/02/2014 - 28/02/2014
"More than meets the eye at this magic show..
"Entertaining, thoughtful, unique..
GOD-BELLY
Wellington, Auckland
15/02/2014 - 04/10/2014
"Refreshing intelligence, insight and physicality..
"Huge potential..
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MADAME BLAVATSKY AND THE ASTRAL LIGHT
Wellington
13/02/2014 - 17/02/2014
"Delving into the spiritual #1..
"Nothing at stake..
SGCNZ National Shakespeare Schools Production 2013
Wellington
05/10/2013 - 06/10/2013
"A life-altering experience..
CHRIS PARKER and HAYLEY SPROULL in OUTSIDERS’ GUIDE
Auckland, Wellington
27/04/2013 - 18/05/2013
"Whirlwind of beat poetry, rap, innermost thoughts, song, physical comedy, dance, giveaways and symbolism..
"It’s cooler outside..
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The Boy With Tape On His Face … MORE TAPE
Auckland, New Plymouth, Hamilton, Napier, Wellington
08/05/2012 - 18/05/2013
"Clever invention, community, comedy and play..
"What could be better?..
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TAKE BACK THE HOOD
Wellington, Palmerston North, Dunedin, Auckland
06/03/2013 - 23/02/2015
"Back to the Hood..
"Funny and brave..
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TROUSER-WEARING CHARACTERS
Auckland, Wellington
15/02/2013 - 23/02/2013
"Celebrating iconic cross-dressers..
"Engaging, entertaining and personal..
The Wishing Tree
Wellington
08/12/2009 - 24/11/2012
"Energetic and fun, if a bit uneven..
"Proactive conviction and generous interactivity..
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FANFICTION COMEDY
Auckland, Wellington
28/04/2012 - 18/05/2013
"Good bad writing to inspire you..
"An ingenious concept successfully executed..
THE LARAMIE PROJECT: 10 YEARS LATER
Wellington, Auckland
22/03/2012 - 08/09/2012
"Aged Perfectly..
"Thought-provoking, engaging; performed with rigour, class, dignity and pride..
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The Winter’s Tale
Wellington
01/03/2012 - 04/03/2012
"Moving and magical..
Henry V
Wellington
29/02/2012 - 04/03/2012
"A forceful story..
"Squaddies, blood, sweat and tears in a macho Henry V..
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You Cant Beat Wellington (on a Good Day)
Wellington
04/05/2011 - 21/05/2011
"A flat white with your flat night?..
