Review Archive
Sam Trubridge is a performance designer, solo artist and director. He has created performance art and theatre works for venues and events in Oceania, Europe and the Americas. He is director of The Performance Arcade — an annual festival of live art and performance on Wellington Waterfront, and is associate editor (Oceania) for World Scenography, a survey of performance design from 1975 to 2015. In 2015 he directed Deep Anatomy with freedivers and artists for PSi#21 Fluid States (The Bahamas) as well as the New Zealand New Performance Festival at La MaMa Experimental Theater Club, New York City. He has written for Illusions (NZ), Theatre Forum (USA), Performance Paradigm (AUS), Australasian Drama Studies Journal (AUS), A(l)Berto) (Brazil) and Performance Research (UK). He joined the Theatreview team in June 2012.
Welcome to the review archive.
Theatre and dance reviews since 2006.
UNDOING
Wellington
07/04/2022 - 30/07/2022
"Undoing - a plethora of dance conventions..
"Raises laughs, opens emotions, alerts us to human possibilities and frailties..
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The Most Naked
Auckland, Wellington, Dunedin
24/06/2021 - 22/10/2022
"Stripping Away the Layers on Nudity..
"A cabaret of skin and bone..
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Strasbourg 1518
Wellington, Auckland
12/03/2020 - 28/03/2021
"Mystery and Frenzy..
"Powerful ruminations on the original event and our current situation..
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ORCHIDS
Auckland, Wellington
12/10/2017 - 27/07/2019
"Intricate and surprising and the journey into the feminine is majestically crafted..
"The feminine divine..
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POWER
Wellington
23/07/2019 - 27/07/2019
"Glee, abandon, exuberance, empowerment..
ONEPU
Wellington, Christchurch
19/07/2019 - 03/08/2019
"Deep local connections..
"Rippling wind at the rim of the world..
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ACTUAL FACT
Wellington
16/11/2018 - 01/12/2018
"Brilliantly conceived and executed..
"An elusive and allusive delight..
MEDUSA
Wellington, Auckland
21/09/2018 - 03/11/2018
"Reclaiming Female Rage..
"Emotional anarchy, comedic, purgative, liberating, enhanced by a walkout..
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MEREMERE
Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Gisborne
14/10/2016 - 13/10/2019
"Weaves text, movement, light and sound in startling and compelling ways..
"Life-enhancing encounters..
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TUSKS AND FEVERS
Wellington
15/06/2018 - 15/06/2018
"Oscillating between constructs..
STOMP
Wellington, Christchurch, Auckland
09/05/2018 - 27/05/2018
"Energetic, entertaining, enjoyable..
"Grounded, gritty exuberance and infectious rhythms..
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OrphEus – a dance opera
Auckland, Wellington
08/03/2018 - 17/03/2018
"A fittingly grand production..
"OrphEus is a diving delight..
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Tama'ita'i and Mixtape, Measina Festival 2017
Wellington
07/12/2017 - 07/12/2017
"Culture, community and creativity celebrated..
LOBSTERS
Wellington, Nelson
21/10/2017 - 15/10/2018
"Passionate emotions surrealised..
"A brilliant exploration of the surreal..
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AS NIGHT FALLS
New Plymouth, Wellington, Nelson, Christchurch, Dunedin
22/06/2017 - 30/06/2017
"A desperately beautiful piece of dance..
"Exhilarating and life-affirming..
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NeoIndigenA
Wellington
06/06/2017 - 10/06/2017
"Embodying Turtle Island..
DARK MATTER
Dunedin, Wellington
03/03/2016 - 27/09/2018
"Beautiful, menacing, extraordinary, unique..
"Sculpts darkness as if it were a thing of immense solidity and form..
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LIFEWORLD (in five parts)
Wellington, Palmerston North, Gisborne, Auckland
19/10/2016 - 04/11/2016
"Delightful to watch..
"Re-opening audience eyes..
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GISELLE - The Royal NZ Ballet
Wellington, Napier, Christchurch, Dunedin, Auckland
11/08/2016 - 03/09/2016
"Simply superb in every way..
"Giselle: Delicate, defined, and dynamic..
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CAFÉ MÜLLER / THE RITE OF SPRING
Wellington
17/03/2016 - 20/03/2016
"Unforgettable..
"Living works of performance history, here in Wellington..
COMPLEXITY OF BELONGING
Wellington
11/03/2016 - 13/03/2016
"Stomping, adulatory reception..
"Over-powering force and incredible beauty..
BEHIND CLOSED DOORS
Wellington
20/11/2015 - 28/11/2015
"Energy, exuberance and expression..
ACQUISITIONS '15
Hamilton, Wellington
19/08/2015 - 29/08/2015
"Box set collaborates to unite choreography and performance..
"Playful and wonderfully abundant...
