Review Archive
Dr Erin Harrington is a lecturer in English at the University of Canterbury where her teaching centres on cultural studies, visual and popular culture, theatre, and critical sexualities. She is currently developing two new theatre courses – one on the stage and stagecraft, the other on design, direction and dramaturgy – that are being rolled out at UC from 2016, and she has previously contributed to courses on contemporary drama and creative writing.
Erin has been a reviewer for Theatreview since 2010, and brings to this role experience in direction, performance, voice work and criticism, including as a dramaturg, a past member of the New Zealand Young Shakespeare Company, a director for the Court Theatre’s Young Writers Initiative, and, more recently, a judge for the regional competitions of the SGCNZ University of Otago Sheilah Winn Shakespeare Festival.
She is the essays editor for the literary magazine takahē ; and, as a freelance writer and reviewer, has written for outlets such as the Christchurch gallery The Physics Room, the Playmarket Annua,l and the Christchurch Art Gallery’s Bulletin magazine. She is a regular panelist and occasional host on the comedy podcast The Nerd Degree, has featured as a speaker and panelist at film and literary festivals and related events, including the Christchurch WORD Festival and, most recently, the Stranger With My Face International Film Festival in Australia, and has appeared on Radio New Zealand National as a theatre reviewer. See: http://www.arts.canterbury.ac.nz/english/people/harrington.shtml http://www.arts.canterbury.ac.nz/english/people/harrington.shtml
Welcome to the review archive.
Theatre and dance reviews since 2006.
EXIT THE KING
Christchurch
17/10/2015 - 07/11/2015
"Promising but hangs back from the precipice..
Ex Tenebris Lux – a journey from darkness to light
Christchurch
08/10/2015 - 10/10/2015
"Slipping between the mythic, the ritual and the local..
THE BLUE-BEARDED LADY
Wellington, Christchurch
27/09/2015 - 02/04/2016
"Utterly charming in a ghoulish kind of way...
"A fierce re-gendering of a classic tale..
More reviews
AMPUTATION OF PERSONALITY
Dunedin, Christchurch
12/03/2015 - 07/10/2015
"Emotionally complex, aesthetically accomplished..
"Melancholic vignettes ready for further development..
THE FALLEN MYSTERY
Christchurch, Auckland
01/10/2015 - 11/10/2015
"Refined movement, pared back and polished..
"Chiaroscuro nightmare..
DANGEROUS BODIES
Christchurch
26/09/2015 - 27/09/2015
"Wonderfully satisfying - and challenging..
HIRAETH
Nelson, Tauranga, New Plymouth, Auckland, Wellington, Wairarapa, Christchurch, Wanaka
19/09/2015 - 07/11/2015
"Feel-good theatre..
"We are the river..
More reviews
LIVE LIVE CINEMA: LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS
Auckland, New Plymouth, Christchurch, Tauranga, Dunedin, Havelock North, Nelson, Global
14/05/2015 - 27/03/2022
"Wholeheartedly worth watching..
"Most of all it is really, really clever..
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CAL WILSON: It Could Have Been Me
Christchurch
10/09/2015 - 11/09/2015
"Jokes become running gags that dance their way to a satisfying pay-off..
THE WHITE GUITAR
Wellington, Christchurch, Auckland, Hamilton, Gisborne, Rotorua, Napier, Tauranga, Nelson
01/09/2015 - 21/10/2016
"The truth of the Luafutu family also sets us free..
"Incredible story earns respectful ovation..
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NGĀ TAI O KURAWAKA: HE KURA E HUNA
Christchurch
08/09/2015 - 10/09/2015
"A story of great worth beautifully told..
Monty Python’s SPAMALOT
Christchurch
04/09/2015 - 12/09/2015
"Wit and audacity tightly packaged..
DUCK, DEATH AND THE TULIP
Wellington, Nelson, Tauranga, Edinburgh, Scotland, Christchurch, Auckland, Invercargill, Napier
18/03/2013 - 27/10/2018
"A theatrical gem for all ages..
"Delightful performance built on a serious fact of life..
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KRAKEN (Trygve Wakenshaw)
Wellington, Christchurch, Auckland
06/05/2014 - 06/09/2015
"Completely won over..
"A wondrously creative imagination..
HAMLET: THE VIDEO GAME (The Stage Show)
Christchurch
03/09/2015 - 06/09/2015
"Lovingly patched gameplay pastiche..
BLACK FAGGOT
Wellington, Nelson, Edinburgh, Scotland, Melbourne, Australia, Palmerston North, Christchurch, Auckland, New Plymouth
16/02/2013 - 02/09/2015
"Powerful humanising of initially stock characters..
"Honest, raw, energetic, thoroughly entertaining and thought-provoking..
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DAFFODILS [inspired by true events]
Auckland, Hamilton, Wanaka, Kerikeri, Christchurch, Nelson, Tauranga, Edinburgh, Scotland
14/03/2014 - 28/08/2016
"Slick, honest and truly beautiful..
"A profound change-inviting play and musical masterpiece..
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ONCE ON CHUNUK BAIR
Christchurch
29/07/2015 - 08/08/2015
"Battles within battles..
ROMEO AND JULIET
Christchurch
30/05/2015 - 20/06/2015
"Entertains at the expense of emotional depth..
MACBETH
Christchurch
11/02/2015 - 21/02/2015
"Hedging its bets?..
The Court Jesters: SOAPLAND STREET
Christchurch
07/02/2015 - 28/03/2015
"Outstanding hammy pathos amid ludicrous situations and medical jokes..
MR and MRS ALEXANDER: Sidehows and Psychics
Wellington, Dunedin, Christchurch
18/01/2015 - 06/05/2017
"Terrific tale of tricksters..
"As subjectively astonishing as it is objectively fascinating..
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BUSKERS BURLESQUE 2015
Christchurch
15/01/2015 - 24/01/2015
"Flirtatious, funny and raucous..
