ARTS BEAT:
From the hip I n t his age of American gun violence comes a caustic black comedy t hat manages t o be staggeringly perceptive and stupidly salient. Adapted f or stage f rom DBC Pierre’s Booker Prize winning book, t he Auckland premiere production brings t ogether students f rom The Actors Program and i ndie t heatre company Last Tapes Productions. Basement Theatre, until Friday. Perplexing l aughs Silo Theatre’s end- of- year show i s one of t he f unniest – and possibly most perplexing – you’ll see. Kicking off l i ke any other domestic comedy, i t quickly devolves i nto a nonsensical game of blurred l i nes, morphed characters, nude discussions of Darwin and l augh- outl oud gags. Actors Kura Forrester, Natalie Medlock, Nic Sampson and Sam Snedden are at t he t op of t heir game and not t o be missed.
Herald Theatre, until Saturday, December 3. Christmas treat Award- winning actor, artist and creator Yvette Parsons brings her heart- warming one woman show back t o Auckland as a pre- Christmas t reat. I t ’ s Christmas Day and, somewhere i n Sunnynook, I rene McMunn i s t hrowing a party. As she wraps t he presents, sorts t he t ree and waits f or guests t o arrive, I rene shares stories of her past with plenty of humour and a set f ull of nostalgic paraphernalia.
Loft at Q Theatre, Tuesday- Saturday. Outside i n This year’s Outsider Art Fair f eatures dozens of exhibitions, events and pop- up projects i n more t han 30 venues across Auckland, showing t he growing i mpact New Zealand’s self- t aught artists are having on our already vibrant arts scene, other creatives and our cultural diversity. The 1 0 day programme i ncludes Dream Home, at Studio One, where students, artists and t he community progressively build t heir own dream city. Grab a copy of ArtExplore art t rail map f rom nzoutsiderartfair. co. nz and start exploring. NZ Outsider Art Fair, various venues, until Saturday. Covert comedy I t ’ s been 19 years since t he I mprov Bandits burst upon t he scene with t heir brand of l egendary high- energy comedy; now the company which f ounded t he Covert Theatre i s celebrating t he milestone with t wo shows. The f i rst, seen at t his year’s NZ I nternational Comedy Festival, sets a theme f or t he night which i s used t o create characters, scenes and sagas; t he second sees t he Bandits discover what happens next at t he same t i me you do. I mprov Bandits 19th anniversary shows Friday and at Tapac at 8pm. Saturday, both