Improv, art and laughs
Now that the ‘big bang’ of Auckland Arts Festival is over, Aucklanders can relax at different smaller events around the city says Edna Heled in her arts wrap.
As part of the Auckland Improv Festival on until Saturday, The Covert Theatre, home of improv comedy at 51 Mackelvie St, Ponsonby, host several shows, including Wellingtonian trio Next Door Improv known for sharply funny stories about the highs and lows of being human, with their Left Unsaid – What happens when we don’t speak the truth – as part of a double bill with Serious Ridiculous and their Choose your own adventure.
Today, 6.30-7.30pm. Book at comedy@ coverttheatre.com or phone (09) 600 1877
Torbay theatre, Auckland’s best experts in Gilbert and Sullivan’s comic operas, is bringing back its successful show
Here’s a How-De-Do too,with a soirée of songs, a collection of well-loved pieces from the famous operas Mikado, Pirates of Penzance, Yeomen of the Guard,
HMS Pinafore, Ruddigore, Trial by Jury altered here and there with just a dash of domestic chaos to add to the humour. Tomorrow until April 28 at Gate Theatre, Torbay Community Hall, 35 Watea Rd Torbay. torbaytheatre.com
Shhh! Motherhood, Mayhem and Emotional Cabbage by Siri Embla and Lisa Brickell is an international show, described as deeply moving and hysterically funny, based on true stories of four generations of characters and their hilarious “inner critic”. This dark comedy that explores motherhood, postnatal distress and mental health issues past and present, is a mix of physical theatre, half masked storytelling and live music. Having travelled in New Zealand, Norway, Italy and Australia, it now offers a rare opportunity to see it for two nights only, followed by a short film and Q&A, on Auckland’s North Shore as a fundraiser for taking the show to Europe and making their film RecoVRy available as a mental health resource.
Friday and Saturday, April 26 and 27 at 7.30pm at The Rose Centre, 4 School Rd, Belmont. Phone Lisa on 021 179 8304, or email mockingbirdcomedy@gmail.com
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, coming to the Civic theatre later this month, will feature a cast that is arguably the most accomplished ever assembled for a stage production here, led by Coronation Street fan favourite Rula Lenska.It tells about an eclectic group of British retirees as they travel to India, just to find out the run-down colonial hometurned-hotel is far from the promised extravagance. Yet, as their lives begin to intertwine, they are charmed in unexpected and life-changing ways. This is a comedy about taking risks, finding love and embracing second chances.
April 23-30 at the Civic, Auckland CBD. Book at ticketmaster.co.nz
Aotearoa Art Fair is back to The Viaduct Events Centre. One of New Zealand’s most significant contemporary art events, it attracts thousands of viewers, with selective displays from leading New Zealand and Australian galleries.
Today to Sunday at Viaduct Events Centre, CBD. artfair.co.nz
Registration is now open for the Auckland Fringe Festival in September.