Richard III
Winter 2005
Love's Labour's Lost
Summer 2005
Two Gentlemen Of Verona
Summer 2004
Titus Andronicus
Winter 2003
The Tempest
Summer 2003
Under Milk Wood
Summer 2003
Hamlet
Winter 2002
Twelfth Night
Summer 2002
As You Like It
Summer 2001
Comedy Of Errors
Summer 2000
Coriolanus
Winter 2000
A Midsummer Nights Dream
Summer 1999
Twelfth Night
Summer 1998
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Under Milk Wood
WAIKATO TIMES - Summer 2003
Leanne Ireland and Penny Wilson
Under Milk Wood
by Gail Pittaway
Under Milk Wood, a "play for voices", was first broadcast in January 1954 by the BBC. Since then it has become a favourite with actors and writers.
This rehearsed reading uses devices such as radio microphones, bells, accordian, voice effects, chants and songs to the atmosphere of the plays original radio format.
Fifteen gorgeously-garbed players work close together to portray the lusty vitality of Thomas' imaginary Welsh fishing village, Llareggub (try reading it backwards). Four voices anchor the piece, taking us into and out of the dreamlike world and Thomas' virtuosic language. Nine other players take on the wonderful mad characters like Reverend Eli Jenkins and Willy Nilly Postman.
While they contrast accent, tone and pitch, gesture and expression to characterise the poignant, eccentric lives in the town, this performance needed a little more variety in pace.
Even so, the script is excitingly ambitious and challenging for audience and actors alike. Thomas' brilliant language was the star, lovingly supported by the Slip of the Tongue Company.
Twelfth Night
WAIKATO TIMES - Summer 2002
HE'S A DRUNK: drunken buddies Adrian Holroyd as Sir Andrew Aguecheek, left, and Graeme Cairns as Sir Toby Belch, had the Twelfth Night audience at the Hamilton Gardens Summer Festival in stitches last night. photo by Bruce Mercer
Twelfth Night at the Hamilton Gardens
What: Twelfth Night or What you Will, by William Shakespeare.
Who: directed for Slip of the Tongue by Tania Smeaton.
Where: The Rogers Rose Garden.
When: Thursday 7pm, Saturday 4am.
Reviewed by: Hilary Falconer.
Slip of the Tongue have toured the Waikato with this before the Hamilton Gardens season, and we reap the benefits - a tight assured performance.
Most are so confident in their roles the dialogue comes naturally, making it more audibly digestible in a challenging outdoor situation. (The Rose Gardens, however, are more civilised and audience-friendly than previous riverside venues).
Some are so at ease in their characters they're able to embellish the humour bestowed by The Bard, employing otherwise over-the-top flourishes and coarse acting, which in outdoor Shakespeare become almost a necessity.
Graeme Cairns as Sir Toby Belch and Adrian Holroyd as Sir Andrew Aguecheek wring every last drop out of their ale-sodden comic pairing and David Sutcliffe is every inch the love- lorn Duke Orsino.
And exploring the usually ignored but obvious-if-you-look-for-it homophobic subtext of the cross dressing comedy, Adam Pope literally camps up the role of Antonio (his pink, fringed scabard was one of many costuming triumphs).
Alida plays Olivia as a spoilt little tart and Penni Bousfield gives an interesting interpretation of the Fool.
The relatively straight (if you discount the cross-dressing) role of Viola/Cesario was handled well by Emma Seal.
Poor, deluded Malvolio's descent from pompous importance to humiliation is captured masterly by Alec Forbes.
Adding to the professional ambience was the exotic mellifluousness of Justine Francis' Awkward Smorgasbord Orchestra.
As You Like It
WAIKATO TIMES - Summer 2001
What: As You Like It, by William Shakespeare.
Who: Directed for Slip of the Tongue Productions by Alec Forbes.
When: Thursday, 7pm, Saturday 4pm.
Where: Coxhead Flat, Hamilton Gardens.
Reviewed by: Hilary Falconer.
Feuding fathers, misguided lovers, a trans-gender heroine and a beautiful sunset over the Waikato River _ it must be Hamilton Gardens' Summer Shakespeare.
We won't mention the anachronistic jet-boats zooming through the Forest of Arden, although the water-skier who fell off in full view at the start of Act II got a huge cheer.
As You Like It is not one of Will's more complex plays. There's less screaming around in outrageous costumes than previous Hamilton Gardens productions _ the humour is in the words _ with puns, double entendres and deliberately bad poetry.
Fortunately Slip of the Tongue go for a natural approach to the dialogue and lively interchanges between characters make up for lack of action.
Shakespeare has made his female lead Rosalind strong and smart, without the bitchy or devious traits he often endows his strong women.
Her only problem is she falls in love with the drippy Orlando and, well, that's it really. Alida Steemson makes the most of Rosalind, bringing out both the street-smart and lovestruck sides. Her first meeting with a drooling, speechless Orlando (Adam Pope) is delightful.
Adrienne Clothier combines engaging ditsiness with strength of character as Rosalind's cousin Celia, completing the female double act.
Notable smaller roles _ Graeme Cairns as Jaques, making a very good job of the seven ages of man monologue, and Russell Raethel in a short but impressive part as Charles the Wrestler, obviously arrived straight from the Hero parade.
Comedy Of Errors
WAIKATO TIMES - Summer 2000
What: Comedy of Errors.
When: February 13, 15, 17 8pm and February 19, 4am.
Where: Rhododendron Lawn, Hamilton Gardens.
Reviewed by: Hilary Falconer.
A medieval circus band, burning torches, bizarre costumes, the Moon and morepork behind the pines _ it must be summer and Shakespeare at the Gardens.
The Comedy of Errors is ideal for al fresco theatre, giving much scope for yelling and being as silly as possible.
This comes naturally to the four main protagonists _ Graeme Cairns and Nick Clothier (as the Dromios), Mark Houlahan and David Sutcliffe (as the two Antipholus) with Clothier more than holding his own with the old hands at loudness and silliness.
This is a play of mistaken identity, you know _ twins, shipwrecks, wrongful imprisonment . . . the usual.
The twist Slip of the Tongue slip in, is to have the audience move rather than the scenery, since the scenery at the gardens is all around.
This moveable feast may have inconvenienced those with unfinished picnics, but it had the advantage of keeping the circulation going for those down on the car rugs.
Narrower in scope than other Shakespeare in the Gardens productions, this, coupled with the bawdy, punning, colloquial nature of the dialogue, helps make it one of the more verbally followable.
Cairns in particular delighted the sizeable audience with his interpretation of Dromio describing Nell, the overly-buxom kitchen maid.
It is exactly this kind of production which makes us realise why we still do Shakespeare, he ain't half a clever bard.
Coriolanus
WAIKATO TIMES - Winter 1999
What: Coriolanus, by William Shakespeare.
Who: Directed for Slip of the Tongue by Alec Forbes.
Where: The Meteor Theatre.
When: Thursday, Friday and tonight.
Reviewed by: Hilary Falconer.
The tragedy concerning this play is that it's on for only three nights and most people don't know it's on at all.
Alec Forbes' minimalist production of Shakespeare's last tragedy deserves better. Taking the role of Agrippa the peacemaker himself, he has extracted some fine and disciplined performances from a large cast and produced a version which is stylised but retains drama and tension.
Coriolanus is a blokes' play. There are really only two female parts and Virgilia, Coriolanus' wife, is a thankless one, but Alida Steemson gives mother, Volumnia, the aggression and passion needed for us to realise why her son is how he is.
Russell Raethal gives his all as Coriolanus. At the beginning, he threatens to make us see him as merely angry rather than arrogant and proud, but as the play progresses he successfully employs more varied emotions to give the character complexity.
Graeme Cairns plays Aufidius, Coriolanus' nemesis _ and with acting like this he should get into Parliament.
Respecting the Meteor's reputation as one of the best black box theatres in the country, there is no stage or set. When the audience needs to be given a different perspective or transported to another part of Rome, we were simply moved.
A Midsummer Nights Dream
BAY OF PLENTY TIMES - Summer 1999
Slip of the Tongue's Adam Pope (standing) in his guise as Puck contemplates the results of putting Lysander (Mark Servian) to sleep.
Park perfect for magical mischief
by Val Sherriff
The performers were overwhelmed by the 800 strong audience - and the audience was spellbound by A Midsummer Nights Dream at Yalton Park last night.
Hamilton theatre troupe Slip of the Tongue, performing William Shakespeare's story of love, magic and the world of faerie, were surprised at the size of their audience.
In an informal picnic atmosphere, with wine and food plentiful, the tale of lovers confusions and passions was laid out in a perfect forest-like setting.
Mischievous Puck, played by Adam Pope, holds most of the action in his scheming brain - and this Puck made his intentions crystal clear.
Small children, beguiled by the informality of the occasion, joined the cast for inadvertent "walk on" parts that in no way detracted from the action.
Troupe spokesman Mark Servian said the 24 strong cast and 6 musicians thoroughly enjoyed themselves and planned to return to Tauranga with their next play.
"It was our first time in Tauranga and we'll be back with another production next year - we haven't decided what it is yet," Mr Servian said.
WAIKATO TIMES - Summer 1999
What: A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare.
When: February 15, 16, 18 at 7.30pm and February 20 at 4am.
Where: Hamilton Gardens.
Reviewed by: Hilary Falconer.
Maybe it's the fairies, or the theme of herb-induced altered states, a free night's entertainment al fresco, or maybe it's just ol' Will is as popular as ever.
Whatever the reason, Waikato people came out in force for Shakespeare in the Gardens last night, even though the riverside setting is not as acoustically or ergonomically conducive as other sites used in the past.
To repay them, the Slip of the Tongue Theatre Company stalwarts wove their midsummer magic again. Some scenes particularly appreciated by the audience were: Tania Smeaton doing one of her love-sick fruit-loop routines as Helena, with Hermia (Alida Steemson) having their verbal catfight and Lysander (Mark Servian) and Demetrius (David Sutcliffe) highlighting the physical element in this comedy of mistaken identities.
Sophie Hakaraia made a sensual Titania and Adam Pope an appropriately punk Puck.
The final play-within-a-play struck a chord with its spoofing of tragedies and imbecilic coarse acting from Mark Houlahan (Bottom), E A J Wyeth (Snout) and Adrian Holroyd (Snug).
It was wonderful to see Maori design elements fitted so logically into the fabric of the play. We witnessed a cross-cultural interpretation of Shakespeare, as English forest fairies and Maori fairies collaborated in their magic to Irish music. And, Peter Caldwell's orchestra goes from strength to strength.
Twelfth Night
WAIKATO TIMES - Summer 1998
What: Twelfth Night, by William Shakespeare.
Who: directed for Slip of the Tongue Theatre Company by Alec Forbes.
Where: Hamilton Garden Rhododendron Lawn.
When: Monday and Friday.
Reviewed by: Hilary Falconer.
Summer Shakespeare has been performed in the Gardens for about a decade, but this year's Hamilton Gardens Festival has given the event a wider public profile.
The resulting large audience for a hot and sticky Monday night show were rewarded with open air Shakespeare at its best _ clear and carrying voices, simple symbolism and the edge of idiocy needed for one of Bill's loopy comedies.
Twelfth Night is relatively user-friendly Shakespeare, but the cast and direction make things even easier by managing the fine line between a pace you can follow and one that still keeps the action moving.
Sophie Hakaraia as Olivia has the rare ability to banish stuffiness and deliver Shakespeare as if it were a sit-com script _ the lines are Elizabethan but the attitude and inflection is 1998.
David Sutcliffe's Malvolio is a truly damaged man _ wonderfully obsequious and obnoxious. Russell Raethel and Mark Houlahan enjoy themselves enormously as Sir Toby Belch and Feste the Fool, providing the energy vital for outdoor theatre.
Another faultless performance by Alida Steemson as Viola/Cesario is theatrically complemented by the physical similarity of Abigail Clare as Sebastian.
The atmosphere was also enhanced by a small but effective chamber ensemble, to provide a medieval soundtrack under musical director Peter Caldwell.