In-tents Experience

The Auckland Theatre Company performance of Cabaret is praised by Los Angeles Times blogger Christopher Smith, who writes that company director and actor Michael Hurst is “fortunate to have a compelling Sally Bowles in New Zealand actress Amanda Billing”. “[Billing] gets at the fragility below Bowles’ neurotic wilfulness, while her vocal entitlement turns the climactic rendition of the title song into as much a self-revealer as a show-stopper.” The company imported a Dutch Spiegeltent, mirror tent, from Holland to house the “racy yet compelling new production”. “The company stages an annual season comparable to the Mark Taper Forum or South Coast Repetory: a mix of comedy, drama and musicals ranging from original works by New Zealand playwrights to mountings of Broadway and Shakespearean fare. As seen with this ‘Cabaret,’ it can add up to an in-tents experience.”