Auckland Theatre Company - Cast & Creative

Steve King / Audience

I came to see The Pillowman last night and loved it. What a fantastic story (stories) and stunningly presented and acted.

I could quite happily have gone home satisfied at half time- and nearly did as I'd missed the signs on the way in the crowd and not bought a programme so thought that was the end of the show- although did think it was very avant-guard not having a curtain call.

Anyway, it's the best ATC production I've seen in many years including the musicals which are usually a favourite- exciting, engrossing, hillarious and heaps of SFX too!

So please pass on my congratulations to Director Simon Prast and the rest of the team for an awesome piece of entertainment. I'm copying this review to as many friends as I can.

Amanda Sanders / Audience

I saw The Pillowman on Tuesday night and realised just how much more amazing theatre can be than previously thought.

It was totally amazing and left me speechless as to just how to describe its brilliance, in all aspects. My love for theatre doubled after seeing this play.

Melanie / Audience

Just back from The Pillowman - absolutely fantastic. Best show of the season for me.

Was not sure what to expect as I had one person tell me it was amazing, and another it was lousy and that they'd left at half time.

Boo sucks to the nay-sayer - I would have paid to see the second half alone. Though I'm not sure how much sense that would have made. More like this, please!

Renata Drehmer / Audience

Shocking, thrilling and brilliantly enacted! Thank you all cast and crew for two memorable nights at the Maidment Theatre; a place and people I will certainly never forget - Renata Drehmer, Brazil.

Te Rina Thompson / Audience

The Pillowman exibited some of the very reasons theatre is great. The raw emotions of the character and the way the technical supported this perfectly made this the best theatre production I've seen to date.

Sidney Smith / Audience

As a regular Auckland Theatre Company subscriber, I saw The Pillowman last night.

It was absolutely stunning and the performances of, in particular, Craig Parker (all that naive integrity, brotherly tenderness and damaged creativity) and Jonathan Hardy (making ruthlessness look like something fussily benign and fatherly), were unforgettable.

The whole production was rivetting. Thanks for giving that incredible play a stupendous presentation.

Serafin / Audience

Indeed The Pillowman is brilliant in its script, and our actors performed it deliciously, yet it was a bit close to home.

I work in a field that sees these sorts of things happen to children. This is not stuff of fiction, but daily reality. In fact, my friend asked me as we walked home, whether I thought The Pillowman had been timed to match the media's passionate love affair with child abuse in New Zealand of late.

Robyn / Audience

Why do we have to have such an awful diet of violence? No matter how well acted it is just ghastly.

I believe that if society is fed a constant diet of violence then that is the kind of society we will end up with.

Please can we have work that inspires not horrifies us.

Jane Huddleston (Rutherford College) / Audience

Wow!!! What a way to end a fabulous year of live theatre for my students! The Pillowman was thought provoking and visually stunning - my students ALL loved it. They coped well with the themes and picked up on some of the literary brilliance of the many tales told by Katurian. In addition, they really liked the story told by Tupolski - both the story and the delivery!

The set design, costumes and soundtrack all got a going over during class discussion yesterday. Even without the teachers pack, my students had developed an understanding of the concepts behind the designs - largely after talking to the designers in the forum.

We were all very impressed with the actors - both in performance and in the forum. My students felt that every actor held an equal part in the performance - that is, all the actors played to the 'nth' degree and no one was perceived as weaker or a lesser performer. This is something we have been working on in ensemble work - the idea that even a 'walk-on' should be fully in character and focussed for their entire time on stage. We particularly enjoyed the contrast and interplay between Michael Hurst and Jonathan Hardy. I cannot imagine a better pairing for this interesting yet uneasy alliance. Craig Parker also impressed us with his strength and the depth of his emotions. The relationship set up between Katurian and Michal was believable and touching (not a dry eye in the house at the end of the first half).

In the forum, we felt that the actors gave us a true glimpse of what it must mean to put on such a piece of Drama. They were honest and down-to-earth in their responses and, in many ways, demystified the process of getting into character and working with difficult themes and material.

For myself, it was the second time I had seen The Pillowman and I got so much more out of it on Tuesday evening. My first viewing was on the opening Saturday and some of the 'celebs' unnerved me by laughing in odd places! I agree with the actors when they said that the audience made a lot of difference, but also, this is a play with layers that were more visible on the second viewing.

Finally, I want to thank you, Lynne, and the ATC for making these experiences available to my students. I could bang away in my little Drama room until I am blue in the face, but nothing cements my teaching more thoroughly than a good dose of high quality live performance - and the ATC always delivers. Added to that, the care we receive from you and the fabulous opportunities to speak with designers and actors in the forum, mean that my students come away enriched and inspired.

Thank you all for that and LONG MAY YOU RUN!

Looking forward to next year's programme.

Ashton Henty / Audience

The Pillowman was bloody brilliant. It was nice to see a play that is dark, confronting and challenges ones comfort zone. I can see myself enjoying performing in such a play in the future.