Couch Soup 2007 (reviews)

From Urban Press

Hamilton, Meteor Theatre, 2007

Written by 18 local and national playwrights. Directed by David Foote.

It's hard to believe this is the 10th year of Couch Soup's tapas menu of one act, one page plays. Perhaps the couch looks a little more lived in, but the style --- part sketch comedy, part absurdist morsel, part satire --- is still relevant. This year it advertises "30 plays, four actors, one couch, no waiting" on its soup can wrapper of a programme.

The event is a feat of co-ordination, time and place management, acting and direction for David Foote, cast and crew. The plays this year range from creaking monologues with bad puns, through parodies of folk, emo and other style sensations, to many variations on bus-stop encounters, survivor shows and even a running serial of a couch ship castaway crew. Many are irreverent, especially about consumer style and television formats.

Much as the writers, too many to name, should be praised for the accomplishment of covering so much content with so little space, the cast and energy of four performers deserves special mention. Ross MacLeod, Benny Marama and Stephanie Christian wrote several of the plays as well as acting, singing and ranting as the script demanded, joined by Bronwyn Williams.

Gail Pittaway, Waikato Times

The 2007 edition of Couch Soup was also performed at the Blue Note Bar in Wellington