Limited Time Only is an entertaining and heartfelt exploration of affection, loss, and what’s vital in life.
The play follows three siblings who meet up on the one-year anniversary of their mum passing. Opening a mysterious envelope thrusts the siblings right into a reluctant journey via the close by wilderness, with the promise of treasure. The story is humorous and emotionally honest, rousing the viewers to laughter and (at the least one reviewer) to tears. The author/director, Hone Ngāwaka Taukiri, expertly lays down plot factors and motifs, and revisits them in transferring methods all through the piece.
The play looks like a 90s street journey film. Three siblings grudgingly band collectively for a standard purpose. They must work collectively however nonetheless hold secrets and techniques from each other. After emotional confrontations, they be taught that they every have helpful abilities and that they will be taught to beat their flaws by being a bit just like the others. The play even has Colgate-Feature-esque commercial breaks. Far from being detracting, this adhesion to the tropes creates a recognisable framework to inform a pleasant and real story, and creates an prompt sentimental hit.
The commercial breaks, and the extradiegetic music breaks, are each artistic and really nicely executed. These absurdist components work nicely as a method to transition between scenes, and to indicate a few of the inner machinations of the characters. It is much more rewarding that these commercial breaks turn into related to the story, on the finish. One of those commercial breaks entails viewers interplay, and the performer of this, Mateusz Budzyna-Dawidowski, skilfully works with the viewers, particularly the kids in attendance.
The performers all impressively realise the characters, and every offers a uniquely commanding efficiency. Of explicit word are the musical items. Hone Ngāwaka Taukiri, also needs to be counseled for locating so some ways to utilise all three singing voices. Nikeidrian Lologa Peters’s performances on the guitar and keyboard are extraordinary and add so much to the play as an entire. Makanihi Tohu finds a plethora of small moments to attract consideration to, and extract the poignance out of.
The set and props inside the play are sparse, however used to nice impact. Chairs stood in for boats, mountains, butterfly wings, and skydiving harnesses – simply to call a couple of. It is all the time entertaining to expertise a manufacturing which completely makes use of a singular useful resource, on this case chairs, however utilises it in thrilling and complete methods. This results in very ingenious and compelling theatre.
The programme describes this play as a ‘human story’, and that is an apt distillation. Hone Ngāwaka Taukiri does an unimaginable job of making a chunk of theatre that portrays the oft intangible impact of ‘journey’ on people. The characters aren’t materially modified by the occasions of the play, however the journey has left an indelible mark, and the characters are given a brand new perspective. This is finished nicely, and makes for a satisfying and enchanting play.
Limited Time Only is an earnest, humorous and heartfelt piece. The performers masterfully convey the characters to life and combine the absurdist components with ease. The creatives have all executed nicely to assemble such an attention-grabbing and cohesive piece of theatre.
Limited Time Only performs on the Te Pou Theatre as a part of the 2023 Rangatahi Season, from the twenty first to the twenty fifth of November, 2023.
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