"Warwick's latest home show is a little gem!
I was provoked, stimulated, and bought to the joy of laughter.
This performance invited me to see and experience the mundane in a new light.

-- Jenny Packard,
{Lifetime  patron of Warwick's theatrical work}

A MASTER COMES OF AGE
Having a Life and Being Idle reviewed by Fiona MacBride
Waiheke Gulf News, October 2009.

Warwick was at his most accomplished in his recent season of performance theatre at Artworks Theatre. Here we have a man who has a long lineage in theatre performance who is now at his most intense and honest. The show he delivers represents a year of workshops, aspects of which we were treated to at the Tivoli bookshop season last year.

But the show, in actuality, is drawn from a lifetime of spiritual growth and coming of age.

Warwick has lived a life unlike any ordinary life and such is the lot of those born sensitive and artistic. Every new community or scene he enthusiastically coveted, has added to his richly layered world view.

Often restless and with a deep longing for peace, he has travelled the world.  New Zealand, with its post-war ethics and mores, drove him away and kept him away for years. Now he has returned, and with modesty, has come home.

Warwick presents the show solo, but it has gone through some work with the able direction of Nick Blake of theatre group Dramadillo fame.

The show is many things and Warwick decided at the outset that “It is a performance-lecture, I have to state that and own that …” and while this gives good structure to the show, it by no means narrows its appeal.

There are a stream of characters; the Teacher, The Japanese Tea Ceremony Master, a Tortoise, a Hare, and my personal favourite, The Great Pretender. This last character stomps occasionally through the set, entertaining all, upsetting no one, giving energy, music and dance, and chuckling quietly off stage.  Warwick warns us all not to be hoodwinked but to “have a life and do it graciously”.

There is a true sense of healing, without all the trappings of being fooled. Certainly there is the customary liturgy from Warwick involving costumes, entrances and exits, blessings, welcomings, bows, sharing of drink, readings, prayers and song. Warwick betrays his Catholic upbringing at every performance.  Once you accept that ritual has its place, you see that Warwick knows how to place it in the theatre world to charm everyone.

He is the true master in this show. He has trimmed ‘the business’ and presents a fine balance of improbable improvisation (opening night involved the dog Toto) and crafted monologue. 

Remember, this is the man who stopped Kim Hill in her tracks at the outset of an in-depth interview on National Radio, catching her off-guard with a gentle query about her daughter. The charm paid off and Kim had to start again on a less antagonistic line. Warwick knows exactly when to ply the sweets and the medicine. In some ways this reflects Warwick’s own life – a balance of fun and seriousness. Warwick talks of his journey, and you cannot help but feel honoured to see his honesty. This is a show that will have you spell-bound.

Having a Life & Being Idle
a review of Warwick's performance at Artworks Theatre
by Chris Palmer, Waiheke Island, May2010

Theatre l'absurd! A whimsical guided frolic through the theme of idleness! A quirky queer performance by a quirky queer performer! An intimate lesson on idleness taught with anecdote, ritual, humour... and nursery rhyme! A truly entertaining and instructional romp! Miss this show at your peril!

These are some of the headlines that could be conjured up to describe Warwick Broadhead's latest one-man show, however, none fully do either the material performed, or the performance, the justice it really deserves.

Based solely on its intriguing title and the few words describing the show printed on the poster, I attended the show with a completely open mind. Just as well! What lay in store over the next 90 minutes or so would stretch any theatre critic's carefully selected repertoire of adjectives and superlatives to the maximum.

With a limited audieneof only 30 people, a miimalist set consisiting of a fully-stocked bookshelf and a small table in a space no bigger than an average lounge room, like me, the audience waited with child-like anticipation as to what this was all about.

Broadhead's entrance had our attention immediately. It wasn't so much that he was there in front of us, it ws because his presence ws only audible by his soft singing and humming from behind the stage and invisibly encirclingthe audience like Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon on a quadrophonic sound system!

Once he entered the set, the performance was multi-dimensional. Broadhead clearly draws on his personal depth of experience both on and off the stage to weave little vignettes of wisdom, beautifully wrapped in Frankie-Howerd-style self-entertaining humour. Many things are explored and explained as Broadhead dances gracefully between jester and teacher, with all the deliberateness of a geisha performing the Japanese tea cermony.

A delightful performance that seemed to nourish and entertain the soul as well as the mind, with elements opf surprise using sparingly but to brilliant effect. I would highly recommend you enter Broadhead's word for an hour or so and allow him to entertain and enlighten you.

PS Dust off your favourite cup and saucer from the china cabinet and bring it wth you - there's a lovely bit of audience participation in store. Find out more about this show: article here

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