Reviews

Indian Ink make some of the best theatre in the world - NZ HERALD

With a few well chosen words he paints a rich visual tableaux full of arresting detail and displays a remarkable ability to dive into the emotional heart of an ever-changing parade of characters.

The Guru of Chai also owes much to co-writer and director Justin Lewis as well as dramaturge Murray Edmond and the charming, sets and costumes designed by John Verryt.

Rajan in full flight is an incredible solo performer ... his character work is richly detailed, with beautiful broad range and rich textures in every moment.

Rajan has shown audiences time and again that he can play all the characters in a piece of theatre with such charm and skill they are completely seduced.

I suspect that, like Krishnan's Dairy, this production will last for years to come, but perhaps the consummate skill of Rajan and the soundscape and music of David Ward are needed for its telling.

Watching a single person replicate a three-man fight scene, bullets and all, is a sight to behold.

So many lavish productions forget that the most powerful tool is the audiences imagination. This stripped-down show reminds us to use that power.

Rajan is a masterful storyteller and a gifted comic actor.

From the first moment he steps onto the stage, he casts an irresistible spell over the audience..

The acting and staging were simply wonderful, moving, funny, warm and chilling.

Devising work and touring it at this level is no mean feat, yet Indian Ink are committed to their craft. I applaud the sophistication of this performance and its cogent simplicity. At times I saw images of a Peter Brook performance, at other times I could see an intrinsically NZ tale involving talent, wit and ingenuity.

"... sheer brilliance of Rajan's performance, and the humanity he brings to every character he creates, that holds this whirlwind of dramatic storytelling together."

"... all the ingredients of marvellous theatre.."

The Guru of Chai has all the humour and originality that you come to expect...

The Guru of Chai is pure magic, created by Rajan, his writing partner/ director Justin Lewis, and composer/ music performer Ward. Their style and sheer genius draw one into their story, ensuring that one’s eyes never leave the stage. There is much laughter, balanced by the throat-catching pathos that is an essential part of any good comedy.

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After 75 minutes with the guru we come to understand life is a cup. You'll have to go to find out why, and what to do with it.

The Guru of Chai showcases Jacob at his very best and reinforces him as one of NZ's most hard working, deserving, disciplined and gifted theatre artists. ...Guru's magical elements all add up to a very captivating, moving piece of theatre.

The Dentist's Chair left me feeling that if you dare to confront what you fear the most, you might just find what you th

a visually entrancing work with a cleverly designed set

...the play is full of genuine pleasure....

...sudden switches from humour to something dark and scary that Stephen Sondheim might be proud ...

The wind is also the perfect metaphor for the way this piece works. Its shifting of the air around us to create unexpected collisions between people and objects is akin to the way this masterfully constructed play links a multitude of styles into one happy contrivance.

... this gentle comedy provides what will probably prove to be one of this year's highlights

Pickle is further evidence of the Auckland company's extraordinary capacity for turning immense and serious stories into the most affectionate and thought-provoking theatre.

A fascinating and enchanting work…there are moments of sheer magic both in the acting and production. Rajan and Lewis are to be congratulated for making an inspired contribution to New Zealand theatre.

immense and serious stories into the most affectionate and thought-provoking theatre

The trilogy is complete and with The Pickle King the Indian Ink Theatre Company has served up another pungent, taste - mingling sensation that is worth bottling….. Co - writers Rajan and Lewis are masters of intrigue as they progress plots and explore themes, levitating their serious intent with light comic touches and unexpected moments of laughter and truth…..As for the question, 'What is worth preserving?', it's well worth the price of your ticket to discover the timeless answer anew.

The Pickle King offers a truly magical live theatre experience.

Let us be spellbound in our seats. This show is theatrical magic. The story is seamless, the performances earnest and full of charm, the set a jack in the box and the themes whilst building on Indian migrant culture reveal a New Zealand full of hope and wonder.

Once the quality of Indian Ink Theatre Company's work was passed along by word of mouth. Now we know there is great home-grown entertainment to be savoured.

If you missed Krishnan's Dairy and The Candlestickmaker, I suggest you do not miss the swan song of this important New Zealand Company.

Fascinating to watch ... gloriously funny.

The language of the play is as captivating as the performances.

Krishnan's is still a remarkable play but [The Pickle King] is a great one for it is a piece of total theatre which offers humanity and psychological insight in a package of good plain laughs. Luminous performances and brilliant staging….What more can one say about a show which so beautifully disarms the cynical, revives the weary and - who knows - with one gusty breath of wind raise the dead?

The buzz is becoming palpable... the strongest advice I can give is book early.

The production still has a freshness about it and it still has the power to raise not only laughter and applause but also a collective gasp of shock from the audience - The Candlestickmaker [is] a play that touchingly illustrates not only the power and the limitless range of the imagination, but also the unpredictability of life, whether you happen to be a duck or an astrophysicist.

Krishnan's Dairy is a hard act to follow, but, as the audience jauntily exited, it was clear that the charming Rajan had proved again his winning formula.

A multi-course banquet of theatrical inventiveness. Everything about it is appetising, pleasurable, and profoundly satisfying.

Rich in strong flavours, subtle nuances, whimsical aromas and pungent surprises, The Candlestickmaker is a work of supreme creative excellence.

At the curtain call the whole company - and it is very much a company - was given a rousing reception for what I think can best be described as an evening of enchantment.

An inventive, heartfelt and bitter-sweet treatment... reduced this reviewer to tears

Comic genius... a tour de force from a master of multicultural mayhem.

..this quirky gem... has relevant things to say...

it all adds up to riveting and magic theatre

Performer Jacob Rajan weaves a wonderful spell in this deft one-hander, defining all the characters by the use of superb masks. He swaps masks as well as characters with the speed of the best magician, accompanied by absolutely superb sound effects

Absolute enchantment. Superb stuff. A charming play. Subtle and delicate... all that and more.

Krishnan's Dairy... is cute, sentimental, large-spirited, beautifully performed, utterly touching: [Rajan is a] spellbinding performer: his mastery of voice, body language, and characterisation are his show's most poetic features of all.

This tender tale features its writer, Jacob Rajan as the sole performer, switching effortlessly between half-masks to play the loving but warring couple.

This is a piece of absolute enchantment... Jacob Rajan is extraordinary. Playing all parts with lightening switches of masks, he unearths the profoundly touching comedy of these hopeful, vulnerable lives while never once patronising! We were in the palm of his hand for every second of one of the tenderest, most life-affirming shows on the [Edinburgh] Fringe.

The unexpected delight of my day, though was Krishnan's Dairy... a guileless, deeply affecting play that celebrates the unfashionable virtues of mutual love and dogged perseverance. Rajan is a performer of charm and gentle humour, a writer of exceptional generosity, and his apparently unassuming drama... achieves a quietly devastating emotional charge.

The real beauty of Krishnan's Dairy, though, comes in its telling. Using little more that a series of masks and some deft physical caricature, Rajan and director Justin Lewis have created a work of some charm that amuses as much as it touches...

While Rajan covers the issues from arranged marriage to everyday racism, this play is above all about the pleasure of storytelling. Sweet, sentimental and funny, this is a perfect show for those seeking a gentle laugh, a few songs, and a prick of sadness.

Such is the power of Jacob Rajan's ground-breaking work: it changes the way you see the world... such riveting theatre that you would have to have a heart of reinforced concrete not to be captivated. [Rajan] is a stage natural, economical in movement, fluid in gesture, never in-your-face but unforgettably in-your-presence: all New Zealanders should see it.

...delightfully witty and moving... beautifully performed by Rajan ... the juxtaposition of the two love stories gives the 70 minute play strikingly effective and powerful undercurrents.

Immensely moving... I am sure I was not the only member of the audience brought to tears... the experiences of Gobi and Zina bring to life the cold statistics we read. Rajan is a charming and accomplished performer whose skills in music and dance add immeasurably to the impact of the play.