Eli Kent's reworking of Henrik Ibsen's Peer Gynt is raucous, bombastic and funny and Auckland Theatre Company has thrown its impressive production heft behind it with marvellous results.
An odyssey of self-discovery for a raunchy Don Juan type, PG is not PG. It has a great episodic rhythm of outrageous and lavish set pieces punctuated with smaller scenes.
It's also wildly self-indulgent, not because Eli-the-playwright is our onstage guide and not because he literally pleasures himself on John Parker's minimalist-yet-fun mountain set but because the last 20 minutes of the three-hour "monster" is basically an Eli monologue.
We've gorged on director Colin McColl's theatrical delights and now it's after 11pm and you want us to ponder unconvincing romantic philosophy? Pu-leese ... when is the troll orgy coming back?
The whole ensemble's excellent acting and characterisation are utterly pleasurable.
