Preview: The Show Some Love Show

The Show Some Love Show is a variety fundraiser to raise money for Wellington Women’s Refuge and Te Whare Rokiroki Maori Women’s Refuge. It will feature some of NZ’s best musicians, comedians, dancers, and poets; including The Eastern, Alice Brine, James Nokise and Fanciforia Foxglove. Domestic and intimate partner violence is one of NZ’s biggest […]

Lord of the Dance – Dangerous Games

My son’s friend John, who is Irish, said that there’s always something sexual in Irish dancing (he probably just calls it “dancing”). Malo explained this to me when I expressed surprise that all the women Irish dancers in Lord of the Dance – Dangerous Games had stripped off their pretty traditional outfits to bras and […]

Review: the beautiful ones

Hana (Awhimai Fraser) was sent away from the club in disgrace by owner Mr Sir (Tanemahuta Gray). She promises boyfriend, Ihia (Manuel Solomon), that she will return on a particular night if he dances from dawn to dusk. But she is frightened by his father Sir Sir, (Nathan Gray) and unsure as to how she […]

Ahi Kaa Festival

Celebrating Matariki with the best of Maori theatre and dance, the inaugural Ahi Kaa Festival officially opens tonight. In a city where some theatre practitioners think it’s okay to use blackface on stage because ‘it’s what the audience of the theatre form would have expected’ it is welcome. This festival will show off truly innovative work […]

Review: Triumphs and other alternatives

The lights go up on a mostly bare stage. In the back half of the stage there is a sheet of plastic being used as a curtain. It’s snagged on a table. As it rises a figure becomes visible over a miniature cityscape. The light brightens to reveal not a cityscape but a mess of […]

New Zealand Fringe Festival

The New Zealand Fringe Festival is coming at you with their 25th year of exciting, frightening, amazing, and puzzling works. As well as local artists there are 39 out-of-town acts bringing their stuff to Wellington. Prices are mostly under the $25 mark but the smart choice is to buy an Addict card. It’s only $15 […]

World of Wearable Arts Season

I’ve heard the complaints; World of Wearable Arts – WOW is for women of a certain age and is far too expensive. I’d not been to the show before so I couldn’t confirm or deny, but oh wow are those people wrong. To start with WOW to me was two experiences seamless melded together, and also […]

Xtending ourselves to try a new bar

When Lou from LOUD in Public PR invited us to the opening of Xtend Barre Wellington, we weren’t entirely enthused on the idea.  Great that a big brand was coming to New Zealand and had chosen Wellington first before Auckland, but an exercise studio promoting a workout fusion of ballet and pilates is not exactly […]

The New Zealand Fringe Festival

The New Zealand Fringe Festival has been going for a week and it’s got just over two more weeks to run. Sadly, I’ve only made it to two shows so far (because moving house) a pathetic effort really, because there are HEAPS. Cabaret, circus, comedy, dance, music, theatre, visual art – there are a lot of […]

Review: We have been there (Cloud in hand)

This is part of Footnote’s Forte series which “has a specific objective to bring New Zealanders who have excelled off shore home to make work here.” Berlin based choreographer Lisa Densem has created a work set to music by Andrew Thomas. In the programme she writes the performance aim is “to create a structure that […]