Eight companies perform eight productions over three weeks in the Kia Mau festival of theatre and dance. Matariki is the perfect time of the year to indulge your senses with world class theatre and dance hosted by BATS Theatre, Te Papa, and Circa Theatre. First up (tonight!) is Versions of Allah presented by contemporary indigenous theatre […]
I couldn’t see any of the House of Sand shows in the Fringe Festival this year so I’m really pleased that two of them – Pedal and Castles — are coming back to BATS Theatre this month. Castles won the SYNZ Award and was nominated in a number of other categories. I sent some questions to […]
On Friday, 5 February San Fran on Cuba St is being swept up in an “unstoppable, infectious force of nature” when The Cuban Brothers take the stage in Wellington for the first time in five years. Combining “sexy, soulful music with jaw-dropping b‑boy action and riotous comedy” The Cuban Brothers are born entertainers, who will have you […]
Wellingtonians rejoice for it is almost ARTS FESTIVAL SEASON! From the beginning of February through March we’ll be able to enjoy work in development, new and experimental acts, and some of the best stuff from around the world. First one to start is the Fringe Festival. As they say on the website “Our festival is open access […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]