Layered with myth and fable, The Mooncake and the Kūmara is a moving story about a mixed-up, Māori-Chinese love affair that sprouts among rows of potatoes. Told in a mixture of English, Māori and Cantonese, the play is showing in Wellington as part of the Kia Mau Festival. Māori-Chinese playwright Mei-Lin Te Puea Hansen talked […]
Told through movement, dance and text, this is a modern statement on climate change, colonisation and Christianity across the Pacific Rim. It’s an untangling of the greatest collision to have affected the Pacific — western imperialism. Fire In The Water, Fire In The Sky has various performance times during the mornings. It shows in Tangata Le […]
The newest and naughtiest Maori showband on the Aotearoa entertainment scene plays at BATS Theatre during the Kia Mau Festival. Self described as “Funny Māoris with funny songs” this show is more of a gig than a theatre piece for the actors involved. Band member Jamie McCaskill talked about the origins of the group and what they do. “Rob Mokaraka, […]
The Purple Onion peeps into the world of Wellington’s infamous burlesque parlour as part of the Kia Mau Festival. Established in the mid 1960s, the Purple Onion was Wellington’s premiere strip club which attracted some of New Zealand’s social elite as well as its fair share of dubious characters. Combining text, dance and a live funk […]
Riverside Kings opens in Upper Hutt today and plays in BATS Theatre next week as part of the Kia Mau Festival. The creators Sarita So and Natano Keni, describe it as “a physical weaving of brotherhood, nostalgia and change.” Their new company, I Ken So Productions, aims to create, diverse works of a high quality. They […]
New Zealand’s only contemporary indigenous theatre and dance event Kia Mau Festival returns to Wellington from Friday 2 – Saturday 24 June. It’s a unique and innovative opportunity for whānau and communities across the Wellington region to engage with today’s tangata whenua and First Nations artists from across the globe. Led by Wellington’s own Māori and Pasifika theatre […]
The containers are starting to appear on the wharf – the LUX light festival is back and opens Friday night! Festival director Mary Laine says they’re exploring some new ways of doing things. The festival grows bigger each year so this year they’re experimenting with five distinct themes. By focusing five precincts on particular types of work […]
Dank Presents is a series of experimental comedy shows created by Wellington comedians and producers. Hosted by Fringe Bar this Fringe, every show is different. I saw The National Average, based on an award winning routine in BATS Theatre’s Late Night Knife Fight. Jonny Potts and Matt Powell are brothers Cosmo and Carl, left a whisky/whiskey […]
Black Coffee in Newtown is hosting the Institute of Refuge in Art exhibition. Each piece has been created using discarded artworks. All recreated artwork will be up for sale over the week with 50% of the proceeds going towards Vinnies Wellington social services. Have a chat with Carmel from Black Coffee if you’re interested in any […]
This Saturday literature lovers will be running from venue to venue hoping to catch their favourite writers at LitCrawl 2016. Based on the concept of a pub crawl but with more words (and (maybe?) fewer drunken stumbles) the event is in its third year. There are 18 venues for the crawl this year plus the After Party at […]