Downstage opens its doors for the first time this summer with three new shows opening in less than a week!
This time last year Tim Spite’s SEEyD Company thrilled audiences with the paua poaching action adventure Paua (netting Spite the Chapman Tripp Director of the Year Award in the process). Now they’re back with a re-working of earlier success Turbine, which blew people away at BATS in 2006: An environmentally conscious family have their principles tested when a power company wants to build a wind farm in their ‘back yard’.
Turbine opens officially on Friday but early birds (or the price sensitive) can see previews on Wednesday or Thursday night for only $20.
Percussion-monsters Strike are back for one night only on Sunday, playing favourites and showcasing tracks from their forthcoming CD. Guests Lisa Tomlins (The Eggs) and Mana (Rhombus) collaborate and DJ Samu adds breaks. Strike Soundsystem is on Sunday at 8.00pm.
Superhero comics fans should press their best unitards this week in preparation for Armageddon, and likewise indie and underground comics fans should pull out their copies of Hicksville for signing, as the NZ Comix Weekend is setting up shop on the 19th-20th April at the Southern Cross, Graphic and Spacething.
There are talks, jams, stalls, seminars and exhibitions – providing a homegrown counterpoint to the big budget pulp culture-fest over at the TSB Arena (although some of the Comix Weekend artists are also represented at Armageddon)
Details and links after the jump…
Opening tomorrow night at the Film Archive – Wellington multi-media artist Sarah Jane Parton presents her wacky take on the future…
Well known for her beguiling video and installation work (and love of lycra leotards) Parton has assembled a cast and crew of Wellington’s finest to create a sci-fi musical odyssey starring Toi Whakaari graduates Antonia Bale, Anja Tate-Manning (Chapman-Tripp award winner), and Jade Daniels, alongside theatre veteran Rose Beauchamp, dancer Sam Lahood and a bevy of young and talented children.
With music performed by a live band featuring the members of Cassette under the musical direction of Parton’s partner Luke Buda (Phoenix Foundation), fronted by the perpetually hilarious Jo Randerson, the show contains a reasonable degree of cynicism, offset by moments of absurdity and humour.
In this cross-genre work, ideological meltdown is imminent, the revolution is doomed long before it begins and audience members are advised to bring a blanket.
PERFORMANCE DETAILS
Thursday 28, Friday 29 February and Saturday 1 March at 7pm
at The Film Archive, cnr Taranaki and Ghuznee Streets
Tickets:
Full Price – $15,
Concession – $13,
Fringe Addict – $12
Read Brannavan Gnanlingam’s great interview about the show
here
In 1998 Werner Herzog made an acclaimed documentary called Little Dieter Needs to Fly about German-born Vietnam hero Dieter Dengler and his adventures as a US Navy pilot. He obviously had a big connection to that story as he has now gone back and made a feature about the most amazing chapter of Dengler’s life: the escape from a jungle-bound Viet Cong prison camp after 6 months of near starvation. The Dark Knight’s Christian Bale stars. Rialto exclusive.
Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman star together as two old men on their last legs in The Bucket List, directed by Rob Reiner. It opens today at Readings, Empire, Lighthouse Petone and Penthouse. Also, from the commercial department is teleporting adventure Jumper starring Hayden Christensen and Samuel L. Jackson. Rumours that the proposed sequels to Jumper will be called Sweater and Pullover are simply reckless. Readings, Empire, Regent-on-Manners.
It’s upon us, Fringe Festival time.
I always love this time of year becuase you never quite know what might be happening around the corner. But you do know it’s a celebration of creativity that’s truly unique to our lovely Wellington.
Driving home today i saw art installations being installed, and i can’t wait to go visit them tomorrow
My cellphone sent ‘SECRET’ to 2343 along with my name and email so i could find out more about the Footnote Plus fuse secret production.
My ears and eyes are preparing for a 3D film plus octophonic sound at the Paramount courtesy of SpartacusR.
Do let us know what you’re looking forward to over the next few days and weeks!
This is in the vein of The Wellingtonista Bar Fly-les, but I thought I’d give it another name since it’s about food & coffee as well as drink.
So alone among the Wellingtonista, I have a terrible secret: apart from an early album from the Black Seeds, I have no current Wellington Music in my collection.
None.
Not even Fat Freddy’s Drop.
In my major period of buying music, Wellington music for me was a bit fringe and wacky, and worst of all, not on Flying Nun. There were occasional songs that caught my attention: Bill Direen & the Bilders’ Do the Alligator; that amusing Elephunk song; one or two songs from the Six Volts… and that’s about it. Wellington was full of arty jazzy stuff that frankly I despised.
Time has moved on – about 20 years in fact – and somehow Wellington’s musical renaissance has passed me by. This is not good.
So I need help!
What are the top five albums by Wellington bands in the last five years? Answers please: I must remove the shameful stain of my musical ignorance!
Some favourites:
The Avengers
For a time in the late sixties The Avengers were one of the highest profile rock bands on the New Zealand scene. Their song Waterpipe is one of the greatest songs to ever glorify the joys of using water in your bong. The 1968 debut LP Electric Recording has possibly my favourite album cover art ever — look how cool they are — as well as being a damn good record. They went to try their luck in Australia and broke up in ’69.
Bailter Space
Look — we have to let Christchurch have The Gordons, and The Skeptics were undoubtedly from Palmerston North, but I’m going to have to insist despite them beginning in Christchurch and ending up in New York, that Wellington be allowed to claim shoe-gazey atmospheric noise rockers Bailter Space as its own. They were an incredible live band, known for being one of the loudest of their era. Their gigs were few and far between, and many people still speak in hushed, reverential tones about the week in 1993 when there were TWO Bailter Space gigs. And their albums still stand up as being some of the best music to ever come out of New Zealand.
Birchville Cat Motel
a.k.a. Campbell Kneale. As Wikipedia sez,
although largely unknown in his home country, Kneale has toured many times throughout Asia, America, Europe, and Australia.
Daft name, and yet this one-man trancendental drone/noise act is surely the closest thing Wellington and New Zealand has ever had to a global music superstar.
Eight more, after this…
The genius minds behind Heavenly Burlesque are back again for the Fringe and this time it’s free. Gravity and other Myths is a spectacular outdoor new circus showcase inspired by the stars!
Vist Queen’s Wharf at night this week and you see some of the country’s best new circus, performing on a purpose-built outdoor circus rig, combined with pyrotechnics, spectacular lighting, sound and AV design.
I’ve been promised acts will use fire, trapeze, bungy, hula hoops, dance and object animation, all to the locally grown music of Rhian Sheehan, Module and more. This is proper circus people, not with evil clowns.
Plus here is your chance to run away with the circus in your lunchtime – Wellington Circus Trust are running introductory circus workshops at lunchtimes (12.30 – 1.30) on the days of the show performances.
Gravity and other Myths
Queen’s Wharf, (under the sails)
Wellington Waterfront @ 8.00pm
Thursday 1st – Sunday 4th & Wednesday 7th – Saturday 10th
March, 2007.
Entry by donation / Koha
and bring a cushion