ULTIMATE COLLISION OF FORM BRINGS ZOMBIES AND CINEMA TO SILO

Silo Theatre & Jumpboard Productions present
The Milford Asset Management Season of
LIVE LIVE CINEMA: NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD
Created and Composed by Leon Radojkovic
Film by George Romero
Directed by Sophie Roberts

Silo Theatre is bringing an exhilarating collision of cinema, theatre, and music to the iconic Hollywood Avondale, teaming up with Jumpboard Productions to present their most ambitious Live Live Cinema project yet - an immersive live experience of cult classic Night of the Living Dead, playing September 9-18.

George A. Romero's astonishing debut film made waves when it premiered in 1968, but the innovation kicks up to a whole new level in this live experience as every element of sound in the film is thrust into the brave and capable hands of Hayley Sproull (Have You Been Paying Attention?, Golden Boy, Little Shop of Horrors) and Jack Buchanan (Mrs Warren’s Profession, Homos, or Everyone in America, Don Juan). As the film plays silently, the pair have the monumental task of voicing all but one of the characters, creating all foley and sound effects, and playing a new original score by composer Leon Radojkovic live on stage, amplifying the suspense and tension of the film to the absolute limit.

As fans of Live Live Cinema's previous shows, Silo are reinventing the inventive format, adding their signature polish to the rough diamond of this landmark piece of cinema. In a first for Live Live Cinema, the experience will retain the voice of lead actor Duane Jones, who made history as the first black lead in a horror film as he held a mirror up to the social and political concerns of 1960s America. The compelling blend of historic and contemporary conversations, presented in form-breaking entertainment is a shared value for both companies.

Speaking about their collaboration, Director Sophie Roberts says, “Leon has an amazing talent for reimagining cinematic gems and creating new layers of meaning for how audiences interpret them. As a director, I'm really looking forward to the unique performance challenges of this show, as it's always thrilling to watch performers achieving that virtuosity that can come by attempting the impossible.”

From cinephiles seeking an elevated experience of going to the movies, to audio obsessives getting a peek behind the magic curtain as the soundscape is created live, to theatre-goers set to be enchanted by the masterful performance of this talented twosome, Night of the Living Dead is a simply unmissable theatrical event. Having tackled Little Shop of Horrors, Carnivals of Souls and Dementia 13, Live Live Cinema is a unique theatrical experience that has to be seen to be believed. Captivating audiences in Australia, Ireland, the UK, Europe, and across Aotearoa with their feverishly sophisticated productions, Night of the Living Dead is the ultimate live live experience.

“...a tremendous spectacle of both cinema and human endeavour...I didn’t want the performance to end.”
– Exposure (UK) on ‘Little Shop of Horrors’

“The hit of the festival” – Radio New Zealand on ‘Carnival of Souls’

“At one point we clutched each other and screamed like teenagers… The enveloping result - in our
case at least - was embarrassingly effective. Exhilarating.” – NZ Herald on ‘Carnival of Souls’

The film itself has stark resonance decades after its release, presenting a version of reality devouring itself from within which doesn’t feel too distant from 21st century life. Creator and musical genius Leon Radojkovic (My Heart Goes Thadak Thadak, Boys Will Be Boys, Peter and the Wolf) gravitated toward a film that not only spawned an entire genre in film-making despite its shoestring budget, but also remains to be one of the most socially relevant horror movies to ever be made.

“Night of The Living Dead could not be more vital,” says Radojkovic. “Scratch the surface of this apocalyptic vision, and you will find a rich piece of oppositional pop-culture. The inability of individuals to overcome their fear and mistrust of others thwarts any possibility of meaningful communication and co-operation in order to combat an overwhelming external threat is something that feels all too familiar.”

Experience one of horror's seminal revolutionary films in an all new way as this outrageous premise gets given a thrilling Live Live Cinema treatment.

LIVE LIVE CINEMA: NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD
September 9 - 18
The Hollywood Avondale
20 Saint Georges Road, Avondale, Auckland 0600
Tue - Sun, 7PM
Tickets go on sale August 5 via Eventfinda

More information and images available via Dropbox

THE PERFECT MARRIAGE OF COMMUNITY AND ARTS: TAKAPUNA’S BRUCE MASON CENTRE CELEBRATES A QUARTER CENTURY!

Takapuna landmark, the Bruce Mason Centre, celebrates 25 years as the heart of the North Shore’s performing arts community this August.
 
Auckland Live invites the city to celebrate the tens of thousands of performances that have taken place at the Centre over the last quarter century with a special programme including free performances and family-friendly events for the local community, culminating in a weekend of free circus and dance.  
 
The Bruce Mason Centre first opened its doors in 1996 in a hard-won victory for the North Shore’s arts community. The opening was the culmination of twelve years of determined effort by the founding trust. Led by theatre stalwart Angela Antony, the group of passionate arts advocates first floated the idea of a home for the performing arts in Takapuna in 1984. Following more than a decade of fundraising, battling bureaucracy, and standing their ground in the face of threats to construct a carpark on the site, the trust finally celebrated the centre’s opening. The North Shore community were able to breathe a collective sigh of relief that they finally had a dedicated home for theatre and performance in what was then North Shore City.
 
After 25 years, and the establishment of Auckland’s super city, Auckland Live now steers the ship of the Bruce Mason Centre, having taken over operations in 2014. Their governance and leadership have allowed the space to flourish as a first-rate venue with world-class programming, nestled in the heart of the North Shore. In recent years, the Centre has undergone extensive refurbishment, receiving a GOLD rating for accessibility from Be. Accessible, and is still very much a community space. Over 100,000 visitors come through the centre annually to experience a range of community arts and culture events, as well as Takapuna stops by national and international music, comedy, dance, concerts and speaking tours.
 
2021 also happens to be the centenary of the birth of the centre’s namesake: the iconic New Zealand playwright Bruce Mason CBE. Bruce Mason was born and raised in Takapuna, with his celebrated work The End of the Golden Weather serving as a love letter to his childhood growing up on the sun-kissed shores of the Waitematā Harbour.
 
On Sunday 8 August, The Bruce Mason Centre is opening its doors for a day of free performances. The line-up includes the city’s favourite kids programme, Auckland Live Pick & Mix, debuting circus performers The Dust Palace’s brand-new work, The Ice Cream is Melting! This gravity-defying piece, developed with support of Auckland Live, uses playful performance to explore ideas about environmental change using the all-too-relatable dilemma of melting ice cream!
 
The Auckland Dance Schools’ Showcase honours the long tradition of North Shore dance students lighting up the Bruce Mason Centre stage with fast and fancy footwork in a variety showcase encompassing a range of ages and dance styles. There will be something to get everyone’s toes tapping, including performances by the Dance Collective (APDA), Neverland, RAW Dance, Theatrical Dance North Shore, Devonport School of Dance, Studio 246, Limelight Dance Studios, PformNZ and L’Ecole de Danse.
 
Bright and bold brass heralds further festivities the following day when The Auckland Principal Brass Quintet plays a celebratory set in the 25th birthday edition of the monthly Auckland Live Morning Melodies concert series. Book your ticket and prepare to hear some of your favourite tunes performed by the quintet and be sure to turn up early to enjoy a complimentary cuppa and biscuit.
 
Perfectly timed for the birthday is Nightsong’s return season of the play Te Pō - a festival favourite inspired by the work of Bruce Mason, which comes to the North Shore for the first time. Originally co-produced by the Auckland Arts Festival and the New Zealand Festival of the Arts, this lark in the dark to find Bruce Mason has enchanted audiences in Auckland Central and Wellington, and finally comes home to the theatre named for the man himself - Bruce Mason.
 
Auckland Live invites the whole North Shore community to participate in this quarter-century milestone celebrating the jewel in the North Shore arts scene’s crown: the Bruce Mason Centre.

Auckland Live Presents:
Bruce Mason Centre 25th Birthday

Te Pō by Nightsong
Friday 30 & Saturday 31 July
Bruce Mason Centre
$20 - $59.95 (booking fees apply)
Tickets available via Auckland Live

The Ice Cream is Melting!
Part of Auckland Live’s Pick & Mix Series
Sunday 8 August, 10 AM
Bruce Mason Centre
Free event, bookings required.
Tickets available via Auckland Live

Auckland Dance Schools’ Showcase
Sunday 8 August, 2 PM
Bruce Mason Centre
Free event, bookings required.
Tickets available via Auckland Live

Morning Melodies
Monday 9 August, 11 AM
Bruce Mason Centre
$7 (booking fees apply)
Tickets available via Auckland Live

Hi-res imagery available via Dropbox

TAURITE – HAKA DANCE THEATRE FORGING NEW PATHWAYS FOR PERFORMING ARTS IN TE AO MĀORI

Celebrated Māori performance company Hawaiki TŪ return to the stage this September with their award-winning work Taurite. Following the runaway success of the secondary school’s performances of ‘Autaia’ - Haka Theatre, twenty performers are set to fill the stage with a stunning fusion of dance, ngā taonga tuku iho (treasures of traditional heritage steeped in ancestral roots), mesmeric soundscapes and harmonious waiata set against an epic-scale set complete with 3D projection mapping. The next exciting evolution of Taurite plays at the Aotea Centre’s Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre from 1 - 3 September. 

“Vibrating with the call for us to have balance in our world, Taurite is anchored in Te Ao Māori, touching on the dualities of light and darkness, earth and sky, our babies and our ancestors.”
- Dione Joseph, NZ Herald

Celebrating the milestone of their tenth birthday, Hawaiki TŪ is a haka theatre company with a mission to shape and inspire the future of Māori performing arts. Under the leadership of Kura Te Ua (Te Rarawa, Te Aupōuri, Te Aitanga a Māhaki, Te Whakatōhea, Tūhoe), the company is known for continually challenging understandings of what haka theatre is and can be and exploring the explosive potential of the collision of kapa haka, indigenous storytelling, dance and the conventions of theatre. 

Taurite (Interpreted in English as “the art of balance”) is a landmark work created with the long-term support of Auckland Live, that continues the company’s legacy of forging new pathways for haka and theatre in mainstage performing arts spaces.

First developed as part of Auckland Live’s Fringe Town for Auckland Fringe 2020, Taurite was a festival hit: in addition to blowing audiences away, it took out Best Dance, Pick of the Fringe and Best of the Fringe awards. The work then returned to the stage at Auckland Town Hall’s Great Hall, in a collaboration with Te Manu Huia Kapa Haka group, and was live streamed across Aotearoa and beyond to locations as far flung as Belgium, and French Polynesia.

‘Life-affirming images of a world restored to balance post-Covid are at the heart of Taurite, a remarkable collaboration from haka theatre company Hawaiki TŪ…’
Raewyn Whyte, Theatreview

For this upcoming evolution of Taurite, Te Ua has assembled a village of creative luminaries and heavyweights, legacy members of Hawaiki TŪ, and their tamariki. Creative collaborators include contemporary Māori dance legend Charles Koroneho (Ngāpuhi, Te Mahurehure, Te Parawhau, Ngāti Hau); Arts Foundation Laureate and Founder of Black Grace, Neil Ieremia ONZM; actor and champion haka performer Te Kohe Tuhaka (Ngāti Porou, Ngāi Tūhoe); Arts Foundation Laureate, choreographer, performer and video artist Louise Potiki-Bryant (Ngāi Tahu); and celebrated theatre and television designer Jane Hakaraia (Ngāti Raukawa). The creators of Taurite have, for the most part, been raised te ao Māori - on the marae where te reo is the first language and tikanga is integral to everyday life. 
 

‘This is bigger than me... it requires a village of conscious collective creativity, bravery, and trust. Let us bind up! Whitiki taua! Kia eke panuku, eke Tangaroa!’ - Kura Te Ua
 

Hawaiki TŪ invites all of Aotearoa New Zealand to share in this powerful and uplifting new style of performance. The kaupapa of this work acknowledges the profound evolution of our nation through COVID-19, the regeneration of customary practices including the renaissance of the Maramataka (the Māori lunar calendar) and the current shift in mana and balance of power in Aotearoa between tangata whenua and non-Māori New Zealanders. 

Haka theatre is thought to have first developed in Aotearoa New Zealand in the 1920s, when Princess Te Puea Herangi formed a band that explored Māori and Western performance styles as they fundraised to build a new marae at Turangawaewae in Ngāruawāhia. Over a century later, the form continues to find new purpose as Kura Te Ua and her ensemble of creatives give voice to this meaningful and electrifying live experience.

TAURITE
Presented by Hawaiki TŪ and Auckland Live

1 - 3 September 2021
7 pm evening shows
2 September
11 am matinee
Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre, Aotea Centre

Tickets: $15 - $40*
Onsale from 9 am Tue 3 August, available via aucklandlive.co.nz/show/taurite
*booking fees apply

Hi-res imagery available via Dropbox | Photo credit: Peter Jennings

ALL YOUR FAVOURITE GAYS TAKING UP SPACE IN THE CAPITAL

Cuetone Media Presents
GAYS IN SPACE
 
Two of NZ’s most famous homosexuals, Tom Sainsbury and Chris Parker, lead a gaggle of gays hellbent on exposing Wellingtonians to festival favourite GAYS IN SPACE, playing at BATS Theatre from 10-18 August.
 

It’s a dream come true when buttoned-down, straight-acting NASA underling, Gnoagh Knight, is called upon to captain his first-ever space mission - a six-year journey to probe Uranus and discover it’s gassy secrets. He is joined by a crew of utterly inept (yet utterly fabulous) homosexual astronauts. There’s the ultra-camp Instagrammer, Dayj Cheesemen, obsessed with increasing his social media following, dimwitted model, Brahim Akbar, wanting to be valued for more than his good looks, and fresh-faced Sexbot (think C3PO in hot pants) who longs to be human.

“A Cult Classic in The Making” - NZ Herald

“GAYS IN SPACE. It is exactly what you think it is. And more.” - Theatrescenes

If you waved your camptastic wand over the work of Noel Fielding, Kath & Kim and The Muppets you might get an idea of the silly and truly hilarious ride that this highly creative and irreverent comedy delivers. Live music, dance routines and original songs are accompanied by all the puns and buns to make this a truly memorable night at the theatre.
 
The stellar cast include Chris Parker, Tom Sainsbury, Zak Enayat, Daryl Wrightson & Blaise Clotworthy. All are available for interview in the lead up to lift off.
 
GAYS IN SPACE sold out its run in Auckland Pride Festival run in 2019 and returned to Auckland Pride, due to popular demand in 2021. Now its time for Wellington audiences to climb aboard for a zany intergalactic musical odyssey experience that is truly out there.

GAYS IN SPACE
Directed by Tom Sainsbury
Musical Direction by Jason Smith

BATS THEATRE – The Random Stage
1 Kent Terrace, Mount Victoria, Wellington

10 - 18 August, 7:30 PM & 9:30 PM
75 minutes
Tickets: $20 - $40*
Book at bats.co.nz
*booking fees apply

Hi-res imagery available via Dropbox

MASSIVE COMPANY RETURN WITH WORK EXPLORING THE IMPORTANCE OF FAMILY

Massive Company presents

HALF OF THE SKY
Written by Lennie James, in collaboration with Massive Company 

After a hugely successful season in 2019, Massive Company return with Half of the Sky, a heart-warming and tender tale of three sisters and of whānau dynamics. Performed by an impressive cast, this show was written by BAFTA award winning actor and playwright Lennie James, best known for his work on hit TV show Fear The Walking Dead, Save Me and Save Me Too. This poignant production will play at Q Theatre’s Loft 7 - 11 September and at Whangārei’s ONEONESIX 15 - 18 September, as part of Massive Company’s 30th year celebrations.

Returning to their roles from the premiere season is long-time Massive collaborator Kura Forrester (Shortland Street, Golden Boy), Max Palamo (The Sons of Charlie Paora, Super City II), and Pat Tafa (The Wholehearted, Westside). Alongside them is Trae Te Wiki (Second Unit: What We Do in the Shadows and Hine Kihāwai) and Massive newcomer Roimata Fox (Waru, The Pā Boys), all under the helm of Massive Company’s Artistic Director Sam Scott as Director in a production which promises to move, charm and delight audiences.

“Distinctly unique to New Zealand and refreshingly funny” - NZ Herald

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The Rose sisters journey home for a weekend of birthday celebrations beside their awa. Ny, Rua and Rika find themselves caught in a whirlwind of realisations, as incomplete truths become whole, and the ties that bind their whānau together are tested. A weekend of pitching tents riverside, sharing snacks, hilarious dancing and reminiscing becomes embroiled with lies, loss, and old and new love as the sisters face the inescapable truths of the past and work out what is most important to them.  

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Half of the Sky brilliantly weaves together themes of loss and the importance of familial love, juxtaposing poignant moments of humour with the moving themes of this story to examine what makes us human. Relatable and resonant, the story explores both love and tension in a perfectly balanced drama, allowing the talented cast to shine in roles that are gritty and complex.

“Half of the Sky is Lennie at his best and I am lucky enough to work with his brilliant script and these stunning actors, what a joy! This show hits you in all the right places. I loved that in our last season the audience would be actively murmuring their thoughts and feelings alongside the actors, they were so compelled by the thoughts being expressed”, says Sam Scott.

This work is Lennie James’ third collaboration with Massive Company, following The Sons of Charlie Paora (2004) & Havoc in the Garden (2011). Half of the Sky, which was developed in collaboration with members of the Massive ensemble in 2018 to tell this uniquely New Zealand story, is a triumphant example of the spirit of collaboration that is woven through Massive’s three decades as a company.

“A play that makes us think about our priorities and life choices” - Theatrescenes

With design from Paul McLaney, Jane Hakaraia & Daniel Williams, Half of the Sky is a tale about whānau, and the secrets that can dwell within them, told with heart and humour by Massive Company.

www.massivecompany.co.nz

HALF OF THE SKY plays
Auckland: 7 - 11 September, Loft, Q Theatre
Whangārei: 15 - 18 September, ONEONESIX

Images available viaDropbox

CONTEMPORARY THEATRE LEGENDS PAY HOMAGE TO NZ’S GREATEST PLAYWRIGHT

Brilliant Adventures presents
EVERY KIND OF WEATHER
The End of the Golden Weather and Not Christmas, but Guy Fawkes by Bruce Mason

Marking the centennial of the birth of Bruce Mason - arguably the most significant playwright in our country’s history - two contemporary legends of Aotearoa theatre have created a brilliant homage to his enduring legacy in Every Kind of Weather, coming to Wellington’s Circa Theatre (August 19 – September 11) and Auckland Live’s Herald Theatre (October 6–24). Director Shane Bosher and actor Stephen Lovatt offer audiences the chance to see two of Mason’s most beloved solo works - The End of the Golden Weather and Not Christmas, but Guy Fawkes - performed in repertory.

A prolific writer, Bruce Mason had a unique ability to create spell-binding stories from the regular lives of Kiwis, earning a CBE in 1980 for his contributions. Consistently a champion of the underdog, his works explored identity, difference, and cultural cringe; they took Mason from community halls in Aotearoa’s smallest towns to the Edinburgh Festival. The two works that Shane Bosher has selected for this celebration are both timeless recounts of a boy in his adolescence, and his attempts to find a place in the world.
The quintessential Kiwi classic, ‘The End of the Golden Weather’ chronicles the friendship between a 12-year-old boy and the wild-limbed Firpo. Through the boy’s eyes we see the wonder of life on a perfect beach, in a perfect 1930s New Zealand, during a perfect summer. It’s a world of magic and transformation, where anything can happen, and miracles seem possible.

An adolescent boy tries to find his place in an adult-dominated world in ‘Not Christmas, but Guy Fawkes’. A richly autobiographical search for self-expression, profound and true, it is a set of variations about over-reaching, cheekily confronting our very own Tall Poppy Syndrome.
The End of the Golden Weather has become a part of New Zealand theatrical history, and potentially his best-known solo work that was performed by Mason himself nearly 1000 times. Before New Zealand had a professional theatre and struggling to make ends meet, Mason famously first performed the work on a beach in 1959. A poignant piece about the loss of innocence in the wake of the Great Depression, this ever-relevant work grapples with what it means to be a New Zealander. The iconic work has also become part of Stephen Lovatt’s legacy as an actor – first in Murray Lynch’s 1990 ensemble version alongside Cliff Curtis, Robyn Malcolm, and Theresa Healey, before his 2006 solo version toured around Aotearoa and to Edinburgh. That same year, as a gift to the community, Lovatt began his Christmas morning tradition of performing an early section from the play ‘Christmas at Te Parenga’ on Takapuna Beach, where Mason grew up. Now, with his performance that has captured hearts and spirits of thousands over the years, Lovatt performs the monologue in its entirety as part of this special celebration.

Its companion piece, Not Christmas, but Guy Fawkes, was staged towards the end of the playwright’s life and has never been performed by anyone other than Mason himself. The title is inspired by the infamous school playground put-down ‘he thinks he’s Christmas, but he’s only Guy Fawkes’ and the play itself is a series of cautionary tales. Bosher and Lovatt have, with the engagement of the Bruce Mason Estate, further adapted the work, incorporating new material from his last interviews which is richly autobiographical and deeply introspective.
“His psychological profiling sets a standard for revealing human nature and experience in its ‘warts and all’ glory, which his audience is free to engage with through empathy, judgement or both.”
– John Smythe from his book The Plays of Bruce Mason.
Shane Bosher and Stephen Lovatt are frequent collaborators - already having worked together on the sell-out Things I Know to be True and the premiere season of Bosher’s 2018 Adam Award winning play Everything After in 2021. Every Kind of Weather builds on a shared canon between the pair that includes Uncle Vanya (2017), Angels in America (2014), The Only Child (2011) and When the Rain Stops Falling (2010) which earned Lovatt ‘Best Male Performance’ in the 2010 Herald, Herald on Sunday, and The Listener Awards.

With two pieces that bookend his career, this double shot of Bruce Mason is a fitting tribute to a man that changed theatre in this country forever. Every Kind of Weather is presented by Brilliant Adventures in collaboration with The Bruce Mason Estate with the support of Circa Theatre and Auckland Live. Presented by arrangement with Playmarket.

EVERY KIND OF WEATHER plays:
Circa Theatre, Wellington
August 19 – September 11
$25 - $52
Tickets available via Circa Theatre

The End of the Golden Weather
19 Aug – 11 Sep
Weds & Fri 7.30pm; Sat 4pm & Sun 4.30pm

Not Christmas, but Guy Fawkes
21 Aug – 11 Sep
Tues, Thurs & Sat 7.30pm

See both shows in conversation with each other on Saturdays: August 28, September 4, and September 11
4pm: The End of the Golden Weather
7.30pm: Not Christmas, but Guy Fawkes

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Herald Theatre, Auckland
October 6-23
Ticket prices
Tickets on-sale soon via Ticketmaster

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Imagery via Dropbox

Credits:
PLAYWRIGHT – Bruce Mason
DIRECTOR – Shane Bosher
PERFORMER – Stephen Lovatt
DESIGNERS – Jane Hakaraia, Sean Lynch and Paul McLaney
PHOTOGRAPHY – Ralph Brown
COMPANY – Brilliant Adventures

BACH MUSICA NZ RETURNS IN SPRING, TO SPELLBIND AUDIENCES

Bach Musica NZ presents
RACHMANINOV AND RODRIGO

After a triumphant sold-out Auckland Town Hall concert in June, Bach Musica NZ returns once more to the iconic Great Hall on 12 September for their third performance of the year. The combined choir and orchestra will transport audiences with another astounding programme.

The first half offers two of the most popular guitar concertos of all time, Vivaldi’s captivating Guitar Concerto and Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez, his most well-known work and that which established his reputation as one of the world’s most significant 20th century Spanish composers. In the second half you will experience Bach Musica NZ’s largest-ever forces on stage for Rachmaninov’s beautiful choral symphony The Bells, the composer’s own favourite, with lyrics from Edgar Allan Poe’s poem by the same name, translated freely into Russian.

Conductor and Music & Artistic Director Rita Paczian and Bach Musica NZ’s choir and orchestra are joined by a line-up of internationally acclaimed solo performers: virtuoso classical guitarist Barkin Sertkaya, soprano Amanda Atlas, tenor Patrick Power and bass Paul Whelan.

Rita Paczian says on the programme, “Rachmaninov is one of my favourite composers, so I finally plucked up the courage to perform The Bells, of which the composer says ‘it remains, of all my work, the one I like best….All my life I have taken pleasure in the differing moods and music of gladly chiming and mournfully tolling bells.’
Its four movements are like musical tableaux, atmospheric vignettes that express the varying shades of human experience. After moments of apocalyptic prophecy, the orchestra alone offers listeners hope with a warm melody for strings at the very end. A fitting piece in our current troubled times.”

Rita Paczian is an exceptionally gifted conductor with a hugely impressive international CV and has earned her a reputation for bringing an electrifying balance of musicality, intellect, technique and passion to her performances. Since 1994 she has been the Music Director of Bach Musica NZ, one of Aotearoa’s most highly acclaimed musical organisations. Bach Musica NZ’s performances illustrate the cultural vibrancy of New Zealand with a repertoire ranging from the Baroque to the 21st Century. As New Zealand’s only combined choir and orchestra, they are well known for showcasing NZ premieres of beautiful music from all over the world and providing performance opportunities for both emerging and recognised vocal and instrumental soloists.

Bach Musica NZ’s full 2021 concert programme can be seen here.

Bach Musica NZ –
RACHMANINOV AND RODRIGO
plays:
Great Hall, Auckland Town Hall
Sunday 12 September, 5PM
Tickets $15 - $70 – On sale at Ticketmaster

https://www.bachmusica.com/

NZTRIO CONTINUE ON THEIR EXPANSIVE JOURNEY THROUGH THE CLOUDS

NZTrio presents
Cumulus
Episode 2 in the Dramatic Skies series

NZTrio is set to embark on the second journey through the atmosphere in their Dramatic Skies series, bringing Cumulus to four centres from August 22. Having spent much of 2021 collaborating with clarinettists, ballet dancers, and pop musicians, Ashley Brown (cello), Amalia Hall (violin), and Somi Kim (piano) are excited to perform in full flight as a three-piece with this new programme which conveys both catharsis and hope, featuring a new commission from celebrated Kiwi composer Jenny McLeod.

Ultimately representative of the clouds that signal fair weather, Cumulus maps a dramatic voyage. From deep melancholy touched with hints of hope in the Grieg, through a quirky reflection of Ravel’s life and music from Schifrin’s unique point of view, and deep into Smetana’s mournful response to the death of his daughter. These billowing global masterpieces come to surround and embrace the eminent locals at the heart of the programme - two edgy works by Kiwi composers at the peak of creativity: a rediscovery of Alex Taylor’s remarkable set of rugged miniatures burlesques mécaniques, and the premiere of a mist-covered new work from Jenny McLeod.

Considered one of Aotearoa’s most naturally gifted composers, McLeod (ONZM) was self-taught as a child before attending Victoria University in the early 60s, where she became a lecturer and then professor. Best known for expanding Dutch composer Peter Schat’s Tone-Clock Theory, McLeod’s work as a composer often explores themes of the natural world, including her two major works, Earth and Sky and Under the Sun. An extension of this exploration, the new commission for NZTrio, Clouds is described purely by McLeod’s own adjective-laden poem/programme note, promising a soundscape that is ‘here, there, high, bright, low, dense, dark’ and more.

NZTrio opens Cumulus on August 22 at St Andrew's on The Terrace in Wellington, before returning to their Auckland home-base in the enchanting Auckland Town Hall Concert Chamber on September 5, followed by a South Island jaunt to The Arts Centre in Christchurch on September 9, a special showcase with the Greytown Music Group on October 10, and closing with a slightly shortened (1 hour no interval) version at The Wallace Arts Centre, Pah Homestead in Auckland on October 13.

Dramatic Skies: Cumulus
Grieg: Andante Con Moto in C minor
Schifrin: Hommage a Ravel
McLeod: Clouds (new commission)
Taylor: burlesques mécaniques - ten miniatures for piano trio
Smetana: Piano Trio in G minor, Op. 15


DATES AND BOOKING DETAILS:

Sunday 22 August, 5pm
St Andrew's on The Terrace, Wellington
Tickets via Eventfinda

Sunday, September 5, 5pm
Concert Chamber - Auckland Town Hall, Auckland Central
Tickets via Ticketmaster

Thursday, September 9, 7pm
The Great Hall - The Arts Centre Te Matatiki Toi Ora, Christchurch
Tickets via Eventfinda

Sunday, October 10, 4pm
Greytown Music Group – 57 Wood St., Greytown
Tickets via Ed or Juliet Cooke 06 304-9497 / efjacooke@gmail.com

Wednesday, October 13, 7pm
The Wallace Arts Centre, Pah Homestead, Auckland
Tickets via Eventfinda

Tickets and more information at: www.nztrio.com/event-directory/

Connect with @nztrio
www.facebook.com/nztrio
www.twitter.com/nztrio
www.instagram.com/nztrio
*Note: correct spelling ‘NZTrio’ – no spaces, no ‘the’, not ‘The New Zealand Trio’

Information and Images available via Dropbox

EXPERIMENTAL FEMINIST POWERHOUSES JULIA CROFT AND NISHA MADHAN RETURN WITH NEW WORK

Aotearoa’s leading subversive and anarchic feminist theatremakers Julia Croft and Nisha Madhan return with a new boundary pushing collaboration that examines the relationships between our bodies and the world around us. A solo performance from Croft explores sustainability through a scientific lens informed by queer and feminist theory, TERRAPOLIS makes its premiere at Q Theatre’s Loft from 18 - 21 August.

TERRAPOLIS aims to investigate alternative webs of relationships between human bodies and the “natural” through new imagined ecologies and eco-systems. Performatively looking to reimagine our place in the world and our relationships across social spaces, desires, societies, species and objects, TERRAPOLIS seeks to reimagine threads of relationships that might be moving us closer to a sustainable way of existing with each other.

Irrepressible forces in the live and performance art world both locally and internationally, Croft and Madhan have been longtime collaborators. Together, they create urgent multidisciplinary work that breaks all the rules, such as Medusa and Power Ballad. Their last work Working On My Night Moves played in Auckland, London, and Edinburgh where they won a prestigious TOTAL theatre award (Visual and Physical Theatre) at the 2019 Edinburgh Fringe, as well as an Auckland Theatre Award for Excellence in Overall Production.

“ Working On My Night Moves is a piece that makes other work on the Fringe look dated. Days after seeing [it] the show is still hovering in the mind.” - Edinburgh Reporter, ★★★★

A continuation of their globe-spanning artistic practice, this new work has been developed with the support of Creative New Zealand, Battersea Arts Centre in London, and The Marlborough in Brighton, UK. Like much of Croft’s work, TERRAPOLIS is inspired by Feminist and Queer theory, reevaulating histories and mythologies to build a world in which new relationships across species, space, and time can be explored. As a performer, Julia Croft has toured extensively throughout Aotearoa, Australia and UK, as well as Ireland, Singapore and Canada. Her previous works include If There’s Not Dancing at the Revolution I’m Not Coming, and Body Double that tackle concepts such as representational politics, violence, and the body.

“A brilliant mash-up of flesh, sonics and text…Many shows lay claim to gender fluidity, but this is the real deal: othering, teasing, provoking. The tone moves between hysteria and terror, joy and despair.“ - The List, Edinburgh on Power Ballad, ★★★★★

Stepping into the role of director for TERRAPOLIS, Nisha Madhan’s extensive career has seen her work across stage and screen performance, directing, dramaturgy and writing, and she is the current programmer of Auckland's Basement Theatre. She has also taken part in a three year arts residency curated by Basement Theatre, Forest Fringe (UK), and West Kowloon Cultural District (HK). Croft and Madhan have teamed with Production Designer Meg Rollandi, Lighting Designer Calvin Hudson, and Producer Alice Kirker to bring this gritty vision of the intersections between humanity and the climate to life.

TERRAPOLIS plays
18 - 21 August, 7PM
Loft, Q Theatre
$25 - $35
*service fees may apply

Images available via Dropbox

THE GUILTY FEMINIST LIVE NEW ZEALAND TOUR 2021

“The blockbuster feminist podcast everybody should be listening to”
Sydney Morning Herald

WELLINGTON
MICHAEL FOWLER CENTRE
THURSDAY 21 OCTOBER
Book at Ticketmaster.co.nz

CHRISTCHURCH
ISAAC THEATRE ROYAL
FRIDAY 22 OCTOBER
Book at Ticketek.co.nz

AUCKLAND
BRUCE MASON CENTRE
SATURDAY 23 OCTOBER
Book at Ticketmaster.co.nz

TICKETS ON SALE WEDNESDAY 30 JUNE 9AM

Less of a podcast and more of a global phenomenon, The Guilty Feminist, hosted by Deborah Frances-White and featuring world class guests, is part comedy, part deep dive discussion and part activism. Examining our noble goals as 21st century feminists and our hypocrisies and insecurities that undermine those goals, The Guilty Feminist has had a spectacular 90-million downloads in five years. Deborah has brought the show to Australia and New Zealand on several successful tours and is bursting with near hysteria to come back and be with her Antipodean guilty feminist crew after a year and a half of London lockdown.

“The Guilty Feminist is essential for the planet”
Emma Thompson

“Very funny… pure, guilt-free pleasure”
The Guardian

“Hilariously relatable”
Channel 7 News Australia

‘I’m a feminist but I’m planning my sequinned outfit for the opening night of my Australia/NZ tour before I’ve planned the content. I can’t wait to be back down under where audiences know how to bring a rock concert to a feminist podcast recording.’ Deborah Frances-White

“Hilarious, irreverent, eternally surprising, classy as hell genius. They always have fascinating guests, don’t pull any punches and are screamingly funny. It’s shows like this that breathe life into conversations about feminism… Everybody is talking about them talking”
Phoebe Waller-Bridge - The Guardian

This is the show that proves you don’t have to be perfect to be a force for meaningful change. Come join The Guilty Feminist live and be part of this joyful movement.

www.guiltyfeminist.com www.bohmpresents.com

FEMINIST DANCE DUO TO BLOW UP THE 2021 MATCHBOX SEASON

SOFT.co and Q Theatre present
INFLATED REBEL
August 11-15, as part of MATCHBOX 2021

Perfectly balancing social provocation with relatable humanity, SOFT.co are delighted to premiere their latest feminist contemporary dance theatre piece Inflated Rebel, playing at Q Theatre’s Loft from August 11-15. This rambunctious and innovative contemporary dance theatre offering is a genre-defying bid to challenge the binaries of obedience and rebellion, complete with oversized puffer jackets, blow-up pool toys, and inflatable set.

Bad woman. Self-inflatable insurgents in a temperate feminist cloud of rebellious intentions and depreciating values. INFLATED REBEL walks the bind of power in its deflations and violent softness. A queer breeding experiment where we kill the reared and feed the uncanny. Probing the binaries of orthodoxy and rebellion, courage and bravado, submission and humility, and asks, what happens when the only thing to fear is the babe itself?

With dance at the heart of its storytelling language, the morphing textile set becomes both a costume and a character, accompanying the pair of performers on a journey both outrightly humorous and deeply poignant. Defining the intimate intersections between the female experience and the strange lands of their collective imagination, SOFT.co pose a series of questions in Inflated Rebel, such as how do we be a badder bad woman? Or conversely, how do you be a gooder good woman? Playful in the in-between, they hope the answers might scare us to death and/or climax.

Based in Tāmaki Makaurau, SOFT.co is a dance theatre company co-founded by contemporary dance artists Rose Philpott and Jessie McCall, who have worked with the likes of Footnote NZ Dance, Okareka Dance Company, Malia Johnston, and Sarah Foster-Sproull (Foster Group). As queer, pākehā, females their work investigates the intersection of their individual lived experiences with the strange lands of their collective imagination. Facilitating a dedicated space for their collaborative choreographic and design work to percolate and mature, the creative duo make work together with a strong emphasis on the female experience. Integral to the choreographic development of SOFT.co works are the visual design elements such as costume and set design, alongside highly specific sound design, creating an immersive and cohesive world for audiences to step into.

Inflated Rebel is one of several works that has been through SOFT.co’s unique incubation process, which allows them to revisit and rework projects multiple times. Having its first public showing as part of the 2019 Auckland Fringe Festival, SOFT.co then collaborated with visual artist Ralph Brown on a related digital project, ‘A Series of Inflatable Rebellions’ in 2020. Making its premiere as part of the Q Theatre’s Creative Development Programme MATCHBOX season, Inflated Rebel is the next chapter in the journey for these avant-garde artists. SOFT.co's other credits include their first full length work ‘HEALR’ which sold out two consecutive Auckland seasons, at The Basement in 2016 and in Q Loft as part of Tempo Dance Festival 2018 as a part of Tempo Dance Festival to audience and critical acclaim. The duo also performed a section of the work to open for Aldous Harding at the Pah Homestead in 2017.

INFLATED REBEL plays
August 11-15 2021
Loft, Q Theatre
Wed-Sat, 7pm; Sun, 5pm
Tickets: $19 - $29 (Service fees may apply)
On-sale now via Q Theatre

Audience Warnings/notes: Partial nudity – one breast each.
Images available via Dropbox