HELEN SIMS spoke briefly with Miriam Margolyes in Sydney about her solo show ‘Dickens’ Women’, ahead of performances in December.

BAFTA award winning British actress Miriam Margolyes is coming to New Zealand as part of her tour of her solo show Dickens’ Women. She is an accomplished veteran of both stage and screen, with diverse projects including Martin Scorsese’s The Age of Innocence, Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo and Juliet, Magnolia and the Harry Potter films. Her full portfolio is astounding and can be accessed at miriammargolyes.com. It is safe to say she is one of the foremost and most sought after character actresses in the English speaking film and theatre industry. She has won numerous awards for her film, stage and voice work and in 2002 she was awarded an OBE for her services to drama. She describes receiving an OBE as a “nice surprise”: “I’m not sure I deserve it – I do what I love and that is a blessing and a gift in itself.”

By Bernard Beckett
Longacre Press, NZ$39.95 | Reviewed by Andy Armitage

THE TITLE of Bernard Beckett’s latest book, Falling for Science, provides an apt expression for our relationship with scientific narratives. We fall for science in the sense that we are in love with the achievements and possibilities of science, and in the sense that we are often taken-in by its sexed-up narratives.

Circa Theatre
Nov 17-Dec 23; Jan 2-12 | Reviewed by Helen Sims

I HAVE to declare from the start, I’m not a huge fan of pantomimes. They combine my dislike of musical theatre, children and audience interaction in a nightmarish fashion (although I have to admit to liking Troy immensely). I really disliked last year’s Aladdin and only managed to sit through 15 minutes of Cinderella the year before. I had groaned both in public and private about Jack and the Beanstalk, expecting another addition to what is becoming a painful yearly practice at Circa. However, I actually quite enjoyed this one – oh no I didn’t! Well yes, I did!

Issue One: The Garden Party
NZ$5.95 | Reviewed by Amy Brown

Hue & Cry is a very attractive addition to New Zealand’s journal scene. Alongside the likes of Sport, Landfall, Bravado, Takahe, White Fungus and Glottis, it doesn’t appear a bit redundant, its focus being more on aesthetics generally, particularly relating to the visual arts, than simply literature. From its offset printing and burst bound spine, to a well chosen photography inset and carefully designed layout (each contributor’s pages have a specific design to suit the form or content of their work) it is obvious that an equal number of artists as writers have been involved in this project. The fact that it is on sale at more galleries than bookshops (in Wellington it’s available at Enjoy, on Cuba Street, and in Auckland at Gambia Castle, on Ponsonby Road) reinforces this point.

BRANNAVAN GNANALINGAM talks to the Sunday-Star Times’ Grant Smithies about his new book, Soundtrack, an invigorating, unapologectically personal ode to New Zealand music across 118 albums.

By Kate Camp
Penguin, NZ$29.95 | Reviewed by Andy Armitage

Kate’s Klassics arose from Kate Camp’s discussions with Kim Hill on their monthly Radio New Zealand programme, and offers an engaging survey of ten classic works of literature that have had a profound impact on Western culture and sensibility, ranging from Homer’s Odyssey to Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights.

Good Luck Bar
November 20 | Reviewed by Brannavan Gnanalingam

A DINGY basement, people carrying stale urine on their pants, and a total lack of publicity seemed like the perfect combo for an explosive gig in Wellington. Die!Die!Die! after playing three gigs in the city a couple of weekends before came back to play another show, in aid of their excellent album Promises Promises. Their style seemed to perfectly complement the surroundings, adrenalising a small but dervish-dancing crowd.

Chapman Tripp have recently announced the nominees for the 16th annual Chapman Tripp Theatre Awards. The nominees this year span a range of styles and genre, and include a large New Zealand presence with nominations for Taki Rua’s Strange Resting Places, Dean Parker’s The Hollow Men, SEEyD’s Turbine and Theatre Militia’s A Bright Room Called Day each receiving multiple nominations.

By Irene Nemirovsky
Translated from the French by Sandra Smith
Random House, $TBC | Reviewed by Jennifer Van Beynen

BOOKS often do not quite live up to the dazzling quotations smattered over their covers. Fire in the Blood however, does not disappoint after being described by the Sunday Times as “A masterpiece of French fiction”. Russian-born Irene Nemirovsky’s manuscript was recently discovered by her biographers, Olivier Philipponat and Patrick Lienhardt, and is a beautiful and compelling meditation on life and ageing.

By Bob Harvey
Exisle, AU$55 | Reviewed by Andy Palmer

ACCORDING to the press release which accompanied my copy of Wild Beast, Dean Buchanan is “one of New Zealand’s best-known artists”. Prior to a recent Nightline article, his was not a name I was familiar with. I could suggest somewhat tongue-in-cheek that they meant ‘one of Auckland’s best-known artists’. More likely though it’s because, as a quick flick through the book reveals, Buchanan’s painting holds no real interest for me personally.

San Francisco Bathhouse
November 16 | Reviewed by Brannavan Gnanalingam

THE INDIE kids weren’t out for Liam Finn. I’d gotten so used to gigs where carefully coiffed postures, unnoticeable to the visible eye head-nods, and earnest applause were the norm. Instead, the man with a bushranger beard and famous pedigree played to the type of enthusiastic crowd who were there for as much a good time as possible, and it was that brand of crowd who need to go out to more gigs. It was the type of gig where ugly people passionately pashed in front of everyone, alcohol got thrown about with gay abandon, a-rhythmic clapping and wild singing were part of the background noise, and where people like me with my indie posturing felt self-conscious. It was odd, you’d think Liam Finn’s target audience would be the indie crowd, with his gorgeous melodies, self-effacing style and musical experimentation. But then, he does deserve to be listened wider. His 2007 album I’ll Be Lightning is a brilliant release, an album which hasn’t seemed to have got the credit it deserves locally.

Circa Theatre
November 3-17 | Reviewed by Helen Sims

VIEWING The Hollow Men in its return season at Circa Theatre marked the second time I’ve seen this fast paced, slick play. The Circa production was marginally better than the one I saw at Centrepoint in Palmerston North, as issues of sound level had been addressed and the Wellington audience was generally more receptive to the subject matter. As much as I admire the technical elements and the deft performances of this production, and think it a better than expected job of dramatising Hager’s book, I still left wondering whether this play really shed much more light or prompted more thought on Don Brash’s election campaign in 2005, and the inherent problems of party politics that remained after his defeat and deposal.

The Phoenix Foundation’s latest offering, Happy Ending, continues the band’s flight. BRANNAVAN GNANALINGAM talks to drummer Richie Singleton about the new album, the recording process, and some of the cynicism underlying an ostensibly happy album.

Opening for John Cale this week, local legend Jed Town remains at the forefront of experimental music. He talks to BRANNAVAN GNANALINGAM about the Features, Fetus Productions, and Bound for Pleasure.

Geoff Cochrane’s latest poetry collection, 84-484, released earlier this year. In an interview first published in Sport 31, DAMIEN WILKINS spoke at length with the poet and novelist about writing, drinking, and other necessities.

Media Release/Advertisement
Our friends at irreverent Wellington-based arts and culture magazine White Fungus recently launched their eighth issue. The mag, which also recently celebrated its third birthday, has grown from a free photocopied handout to a print publication distributed around the world, but editor Ron Hanson says its roots remain firmly in Wellington. “We’re interested into tapping into stuff that’s going on all over the place, but we’ve actually managed to connect to other cultures through the magazine without actually having to physically leave Wellington.”

Herald Theatre (Contains Spoilers)
November 3-10 | Reviewed by Renee Liang

LIKE THE recent My Name is Gary Cooper by Victor Rodger, which is a very different play in terms of style, Lena turns the stereotype of sleepy Pacific island idyll violently on its head – dealing with jealousy, murder, revenge, family rivalry and many other harrowing themes within its one and a half hour running time.

How do you get into Te Papa’s national art collection, asks MARK AMERY, of Toi Te Papa’s ‘Recent Acquisitions’.

The Chapman Tripp Theatre Awards, dubbed the “Oscars” of Wellington theatre, are set to take place on Sunday December 2, 2007 at the Duxton Hotel, Wellington. With over 400 guests and 20 awards, the ceremony is the social highlight of the theatre calendar, and promises to be the biggest celebration of Wellington’s diverse and unique creative theatre talent.

Newtown Community & Cultural Centre
Oct 30-Nov 3 | Reviewed by Kate Blackhurst

Mind Out of Time is an hour at the theatre unlike any other. The four short but not so sweet works are so varied and engrossing that they left my mind reeling as I emerged blinking back into the real world as though recovering from a crazy dream.

Circa Theatre
Oct 13-Nov 10 | Reviewed by Simon Sweetman

Home Land opens with the fall of the main character. Southland-based ex-farmer Ken dodders in to the lounge with his walking frame and topples over. He is in his house alone. There is silence punctuated by wheezing, spluttering and puffing as Ken tries to get back to his feet. It is hard to watch – an indication that things could get just a little overwrought. From here we learn that Ken is going to a home – his family believes it is time for him to be cared for, rather than to live alone. This brings with it a range of emotions and the interplaying of different filial dynamics.

Rick Alexander photographs;
Introduction by Peter Ireland
RA, NZ$75 | Reviewed by Andy Palmer

ABOUT ten years ago the book A Century of Images was released. It was a loose history of New Zealand photography taken from the archives at Te Papa. Amongst those represented were the familiar, both names and images, and the unknown. The opening image is a dramatic shot of a sand dune, with beautiful textures, lovely tones, and heavy vignetting, which while looking recent, could have been taken at any point in the last 100 or so years.

BRANNAVAN GNANALINGAM trawls the music calendar to bring us the month’s best gigs. This November: Die! Die! Die!, The Veils, The Phoenix Foundation, Liam Finn, Garageland, John Cale, Wild Things ’07, Nas.