White Swan Black Swan’s new double mini-album contains gorgeous tunes, and moments of real beauty – a gentle and winning release. BRANNAVAN GNANALINGAM chats with the ‘White Swan’ of the collaboration, Sonya Waters.
By Sue OrrRandom House, NZ$29.95 | Reviewed by Sarah Jane Barnett
The bookkeeper’s wife wanted to host a dinner party. It would not be too large an affair – six guests at the most, she suggested – a small gathering to break the monotony of long winter evenings.
Sue Orr’s debut book of short stories will certainly break the monotony of a long winter evening. For the last couple of years I have had a sneaking feeling that short stories will become the ‘next big thing’ in New Zealand literature. I don’t know if this thought was prompted by the conception of the Six Pack or just because recently I have had the serendipity of reading some great books of short stories. But I think their bite-sized morsels of fiction fit neatly into the ‘empty time’ public transport creates in our lives. Etiquette for a Dinner Party stands out on the shelf. Its delicious cover hints at the contents inside: black and glossy with three formally-dressed gentlemen at a dinner table, plus snake. The book itself feels soft and pliable in the hand. With Orr’s history as a journalist, editor, speechwriter and Manhire graduate, I was interested to see what gems of social graces and etiquette she had woven into her characters and plots.
Downstage TheatreSept 23-Oct 3 | Reviewed by Helen Sims
IT’S HARD to believe that Toa Fraser’s Bare is ten years old – this 10 year anniversary production of the award-winning play, directed by Oliver Driver, feels anything but dated. Bare still ‘speaks’ of and to New Zealand culture in a unique way – and that is what is at the heart of the play – an attempt to capture the word, the voice, the song of multicultural youth at a time when the term multicultural seems to have lost its meaning, as expressed through a multiplicity of characters. As such Bare sets a challenge for its actors and director, which Driver and his two young performers, Curtis Vowell and Morgana O’Reilly, rise to meet in an interesting way. They bring a varied tone to the piece that never looses an uncompromising thrust.
San Francisco BathhouseOctober 7 | Reviewed by Brannavan Gnanalingam
PERHAPS due to the increased cultural literacy of a wider group of musicians and audiences nowadays, there has been a trend towards indie artists who cherry-pick from all over the world. It can be very difficult to do convincingly, and even more difficult to do it well. Luckily, Yeasayer were up to the task – a scintillating live show exploded in Wellington with dysfunctional beats, eerie harmonies (the band started off as a barbershop quartet) and an energy that showcased some brilliant music.
Jonathan Hodge is an actor, writer and theatre maker based in Auckland. He is producer and collaborator on A City of Souls, the maiden production of new theatre company Catalyst. RENEE LIANG caught up with Jonathan via online chat.
GINA WILLIAMS currently lives in Thorndon, Wellington and likes to write stories where nothing much actually happens.MEDB CHARLETON grew up in Sligo in the North West of Ireland. She is a recent graduate of the MA in Creative Writing at Victoria University of Wellington and moves between Ireland and her adoptive New Zealand.
Circa TheatreSept 27-Oct 25 | Reviewed by Helen Sims
I HAVE to admit that the premise of this show did not wildly excite me – four high school mates, now in their 30s, gather for a once-a-month tennis match and moan about the receding hairlines. I’m getting a little tired of the subject of male friendships and the marketing line of “Men behaving badly” added to the impression that I would be seeing a play that trod a well-worn path – and one I’m not particularly interested in at that. Whilst Drinking Games didn’t go anywhere new, it did exceed my (admittedly low) expectations. And whilst writer Damien Wilkins hasn’t broken the mould with this play, his ear for dialogue is well served by a cast of four excellent actors.
Bond Street Bridge’s debut album comes highly recommended, a showcase for some real talent and fascinating musicianship. BRANNAVAN GNANALINGAM discusses its making with Sam Prebble.
San Francisco BathhouseOctober 1 | Reviewed by Brannavan Gnanalingam
ROBERT FISHER has a voice like a guilty conscience. Haunting, burrowing, his timbre resonates as if it was coming from underground. He’s also a bit of anti-rock star, shuffling on-stage, muttering dead-pan jokes, bathed in crimson-light as if he was in a Twin Peaks dream sequence. But his booming voice was remarkable, when he truly cut loose in the middle of his performance, it was quite something.
Peter Peryer photographs;Essays by Peter Simpson and Peter Peryer
AUP, $59.95 | Reviewed by Andy Palmer
PETER PERYER himself introduces us to his book – and to himself. In ‘First Light’, a brief autobiographical essay, he gives us some insight into the man and the artist, and where they came from. It largely comprises of seemingly random thoughts/vignettes about his childhood – such as “In 1953 we were given little British flags on sticks and made to line up along a footpath and wave at Queen Elizabeth as she was driven past. What beautiful skin, I remember thinking” – before slipping into more of a direct narrative as he gets older. While it ends shortly after he first picked up a camera, throughout Peryer hints at the foundations of his photographic interests without spelling it out.
BRANNAVAN GNANALINGAM trawls the local music calendar to bring us the month’s best gigs. This October: Willard Grant Conspiracy, Yeasayer, Blackalicious w/ MC Lateef + The Mighty Underdogs, Delaney Davidson, The New Pornographers, Howe Gelb.
Bats TheatreSept 25-Oct 11 | Reviewed by Helen Sims
Mr Marmalade takes the imaginary life of a four year old named Lucy as its subject matter and uses its intersections with her ‘real’ life to provoke thought about the impacts of emotional deprivation and neglect on a mind being shaped by a bombardment of disturbing influences. The surreal world which Lucy inhabits, concocted by young playwright Noah Haidle, populated by friends and foes both real and imaginary, provides a dark comedy for The Moving Theatre Company to play in.
JC BORRELLE is a Melbourne-based New Zealand writer and broadcaster. She is founder and co-editor of the mobile arts column Spit & Polish. Borrelle maintains an intimidating collection of ceramic ducks.
The Basement (fmr. Silo)Sept 23-Oct 4 | Reviewed by Renee Liang
“BEST not drop the baby!” How many first-time dads have heard this joke and inwardly groaned. After all, in today’s modern world, surely Dads are as well-equipped as Mums to handle the pressures of full-time parenting. It is with this thought that Laurence Dolan’s new play, Daddy’s Home, opens.
BRANNAVAN GNANALINGAM corresponds with Grayson Gilmour and Mark Leong of So So Modern on their turn to the dark side and escape to Europe.
Musgrove Theatre (Maidment Studio)Sept 18-Oct 4 | Reviewed by Renee Liang
TO SAY that Oleanna is about sexual politics is overly simplistic. To say it is about harassment is missing the point. To say it is about a war – both personal and universal – is getting closer to the truth.
Michael Fowler CentreSeptember 13 | Reviewed by Alexander Bisley
Che Fu’s inspired music, a distinctive, pioneering mix of hip-hop, reggae, roots and soul, lends itself well to other music. So it was a canny choice by Marc Taddei to kick of Vector Wellington Orchestra’s new series with Che Fu and the Krates.
Herald TheatreSept 13-Oct 4 | Reviewed by Renee Liang
Whero’s New Net is a striking new play which asks those quintessential Kiwi questions: who are we, where do we come from and where do we really belong? And perhaps because I’ve spent my whole life asking those same questions, I found myself immediately captured by its premise.
Downstage TheatreSept 12-20 | Reviewed by Kate Blackhurst
A FRIEND asked me if I thought this play was suitable for her interested-in-politics teenager, and I had to say yes. This play is pretty much suitable for everybody as it operates on a variety of levels. The jokes come thick and fast, and if you miss one, you don’t have to wait long until another one comes along. At the same time, it is wonderfully irreverent – someone is bound to be offended by something in here.
The Basement (fmr. Silo)Sept 16-20 | Reviewed by Renee Liang
SOMETIMES a decision is so life-changing, so irreversible that it resonates down through the family line, affecting everyone who comes after. Such an event happened in Sophie Dingeman's family in 1907 when her great-grandmother Grace Oakeshott decided to fake her own death and flee to New Zealand with her lover Walter Reeve, to start a new life. In doing so she left behind a promising political career as one of the first women elected to the London City Council, a remarkable feat in those times; her whole family including a much loved younger sister; and a husband, Harold.
The versatile, unclassifiable Lucky Dragons head for New Zealand shores late September to perform their unpredictable, multifaceted live act. BRANNAVAN GNANALINGAM finds out from Luke Fischbeck and Sarah Rara what the band has in store.
Gryphon TheatreSept 10-20 | Reviewed by Kate Blackhurst
IF CHEKOV had been a Kiwi he might have written The Pohutukawa Tree. All the great themes are present – connection to the land; personal relationships; the dichotomy between preservation and progress; struggles against history and ancestry – but Bruce Mason’s play is regarded as a New Zealand classic and this production by Stagecraft Theatre proves the label is justified.
Circa TheatreSept 6-Oct 4 | Reviewed by Melody Nixon
NEIL LABUTE has a reputation for ‘seeing the truth’ in our modern world. In Some Girl(s) I’m not sure I buy his interpretation of the modern values-crisis, or see it as particularly revealing. The characters he presents centre stage are often so borderline in the choices they make that what we are shown ends up more as a representation of LaBute’s own values than an ‘objective’ critique of modern Man (and indeed, despite the presence of female characters, these plays are very much focused on the male psyche). The fact that no realisation on the part of the central character takes place arguably shows LaBute has little issue with the choices of his characters. More pointedly, the playwright sets up menial challenge to those viewers who might share the same values as the protagonist himself.
Little Pictures couplet Johanna Freeman and Mark Turner sit down with BRANNAVAN GNANALINGAM to talk Owl + Owl, their debut album.
Laurence Dolan is a playwright and theatre producer based in Auckland. His latest play Daddy’s Home opens at The Basement on September 23. Interviewed by RENEE LIANG.
Opera HouseSept 5-6 | Reviewed by Shruti Navathe
THE Footnote Forte season for 2008 consisted of three dance pieces: The False Waltz, Nest and Mtyland. The False Waltz premiered in April of 2008 and has been included in a previous performance. As such I already knew that I like the choreography and the music for the piece and was prepared to sit back and enjoy. The False Waltz lived up to my expectations entirely. The dancing was sharp, the movement within the piece fluid and emotive. All six dancers performed their parts exceptionally well and worked well together to create an intimate and intense atmosphere. Eden Mulholland’s music had depth and created contrast within the repetition.
Maidment TheatreSept 4-27 | Reviewed by Renee Liang (contains spoilers)
‘Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these broken wings and learn to fly….’
The stage is dark. Otherworldly strains of the familiar song ‘Blackbird’ permeate the space as glowing figures move along behind a green frosted window. Two figures eventually open a door and tumble into what is revealed as a messy staffroom. The lights come up on a complex and disturbing psychological drama.
ANN-MARIE KEATING lives in Mt Victoria, Wellington. Her day job involves working to secure royal gold, silver and unicorns. Her interests include writing, baby animals and playing her guitar.
BILL MAINLAND NELSON grew up in a seaside town in South Auckland and now studies Creative Writing at Whitireia Polytechnic in Porirua. He lives with his partner on the side of a hill in Wellington where he writes and works part-time in the electronics industry.
