CULTURE CLUB
THE TAIL END OF WINTER
Liam Stretch Culture Editor
C
an you believe we’re over halfway through the year? Neither. Despite the year progressing at lightspeed, those long days on the horizon bring with them an abundance of August events. One such cultural celebration that I’m perhaps just a little bit too excited about is Madagascar The Musical. Yes, that is the same Madagascar that featured King Julien, the pop diva lemur. You’ll be sure to be “movin’ it” at the Theatre Royal when the curtains open on this smash hit come 18 August. One of Ōtautahi’s premiere events kicks off this month, with WORD Christchurch Festival running from 25 to 28 August. For this month’s recommendations, I’ve once again done the hard yards by watching and listening to some of the best entertainers who call our little floating rock home. Try something different this August, I know I will.
TOP OF THE CROPS
LYRICALLY LIFTED
The much-maligned and equally adored Jeremy Clarkson is back on screens with Clarkson’s Farm. The Amazon Prime exclusive centres around his farm in the Cotswolds, on which, following the resignation of his land manager, he has taken on the farming himself. It’s oddly charming with a gentler side of the former Top Gear host presented. I’d recommend subscribing to Amazon Prime; it’s got some great shows.
British artist Laura Mvula found her pipes as a chorister and refined them as a conservatoire. The songstress has delivered a punchy musical escape by way of her album Pink Noise. It is R&B with synthpop elements and a taste of neo-soul that will have you strutting on your dusk run around the block. You may have seen her on a recent episode of The Graham Norton Show when she performed a biographical track, Church Girl.
THEY DID WHAT? In each episode of this podcast, host Ethan Edenburg pairs a comedian and scientist to discuss the scientific inaccuracies within popular films and movies. From Scrubs to Happy Feet, no factual faux pas is left behind, answering any question you may have ever had – like whether snakes actually communicate in Parseltongue as in Harry Potter? It will inspire revisiting movies you haven’t seen in a while with an understanding of the science behind the scenes.
