5 minute read
CULTURE CLUB
THE TAIL END OF WINTER
Liam Stretch Culture Editor
Can 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
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.
LYRICALLY LIFTED
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.
CHRISTCHURCH PHOTOGRAPHERS
For 135 years, Christchurch photography studio Standish and Preece captured Cantabrians on camera. The studio, which closed in 2020, was New Zealand’s longest-running photography business. Standish and Preece: Christchurch Photographers 1885–2020 showcases a selection of the 75,000 images captured by the studio and now held in Canterbury Museum’s collection. These images document the changing faces of Cantabrians as well as the changing business of photography. Exhibition visitors can search for family and friends among the displayed photos and see fashion trends develop, demographics change, and Christchurch itself develop and grow. Until 6 February 2022, Canterbury Museum, canterburymuseum.com
DANIEL CHAMPAGNE
Fusing the strong traditions of Blues and Folk with pop showmanship and admirable lyrical ability, Daniel Champagne has been described as ‘the finest guitar player of this generation’. The Australian born, Nashville based virtuoso will be playing an intimate Christchurch show, coaxing sounds and melodies out of his instrument that literally drop jaws. 1 August, Blue Smoke bluesmoke.co.nz
TWELFTH NIGHT
After 17 wonderful years at Mona Vale Gardens, Top Dog Theatre come indoors to the Isaac Theatre Royal to perform Twelfth Night, one of Shakespeare’s best-loved comedies and love stories. It’s a fast-paced romantic comedy with several interwoven plots of romance, mistaken identities, drunken songs and dances, comical fights, and many practical jokes. 12–14 August, Isaac Theatre Royal topdogtheatre.com
WORD CHRISTCHURCH
This year promises an exciting schedule of more than 80 events featuring over 150 speakers and performers. Hard-hitting global issues will be at the forefront: Helen Clark appears in conversation about her work as co-chair of the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response – she will also appear alongside a former Tampa refugee, Abbas Nazari. 25–29 August, Tūranga wordchristchurch.co.nz
7 AUG to 4 SEP
PRINCIPAL SPONSOR SEASON SPONSOR CORE FUNDER SHOW PARTNER
By NICK DEAR
From the novel by MARY SHELLEY
THE BALLET AWAKENS
Anewly commissioned Royal New Zealand Ballet (RNZB) production of The Firebird will soar across the country this month. Following the triumph of his spectacular Hansel and Gretel in 2019, RNZB Artistic Director Patricia Barker invited RNZB Choreographer in Residence and multi-awardwinning choreographer for stage and screen Loughlan Prior to create a new production with fresh ideas for the fantastical fairytale set in a mystical world. Patricia says, “How we treat one another and how we care about the world for the next generations is at the forefront of our new production. Loughlan has dived into the world of The Firebird and the magic of Stravinsky’s score and has created a work that brings us closer to our own humanity.”
First staged in Paris in 1910, The Firebird changed the direction of ballet and catapulted Stravinsky to star status. Together with designer Tracy Grant Lord, Loughlan’s rendition of The Firebird is one in which the natural world is threatened, and humanity is staring into the abyss of extinction. Captured, the Firebird – a fertility goddess with magical powers – offers the possibility of redemption, if only humankind is brave enough to follow her.
Loughlan says, “The Firebird draws on the beauty of the earth at its most elemental, the vastness of the cosmos and the impact – both good and evil – of humans on our precious world.” Generations of choreographers have been inspired by the elemental power of Stravinsky’s music and by the Firebird herself – a timeless, untameable force. In the iconic and spine-tingling score, sinuous melodies spiked with shimmering orchestration create an exotic universe full of wild enchantment that was worlds away from the classics of Russian ballet. The RNZB has paired The Firebird with a Russian classic, Paquita – two very different kinds of ballet. Paquita, first staged in 1846, features sparkling tutus inspired by Russian master jeweller Fabergé, fleet footwork, soaring leaps, turns like spinning tops, and a finale that leaves the audience breathless and exhilarated as the dancers themselves.
The Firebird touches down at the Isaac Theatre Royal from Thursday 26 to Saturday 28 August.
