Titirangi Theatre; Still Life with Moving Parts

Titirangi Theatre is already well into its new year, with rehearsals for A Skull in Connemara in full swing. This black comedy, by renowned Irish playwright Martin McDonagh, is being headed up by Paul Roukshan, in his directorial debut at Titirangi.

The play centres on the literal digging up of the bones of the ancestors. The dead cannot rest in peace, but must be yanked from the ground to make room for the new corpses that are queuing up to occupy it. And despite the fact that he saw his wife die at the wheel of their car, Mick Dowd coped with the inquests and can live with the persistent local rumours. But Mick is also the local grave digger and, when the village graveyard is full, he is the one who has to dig to make room for the new tenants. The trouble is, this time, more than old bones come to the surface.

The play calls for some imaginative set design on the theatre’s small stage, but Paul and his crew are doing a great job. And then, of course, there are the skulls .… A Skull in Connemara opens on March 10 and runs until March 21, with performances at 8pm, Tuesday to Saturday, and also at 2pm on Saturday March 14 and 6pm on Sunday March 15. Bookings can be made at Titirangi Pharmacy or online at www.titirangitheatre.co.nz. In June we will present Waiting for God, repurposed for the stage from the delightful television comedy. Feisty rest-home resident Diana Trent is always looking for ways to outwit the conniving home manager and his put-upon assistant. Diana finds an ally when kindly Tom Ballard arrives in the home.

There will be an opportunity to meet the director (Bob Lack) and have a read through on March 18, 7.30pm in the Treasure House. Auditions will be held in the theatre on Tuesday March 24 at 7.30pm. The cast requires one elderly couple, a couple in their 30s, plus other shared roles. Later in the year the theatre will present Cat on a Hot Tin Roof by Tennessee Williams and directed by Liz Watkinson. And a pantomime Jack and the Giant Kauri Tree, a celebration of all things Titirangi-ish written by Kerynn Walsh and Ella Bernstone, will round out the year.

– Phoebe Falconer

Outsider art is art by self-taught or naïve art makers. Typically, those labelled as outsider artists have little or no contact with the mainstream art world or art institutions. Outsider art illustrates different visual constructions, a different way of seeing, unconventional ideas, or elaborate fantasy worlds – and hopefully for the viewer a new and enlightening experience.

Artists from A Supported Life meet each week at a workshop in the Titirangi bush where art facilitator Anna Crichton provides the artists with brushes, canvas and paint to create their own ‘outsider art’. It’s a quiet, focused time away from the often chaotic world of 249 Edmonton Road, Te Atatu where the residents of A Supported Life are based.

An exhibition of the work these artists have developed is to run March 10 – May 10 in the Long Gallery, Pah Homestead, Monte Cecilia Park, Hillsborough, with the official opening on Wednesday March 11, 6-8pm, featuring the rock band Mutes from Mars (with all musicians from A Supported Life).

https://www.wallaceartstrust.org.nz/exhibitions/stilllife-with-moving-parts

Enjoy these moving works not for what they are ‘worth’ but for the artists’ pure joy of expressing ideas and passions that might not otherwise come easily.

Waitakere Ranges 2020 Vision (continued)

Before I continue on the topic I wrote about last month, I hope we have had some decent rain by the time you’re reading this. If we haven’t then we’re heading towards a serious problem.

In mid-February the homes most affected by drought were those who rely on tank-stored rainwater, of which there’s approximately 50,000 across Auckland. And therein lay the main problem: a shortage of water tankers to transport the volumes required. If we haven’t received rain by March a true water shortage will be unfolding, the only advice I can give is conserve, conserve and then conserve some more. Rain will come eventually.

Our Board is in the process of refreshing the Waitakere Ranges Three-Year Plan. We have some public consultation meetings planned, and these are advertised on the Board’s Facebook page. I strongly urge you to have your say because this consultation matters. The Plan is anchored by six ‘Outcomes’ to which all subsequent work programmes, budgets and public spending must be linked.

I listed the existing ‘Outcomes’ in the last Fringe and on Facebook which generated a good discussion. Based on this I have written six new ‘Outcomes’ retaining some of the existing objectives while trying to capture the aspirations our communities

have for the future including good transport, good public infrastructure, thriving local businesses, good local jobs, and protection and enjoyment of our local parks. These are: 1. People understand the objectives and heritage features of the Waitakere Ranges Heritage Area Act and work together to enable them. 2. Strong, safe and healthy communities where people feel proud about where they live. 3. Local businesses are enabled to prosper and give quality jobs so people can work locally. 4. Our public infrastructure and facilities are maintained to a high standard. 5. Our community spaces, parks, sports, arts and recreation facilities meet local needs and are kept open. 6. Coastal and rural communities where everyone can easily and safely get around on foot, car and bus with good connectivity to our urban centres and train services. Let us know what you think so we can represent you well.

michelle.clayton@ aucklanndcouncil.govt.nz info@kenturner.co.nz or 021 066 6262 – Ken Turner, WestWards Advertisement