6 November 2020
We know you want to support local arts as much as we do, so we've created this roundup of arts and culture, featuring the best of what's coming on the stage, on the road and on the wall.
Eight Songs for a Mad King, NZ Opera. Photo: Jeff McEwan
On the Stage
Kicking off with a collection of the best and biggest productions hitting stages around New Zealand, we’re biased towards the upcoming Wellington Jazz Festival (18 - 22 November), with Headliner Avantdale Bowling Club at the Opera House. There are extremely limited tickets remaining to this event, so if you’re still interested in seeing the extraordinary jazz-fusion of this multi-award winning project, get in quick!
As a Christmas treat for Wellingtonians, the NZSO is bringing Handel’s much-loved Messiah to the Michael Fowler Centre. This dramatic celebration will feature soprano Anna Leese and tenor Frederick Jones supported by the Tudor Consort.
For the Kings and Queens among us, don't miss Wellington's favourite drag artist Hugo Grrrl (George Fowler) at Bats in Princess Boy Wonder, a show that Theatreview called "joyful, celebratory, hilariously funny, poignant and personal."
Up in Auckland, the Civic is returning to its roots as a cinema for a special sing-along performance of The Sound of Music on Saturday 21st November. Complete with a costume competition, mystery ‘fun packs’ and a proper interactive vocal warmup, this is the event for all the von Trap fans out there! If you prefer a more intimate performance, join pianist Michael Houstoun in Auckland Town Hall's Concert Chamber for a celebration of Beethoven's 250th birthday.
Meanwhile, Christchurch film fans are in for a treat with the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra is mixing it up for a showing of Jurassic Park with live accompaniment. And for those who missed it in the 2020 New Zealand Festival of the Arts, NZ Opera’s virtuoso performance of Eight Songs for a Mad King is having its final performances in Christchurch in early December.
Underling by Gillian Saunders as part of World of WearableArt: Up-Close.
On the Road
If you’re looking for a true fusion, then Synthony is the gig for you and it's hitting five centres around the country in the next few months. Blending orchestra, electronic dance music and the latest in lighting, this is a truly unique experience that has already sold out Auckland’s Spark Arena!
If you like your music festivals in sun-soaked vineyards, look no further than the Bay of Islands Music Festival, featuring pop starlet BENEE, indie queens The Beths and much more.
In the touring world, the throwbacks abound. Iconic Kiwi band Th’ Dudes will be jetting around the country with Th’ Bliss tour from late November.
Another artist hitting the road in the next few months is pop songstress Bic Runga. Performing new music among old favourites, Bic will also be focusing on offsetting the tour's carbon emissions.
One for the schools, Capital E’s production The Lost Letter Office is hitting 21 locations around the country. The story of a young girl and a retired magician whose letters find their way to The Lost Letter Office, this is one for the babies and the babysitters alike.
Terminal, City Gallery Wellington, 2020.
On the Wall
In place of the usual performance, World of WearableArt is instead heading to Te Papa for World of WearableArt – Up Close. Featuring over 35 award-winning garments from the 30-year history of WOW, this is an opportunity to discover the detail and creativity that makes up one of Aotearoa’s best-loved extravaganzas. Running from December 12 – February 14, now is the time to plan your trip to this up-close experience.
While international travel remains out of reach, the City Gallery is shining a light on one of the iconic symbols of the modern age: the airport. Terminal explores how flight has evolved from a romantic luxury to an environmental threat, exploring arrivals, screening, the runway and departures. Featuring an impressive cohort of international artists, this is as close as you'll get to an antidote to that unfulfilled wanderlust.
Sticking in the Wellington Region, Pātaka Art + Muesum presents A Song About Sāmoa, from Samoan-Japanese artist Yuki Kihara. Beginning on December 6 until the end of February, this exhibition merges Samoan materials with Japanese artforms to create kimono made from Samoan barkcloth siapo. Slated to represent Aotearoa at the 2022 Venice Biennale, Kihara is one to watch.
If you find yourself in Tāmaki Makaurau before Sunday 6 December, Auckland Art Gallery presents an ambitious video tribute to none other than the legendary Leonard Cohen. I’m Your Man (A Portrait to Leonard Cohen) was originally commissioned by Musée d’art contemporain in Montréal and features 18 singers interpreting Cohen’s 1988 album I’m Your Man in an immersive multi-channel video installation.
Exploring a dark time in a brilliant artist’s life, Tony Fomison: Lost in the Dark heads to the Tauranga Art Gallery after its initial run at Te Papa. On until February 21, this exhibition features contributions from Wellington High School students.
Celebrating our relationship with nature through the humble tree, Waikato Museum’s new exhibition Rootbound uses art to explore deforestation and dependence.
In the South Island, visitors to Christchurch should check out Graham Bennett: Seeking a Balance (Christchurch Art Gallery, October 31 – February 21). This selection of sculptures from one of Ōtautahi’s most prominent artists will coincide with the publication of a new book on Bennett’s practice.
For those in Dunedin, Into the Arms of my Coloniser is a playful exploration of intercultural dating by Samoan New Zealand Christopher Ulutupu, on until 13 December.
