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Interview with Hayden Taylor & Maya Handa Naff
Hayden Taylor (Ngāi Tahu) is the Musical Director and Maya Handa Naff the Vocal Director for WITCH Music Theatre's upcoming production of Lizzie the Musical, based on the life of accused American axe murderer Lizzie Borden. This follows their successful collaboration on previous WITCH productions Into the Woods and Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812.
WITCH Music Theatre is an alternative production house for music theatre work in Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Wellington, creating concerts, cabarets to full-scale musicals. They champion LGBTQIA+ art, progressive programming, and create spaces for local artists to create engaging and entertaining work.
I popped into their rehearsal space toward the beginning of their rehearsal period to catch up with Hayden and Maya about their roles, the production and which cast albums they're currently listening to on repeat.
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Meet the Makers: The Grid's Shannon Brosnahan Inglis
Shannon Brosnahan Inglis is a co-founder of The Grid, a new immersive art space coming to the heart of Wellington for two months this winter. The opening exhibition, Rivers of Wind, has been created by The Grid’s other co-founder, Delainy Jamahl, and opens on 5 July.
I sat down with Shannon to ask her about the space, the opening exhibition, and long term plans for The Grid.
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My Musical Life: Julia Deans
Julia Deans' career has seen her front one of New Zealand's most popular bands, Fur Patrol, release critically acclaimed solo albums, perform the works of iconic musicians Joni Mitchell and Jacques Brel, collaborate with The Adults, SJD and Neil Finn (among others) and perform classic albums live as part of Come Together.
After the announcement of four special Fur Patrol shows to mark the 20th anniversary of their second album Collider, I asked Julia to give us some insight into her musical life.
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Meet the Makers: Anna Coddington
Anna Coddington (Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Te Arawa, Ngāti Whakaue) is an award-winning New Zealand songwriter, singer, producer, children's book author and law student. Her new album, Te Whakamiha, releasing on 28 June blends te reo Māori and English and showcases a new, collaborative songwriting style.
I reached out to Anna to ask a few questions about the record, her songwriting process and what music has been exciting her lately.
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Interview with Artist Jane Perry
Jane Perry is an independent Wellington artist known for her elegant, graphic and lively work. After ten years studying and working in London, she returned to New Zealand in 1979 and has forged a career as a painter and illustrator, racking up an impressive number of award nominations and exhibitions along the way.
Her paintings evoke her personal stake in her subject, whether the inspiration is a mood, music, politics, memories or conversation. Her understanding of composition is unmistakable.
I've gotten to know Jane quite well through sitting next to her at NZSO concerts, and when she launched a new website to display and promote her art, I thought this was the perfect opportunity for me to share her and her work.
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Q & A with Jules Daniel
Despite using they/them pronouns comedian Jules Daniel swears they are definitely, if not probably, not a horde of bees. A 29yo with a BA (theatre & film, with a minor in gender and sexuality) from Victoria University, Jules has been nominated for Young Performer of the Year twice (2012/2010) and for Best Joke and Best Newcomer at the 2019 Wellington Comedy Awards. They were a Wellington Raw Quest finalist in 2020 as well as producing and performing shows in and around Wellington and performing comedy at the Welcome to Nowhere Festival (2019/2023).
You can catch Jules at the NZ International Comedy Festival with Best Foods Mayo with their show The Transgender Agenda on 25 May at Fringe Bar. You can also see them on the line-up at The Wellington Comedy Club Rainbow Showcase on 15 May at Te Auaha.
I caught up with them ahead of these performances to ask a few questions about their shows, comedy in general and just what (or who) makes them laugh.
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Five questions with Kristin Kelly
Joy Cowley Award-winning author Kristin Kelly is about to release a new picture book, Mitchell Itches, about a boy growing up with eczema. An ex-nurse who moved into primary teaching after having children, Kristin initially started writing books when she found there was nothing available about certain topics she wanted to bring into her classroom.
I caught up with Kristin to ask her a few questions about her writing process, eczema and her publishing journey.
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This Reading Life With Gregory Hill
French horn player Gregory Hill enjoyed a successful career in orchestras in both Australia and New Zealand, including three decades as a Principal player in the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. Throughout this time he secretly nurtured a passion for long-distance train travel, which he finally indulged in after his retirement.
His adventures on an epic railway journey from New Zealand to Spain has now been chronicled in his book, The Antipodean Express, which celebrates the enduring romance of traveling by train across 89 days of travel, on 33 trains, through 19 countries. It begins in New Zealand’s North Island, to the red centre of Australia, weaves past the volcanoes of Java, through East Asia and on into Europe.
I asked Greg for a sneaky peek at his reading life.
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Interview with Michael Hurst
Arts Laureate Michael Hurst ONZM is one of New Zealand’s most celebrated and successful stage and screen actors. His extensive career spanning more than four decades includes No Holds Bard, An Iliad, Hamlet, Macbeth, Chicago, The Life of Galileo, and most recently ATC’s King Lear. He will soon grace the stage at Wellington's Circa Theatre, starring in The Golden Ass, a one-man show he has written with Fiona Samuel and directed with John Gibson.
I caught up with Michael, mid-house move and deep in rehearsals, to find out what we can expect from the play, why he thinks a story written over 2,000 years ago is still relevant to audiences and how the heck he manages to juggle his multiple roles.
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