Hellishly entertaining
It promises to be a thrilling, electrifying night when the curtain rises on The Court Theatre’s production of Frankenstein. Described as a “hell of a production” by The Times, the play first opened to London audiences in 2011, penned by British playwright, Nick Dear, who adapted his play from the novel by Mary Shelley. The […]
A musical feast
On July 24, the Go Live Music Festival will fill the Christchurch Town Hall with the music of more than 16 new and established Ōtautahi performers. Julia Strelou talks with one of them. Pop/jazz sensation Emily C Browning, who released her new single ‘I Wasn’t Into You Anyway’ in April, is one of those taking […]
Marking time with the devil: Narropera Trio
After Narropera Trio’s afternoon performances of Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro, the Trio now turns its attention to another great work, Carl Maria von Weber’s brilliant opera, Der Freischütz (The Devil’s Marksman). As with the Mozart’s Figaro, Der Freischütz will be presented in two performances (July 25 and August 7) in The Golden […]
Celebrating 30 years: City Choir
Three special concerts for music lovers round out the Christchurch City Choir’s 30th anniversary year programme. Not to be missed on July 3 is the Voices Found concert with soloist Adrian Lowe at St Andrew’s College Chapel in Normans Rd. Celebrating works by female composers from throughout the centuries, it will be […]
A skilful storyteller
Actor and director Martine Baanvinger takes centre stage in Lyttelton next month in a new one-woman play ‘Aperture.’ DramaLAB founder Baanvinger, who wrote and starred in the award-winning play Solitude, showcases the life and work of Ans Westra, a New Zealand Arts Foundation Icon photographer. In 1957, Westra emigrated from the Netherlands to […]
Ending on a high note: Ali Cat Productions
Award-winning Canterbury performer Ali Harper is not letting a year of pandemic postponements stop her. She is determined to end the year on a high note by performing two shows in December. The first show, Christmas Joy will be held on December 5, followed by four performances of The Look of Love on […]
Seventh sensational season
In April 2020, three months before New Zealand Opera presents Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro in Christchurch, The Narropera Trio will present its version of the same opera in four performances, in The Golden Room of Lansdown House, on the Old Tai Tapu Road. These Lansdown narropera performances are the perfect ‘prep’ for in-depth […]
Amazing Grace
It was always in his mind to cast an actress as young as possible in the role of Juliet because Shakespeare’s Juliet, of Romeo and Juliet, was a 13-year-old girl. Derek Doddington, Founder and Director of Top Dog Theatre, stands firmly by his ground-breaking decision. “With casting such a young cast, I’ll either fall on […]
New name in Showbiz
He’s lived and breathed musical theatre for most of his working life. But for Paul Christ, the opportunity to come to Christchurch and take the reins of our local operatic society was a dream come true. What drew you to the General Manager role with Showbiz Christchurch? I have spent a huge amount […]
Vocal virtuosos: the talented performers behind ‘Oriana’
They’re young, vivacious and vocal virtuosos. Meet Amelia Ryman, Kimberley Wood, Matthew Harris and Harry Meehan, the faces of Oriana. This premier ensemble is rocking retrospective songs like nobody else – think sixteenth/seventeenth century retrospective! The name Oriana is a nod to Queen Elizabeth I. “Oriana was a kind of nickname for her; it was […]