Culture 101 - Best of the Fest Photo: Culture 101
It may be the fifth and final episode of Best of the Fest but festivals across Aotearoa have not been slowing down.
Culture 101’s Perlina Lau in Tāmaki Makaurau is joined by playwright and dramaturg, Nathan Joe, actor, voice artist and intimacy coordinator, Romy Hooper and comedian, writer, actor, producer and director, Tom Sainsbury.
Mark Amery is joined by critic Hannah Molloy in Ōtepoti Dunedin.
In the Auckland Arts Festival the disability-led and Pasifika devised theatre work Aiga by Touch Compass premiered at Te Pou Theatre this week. Centred around the life story of artist Lusi Faiva who has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair, she’s supported by a cast who bring her story and her words to life. It’s at Te Pou Theatre until Sunday 24 March.
Nathan Joe looks at The Sun and Wind - a heartbreaking tale of a couple celebrating a quiet birthday when two robbers crash the celebrations. They’re then mistaken for the couple’s deceased son and his wife. Tainui Tukiwaho’s latest play is an ode to family and explores the breadth of human emotions. The new drama is at Loft, Q Theatre until Sunday 24 March.
The Sun and the Wind Photo: Supplied
Romy Hooper and Thomas Sainsbury review the Australasian premiere of the delicate puppet work of A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings. A meticulously crafted theatre from Ireland, it’s inspired by the novelist Gabriel García Márquez’s darkly comic fairy tale. The show won Best Design at the Dublin Fringe Festival with Dan Colley creating a work that promises to appeal to both old and young. The show will be at Herald Theatre until Sunday 24 March.
Féroce Cabaret Photo: Joanna Livingston
Meanwhile in Ōtepoti the Dunedin Fringe closes Sunday 24 March after presenting 43 events.
Hannah Molloy has seen almost a dozen and believes the fringe is in good health, taking audiences to diverse spaces around the city for new work of much variety .
Among her highlights this year are We the Outsiders, Hine pū tē hue, Feroce Cabaret, Firebringer and Displaced, “because none of them were quite what I expected.” Displaced is a digitally presented work that can be seen here.
In our online podcast version Molloy also discusses Trapeze artists, the Circus of colour exhibition and Jokes About Birds.
You’ll find Best of the Fest episodes on our Culture 101 webpage, or search Culture 101 wherever you get your podcasts.
