Standing Room Only for Sunday 15 April 2018

 

12:15  Recovering New Zealand's wartime fallen

The story of New Zealand's fallen soldiers who remain buried in foreign fields, often unprotected, and the whānau who want to bring their remains home, is told in a new Maori TV documentary.

In Foreign Fields is hosted by Witi Ihimaera who shares his own story - the pressure to return the body of one of his relations to Aotearoa New Zealand.

In Foreign Fields is directed by John Keir.  John had his own story of a lost soldier in his wife's family, and they'd visited Gallipoli so they could find his grave.

But John tells Lynn Freeman that's not what started him down the path of suggesting the documentary to Maori TV.

In Foreign Fields premieres on ANZAC Day on Maori TV.

12:34  Public Service Broadcasting live and on stage

There's been a lot of discussion recently on the thorny subject of public service broadcasting - what is it, and why do we need it? But maybe the answer is in the work of the English group of that name.   

Public Service Broadcasting albums mix live music with historic clips from the early days of film, radio and television in England.  They've got titles like The Race for Space,  Inform Educate and Entertain and last year, Every Valley.

Public Service Broadcasting is about to play at Auckland's Powerstation on May the 3rd.  Before that, the band's Number One fan, Phil O'Brien,  gets to talk to the lead Broadcaster, the wonderfully named J Willgoose Esquire.

12:46 First steps on the creative industries ladder

With CNZ funding, the Tautai Contemporary Pacific Arts Trust has picked three Pasifika internships for young creatives with big dreams.

One of this year's group is museums and cultural heritage professional Talei Si'ilata who's started her internship at Te Papa before heading to Auckland Museum.

We brought Talei together with the first male intern to go through the programme Paul Fagamalo who's now the Talent Development Manager at the NZ Film Commission

Lynn Freeman spoke to both Talei and Paul, and first asked why Paul wanted to work behind the scenes rather than in the spotlight:

 

1:10 At The Movies

Simon Morris reviews The Divine Order, A Quiet Place and Walking Out.

1:33 A new look at the oldest profession

When George Bernard Shaw first tried to show his play Mrs Warren's Profession in the late 1890s, the Lord Chamberlain banned it because of its content - prostitution.

The first production was in 1902 in a London members only club....there was no public performance in England until 1925!

Mrs Warren's Profession's notoriety has faded, but the themes Shaw explored - women being underpaid and under-valued - certainly haven't.

So director Eleanor Bishop has dusted off the script for the Auckland Theatre Company, brought it up to date, and, controversially,  added a role for writer and sex worker Hadassah Grace as Mrs Warren's sister.

Lynn Freeman talks to Eleanor and Hadissah about the challenges of updating George Bernard Shaw's original play.

Mrs Warren's Profession opens at the ASB Waterfront Theatre in Auckland on the first of May

1:50  Mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke on Berlioz and Steve Jobs

Grammy Award-winning mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke has played Apple co-founder Steve Job's wife Lauren, and mountaineer Rob Hall's wife Jan Arnold in contemporary, world premiere operas.

She says she relishes the challenge of being the first singer to tackle a role. The (Re)volution of Steve Jobs earned her adoring reviews.

But Sasha's next appointment is with the classical repertoire and one of her great loves, the work of French composers, for a three-centre tour with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.

She is taking on Hector Berlioz's song cycle Les nuits d'été.

Sasha tells Lynn Freeman she came late to singing.  In fact it wasn't until she was at university that she started  considering it as a career.

Sasha Cooke performs with the NZSO in Hamilton on Thursday April 19 before heading to Auckland and Wellington as part of the Berlioz, Debussy and Ravel tour.

2:06 The Laugh Track - the totally epic Sophia Johnson

The upcoming Comedy Festival is likely to be a torrent of standups - but not entirely.  We always like to see something a little different, and the show Total Epic-ness may even be more than a little different.

The two performers are probably better known as actors - Sophia Johnson in shows like Shortland Street, The Almighty Johnsons, Ash vs Evil Dead or 800 Words and Cohen Holloway in movies like Hunt for the Wilderpeople, What We Do in the Shadows and Thor Ragnarok.

Sophia Johnson talks to Simon Morris on the line from Canada, and her picks include The Office, Liam Neeson, Jena Friedman and Tina Fey.

2:25 A hugely ambitious look at the rock we call home

Filmed in nearly 50 countries on six continents, kilometres underground and from outer space, an ambitious new 10- part TV series explores the history and fragility of our planet.

One Strange Rock is hosted by actor Will Smith and shot for National Geographic.

But doing the hard work is the big team of cinematographers and their crew around the world, and it's proved to be a monumental logistic challenge.

Producer Jane Root's back catalogue of TV epics includes The 80s the Decade that Made Us and America: The story of Us.  She learned her craft working with the pioneer of nature documentary making Sir David Attenborough at the BBC.

But she tells Lynn Freeman that this project has proved to be bigger than Ben Hur!

One Strange Rock starts on ANZAC Day on the National Geographic Channel.

 

2:40 Ragnar Jonasson - profiting from Iceland crime

Iceland is very proud of its reputation, first, as a country leading the way to secure pay equity for women, and second, it's tiny number of murders.

But Icelandic crime novelist Ragnar Jonasson has started a trilogy of books about a senior woman detective who's only known discrimination and bullying during her many years in the police force, and who's being pushed to retire early.

In the first novel, The Drakness, Hulda's final case is a rare example of premeditated murder in Iceland.

Lynn Freeman talks to Ragnar about crime and Iceland.

The Darkness by Ragnar Jonasson is published by Penguin Random House.

 

 

2:49 Screen Gems - Olympic and Commonwealth Games

Irene Gardiner returns for her regular dip into clips from the big and small screens, current and historic.  Today's the theme is  Games - the Commonwealth Games, of course, and also the Olympics.  She talks with Lynn Freeman about The Games and Alex, Lovelock and Chariots of Fire.

3:06 Drama at 3

Final Take,  written by David Morley, is a BBC dramatisation of David Bowie's last album recording.  And Sewlwyn Muru narrates Part 2 of Te Wherowhero, the story of the man who became the first Maori king, 160 years ago.

 

Music played in this show

Artist: Queen
Song: Bicycle Race
Composer: Mercury
Album: Jazz
Label: Hollywood
Played at:  12.12

Artist:Franz Ferdinand
Song: Darts of Pleasure
Composer: Kapranos-McCarthy
Album: Franz Ferdinand (bonus disc)
Label: Sony
Played at:  12.34

Artist: Public Service Broadcasting
Song: Night mail
Composer: Willgoose
Album:  Inform educate entertain
Label:  Testcard
Played at:  12.36

Artist: Public Service Broadcasting
Song: Go!
Composer: Willgoose
Album: The race for space
Label: Testcard
Played at:  12.36

Artist: Public Service Broadcasting
Song: Theme from PSB
Composer: Willgoose
Album: Inform educate entertain
Label: Testcard
Played at:  12.36

Artist: The Dixie Chicks
Song: Ready to Run
Composer: Hummon-Seidel
Album: Fly
Label:  Monument
Played at: 12.58

Artist: Kurtis Blow
Song:  Basketball
Composer: Billy-Waring
Album: Basketball
Label: Polydor
Played at:  1.08

Artist:  The Divine Comedy
Song: Can you stand upon one leg?
Composer:  Hannan
Album:  Bang goes the knighthood
Label:  DCR
Played at: 1.45

Artist: Lorde
Song: Tennis court
Composer: O'Connor-Little
Album: Pure heroine
Label: Universal
Played at:  1.58

Artist: Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band
Song:  Sport
Composer: Stanshall
Album: Cornology
Label: EMI
Played at:  2.04

Artist: Kate and Anna McGarrigle
Song: The swimming song
Composer: Wainwright
Album: Kate and Anna McGarrigle
Label: Warner
Played at: 2.35

Artist:  Belle and Sebastian
Song: Stars of track and field
Composer: Belle & Sebastian
Album: If you're feeling sinister
Label: Matador
Played at: 2.58

Artist:  Rich Kids
Song:  Bowling
Composer: N/A
Album: N/A
Label: N/A
Played at:  3.06

Artist: Kate Bush
Song: Running up that hill
Composer: Bush
Album: The whole story
Label:  EMI
Played at: 3.58