CULTURE CLUB

Liam Stretch Culture Editor

Ican remember the first ‘proper’ stage show I went to. It was Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cats by our very own Showbiz at the Isaac Theatre Royal. It was there that a brewing love for the arts overflowed, and they became a central part of my life. Following the past two years of cancellations and postponements, I was happy to see culture get a boost over this past summer. The Court Theatre has had an excellent season of Little Shop of Horrors – also one of the first musicals I saw all those years ago – and 2022 is set to be a year when our artists take back to the boards and strut their stuff. This can even be said for some of the Avenues family with our columnist Chris Parker on the comedy circuit next month. Let’s make 2022 a year of culture.

In this month’s review section, I share my thoughts on a top-class film by a talented Kiwi, a delectable book, and a television show you’re sure to love.

I was lucky enough to attend the New Zealand premiere of Jane Campion’s latest film, The Power of the Dog. This cerebral film takes place in 1920s Montana (filmed in Central Otago) and centres around a domineering rancher and his intimidation of his brother’s wife and her son – and a secret. I was captivated throughout thanks to Campion’s excellent grasp on storytelling, and the episodic structure really made the slow burner flow perfectly. It’s dramatic, gritty, and strangely enthralling.

If you are a Hollywood producer reading this, close the magazine now. I’m about to write something mildly controversial. The British just do it better, especially when it comes to dark humour. The Acorn Original Queens of Mystery is well worth a watch. The series follows the adventures of the three crime writing Stone sisters and their niece. After an excellent first season, the second has just been released. It’s charming, mysterious, and deadpan. Agatha Christie would be a fan.

Taste: My Life Through Food by Stanley Tucci is a refreshingly enjoyable read. This memoir/recipe book/play (in parts) centres around the awardwinning actor’s long love of food. I promise you’ll be drawn in at the introduction, and he had me hooked at the first recipe, a negroni. It’s not only a one-time escape into Tucci’s gastronomic world but also a book you will return to time and time again, probably with your stomach rumbling.

Written by ALISON QUIGAN AND ROSS GUMBLEY

Directed by KATHLEEN BURNS

Meet animals from all over the world in Fur, Fangs and Feathers at Canterbury Museum. A stampede of stuffed specimens has escaped the Museum storerooms, including big plant-eaters like a muskox and a zebra and terrifying carnivores like lions and polar bears. There’s an adorable agouti and a vicious vulture; agile antelope, mischievous monkeys; a badger, a beaver, a baboon, a bison, and dozens more animals. Learn about where these creatures live, what they eat, and the conservation issues they face. Join the herd and migrate to Fur, Fangs and Feathers at Canterbury Museum this summer. Until 27 March 2022, Canterbury Museum canterburymuseum.com

In the heart of the city, The Lexus Urban Polo is the closest you can get to the exhilarating sport of polo. Held in Hagley Park, it’s set to be an unforgettable day of sport, music, fashion, and food. Aside from watching the fast-paced polo, you can try it for yourself with the side-line hitting game or even meet the players. There will also be DJs and excellent food and drink.

12 February, Hagley Park North urbanpolo.co.nz

Aotearoa’s most unique festival is back for another year. Nostalgia, nestled in the Ferrymead Heritage Park in the Heathcote Valley, will play host to Don McGlashan and The Others, Reb Fountain, and Troy Kingi, among other top-rate local artists. The festival also boasts an extensive range of market stalls and the best local food and drink, plus it is family-friendly. Did we mention Cassels beer? 12 February, Ferrymead Heritage Park nostalgiafestival.co.nz

Favourites of the Avenues team, Synthony, will return in epic fashion to the Garden City. The talented folks from Synthony will take to the city’s biggest festival stage at Electric Avenue in Hagley Park. The Synthony Orchestra, vocalists, guest musicians, and DJs will play anthems in a whole new way. This is the perfect way to spend summer in the city, and trust us; you’ll be sure to boogie at this one. 26 February, Hagley Park North electricavenuefestival.co.nz

Amazing destinations, delicious food, fine wine, and great conversation are all the hallmarks of an ultimate girls’ trip. Girls on the Road Again, founded by awardwinning photographer Lesley Whyte, brings together groups of women with wanderlust for local and international luxury travel.

Lesley personally leads Girls on the Road Again tours alongside incredible Kiwi women like Louise Wallace, Jax Hamilton, Jo McCarroll, Jess Bell, Hannah Miller, and Jackie Clarke. There is something for every woman. Shopping expeditions, foodie tours, and gardening tours combine with amazing food, adventure, and exploration.

It is also a perfect opportunity for budding photographers (cameras and smartphones), as Lesley will spend time with you on creating amazing imagery. Previous girls have said this was an extraordinary and surreal experience.

“My Girls on the Road tour was a fabulous trip; unlike anything I’d done before. Everything was organised, and all that was left to do was relax and enjoy the carefully selected itinerary. [There’s] beautiful scenery for photography and patient tutoring. I came home with some more skills and knowledge, new friends that I have remained in contact with, and lovely memories.”

girlsontheroadagain.com

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The Royal New Zealand Ballet’s Venus Rising – a spectacular programme of three ballets – will touch down in Ōtautahi on 4 March, beginning a wonderful year of dance around Aotearoa.

After a long pandemic shutdown, we certainly need something to lift our spirits and remind us of the beauty of life, and the new programme from the Royal New Zealand Ballet certainly fits the bill. From inspiring and internationally celebrated choreographers, the three extraordinary works capture the spirit and power of Venus Rising – brightest of stars, herald of the dusk and the dawn.

Aurum, by RNZB alumna Alice Topp, glows with inner light and profound peace. Meditative and moving, this award-winning ballet, created for The Australian Ballet in 2018, is shaped by kintsugi, the Japanese art of healing cracks with pure gold – celebrating the beauty of the broken, Chantal Nguyen of Bachtrack says of the work: “It has been a long while since I saw choreography so sincerely focused on emotional resonance and human connection.”

Royal New Zealand Ballet Choreographer in Residence Sarah Foster-Sproull’s The Autumn Ball, premiered in 2021, dances through the circle of life with tenderness, grace, and floor-filling fun. Dunedin-born Foster-Sproull, a senior lecturer in dance at the University of Auckland, worked with ten dancers to create the ballet, celebrating the energy and human connections of a long life, well-lived.

The final ballet of Venus Rising is choreographed by global dance legend Twyla Tharp. The New York-based dancer, choreographer, and author brings this showcase of top-flight international dance to a climax with the New Zealand premiere of her exhilarating Waterbaby Bagatelles. 27 dancers are sent spinning across the stage while they sparkle in an ever-changing ocean of light and revel in the freedom of space, movement, and togetherness.

This is a generous, glorious celebration of ballet and the joy of pure dance, created by some of the finest choreographers working today.

Subscribe to the Royal New Zealand Ballet in 2022 to save up to 20 per cent on ticket prices and receive subscriber benefits including preferential seating, reduced booking fees, complimentary programmes, and bespoke packages – available when you purchase tickets for two or more ballets. All tickets are fully refundable.