OCTOBER – DECEMBER 2015
BROUGHT TO YOU BY AUCKLAND LIVE
FEATURE
IN THIS ISSUE
ROCK OUT WITH AC/DC LIVE checks out AC/DC’s Wembley Stadium show
DARK CIRQUE Le Noir brings daring, glamour and clowning to The Civic
FELINE FANTASY How triple-threat performers are transformed into Cats
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DIRECT FROM THE UK
LIVE | OCTOBER – DECEMBER 2015
“HUGELY ENTERTAINING... INSANELY GLITZY” DAILY MAIL, UK
“A FEEL-GOOD SHOW WITH A BIG JOYOUS HEART” NEW YORK POST
THE CIVIC, AUCKLAND COMING OCTOBER 2016 JOIN OUR WAITLIST AT
priscillathemusical.co.nz
LIVE | OCTOBER – DECEMBER 2015
LIVE Picks HELLO
WIN Enter our competitions:
aucklandlive.co.nz/comps
Q&A Read our Q&As:
aucklandlive.co.nz/stories
Spring is in full swing and we have a busy summer of concerts and festivities to look forward to.
WATCH Watch our videos and picks:
youtube.com/aucklandlive
WATCH
We’ve got a lot of live music booked in, from SoulFest to Handel’s Messiah to AC/DC. We have Auckland’s Diwali Festival celebrations and a full programme of summer events coming to Aotea Square.
THE UKULELE ORCHESTRA OF GREAT BRITAIN 21 November | ASB Theatre, Aotea Centre 22 November | Bruce Mason Centre
DIRECTOR'S PICK
Now is a great time to get out your diary and start planning your ‘can’t miss’ events. There are a whole lot of exciting options to choose from. See all the events we have coming up on page 8 and 9.
Q&A
APO: THE LAST NIGHT OF THE PROMS 12 November | Great Hall, Auckland Town Hall
WATCH
CARNIVAL OF THE ANIMALS 6 – 10 October | Bruce Mason Centre
EDITOR Josie Campbell – media@aucklandlive.co.nz
3 December – 19 February Aotea Square
Activating the Aotea Arts Precinct is a key priority for Auckland Live, and CBD residents, workers and visitors will have noticed a big increase in activities in Aotea Square.
Every effort has been taken to ensure details in LIVE are accurate at time of publication but some may be subject to change. Individual companies reserve the right to add, withdraw or substitute artists or vary programmes should the need arise. Auckland Live takes no responsibility for any incorrect event information in this publication.
WIN
THE GLENN MILLER ORCHESTRA Two shows on 24 October ASB Theatre, Aotea Centre
MAGGIE GERRAND PRESENTS
AN
SUMMER IN THE SQUARE
EVENING
WITH
JOAN BAEZ THE LEGEND RETURNS ‘Her voice is as clear and distinctive as it ever was . . . still spellbinding.’ THE INDEPENDENT, SEP 2014
T U E S DAY 2 0 O CTO B E R ASB THEATRE, AOTEA CENTRE 0800 111 999 • TICKETMASTER.CO.NZ
WIN WATCH
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC LIVE: OCEAN WILD 21 October | ASB Theatre, Aotea Centre
“The Summer in the Square programming and setup for 2014 was really something special,” says Auckland Live Director Robbie Macrae. “This year Summer in the Square programming will span three months of great free entertainment and lots of activities for all ages.
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LIVE | OCTOBER – DECEMBER 2015
LIVE | OCTOBER – DECEMBER 2015
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NO STRINGS ATTACHED Salvador Salangsang is a clown like no other – for starters, he doesn’t wear a red nose. Instead, he acts as a ringmaster presiding over one of the world’s most dynamic circus shows, Le Noir – The Dark Side of Cirque. “You have to have a little bit of crazy in you,” he tells Dionne Christian.
IT IS SURELY EVERY PERFORMER’S dream. You’ve worked as a breakdancer and performed in a variety of shows, including at the MGM Grand Las Vegas in one of the strip’s most expensive productions, the US$80 million (NZ$123m) EFX, alongside performers like David Cassidy, Rick Springfield and Broadway star Tommy Tune. You’re making a name for yourself when a producer happens along – in this case Simon Painter, who created magic show The Illusionists – and asks you to collaborate on a new-style circus show. It will feature the world’s best cirque performers but, rather than take place in a cavernous auditorium or arena, it’ll be an intimate performance with the audience just inches from the stage. You’re ready to take the next step so the timing couldn’t be better. That’s what happened to Salvador (Sal) Salangsang, a native of Honolulu, Hawaii who spent his teen years in San Antonio, Texas. He wanted to be a performer from age five, when he saw The Jackson 5 (featuring a young Michael Jackson) and felt his heart pound with the excitement of it all. Watching the Ringling Brothers Circus when he was 12 only fuelled Sal’s desire. “I was just amazed at how much could fit in a big top tent, the variety of the acts, all you could see going on and how quickly things moved. An act would finish and, before you knew it, there’d be a total change of set and something new.” Now Sal is involved in making that sort of magic happen for audiences around the world, possibly on a scale they have never seen before. He’s been with Le Noir – The Dark Side of Cirque since its
inception four years ago and says it’s every bit as fast paced as he imagined. “What’s going on backstage – the costume and set changes, performers working out – could be a show in itself!” But audience eyes are always very much drawn to what’s happening on stage. Le Noir showcases incredible acrobatic acts divided into three colour-coded sections (white, red and black), each section exploring what these shades symbolise. Acts in the white section tend to be delicate and elegant – aerial ballet, for example. When things glow red they become more fiery and passionate. The mystery and possible danger of black is explored before all three elements are brought together in a spectacular finale. Le Noir was designed to make the spectators part of the entertainment. With a circular stage surrounded by the audience, the show is extremely intimate. In Auckland, a lucky number will even get to sit on the Civic stage, up close and personal with the 24 performers. “There’s nothing like it,” says Sal. “People can be just three, four feet away from the performers; they can see every heartbeat, every bead of sweat and see the intricacies of each act. It makes it a whole lot more exciting when the wheel of death is directly in front on you.” The Colombian wheel of death is a large metal apparatus that rotates high in to the air. Black-leather-clad performers, without safety attachments, climb into hooped tracks at each end and carry out mesmerising acrobatics.
“That’s where the dark side comes from,” explains Sal, who admits the wheel of death is the stunt that excites him the most because it’s unpredictable and dangerous. “It’s about the risk the artists take. No one is harnessed in; anything can happen at any time. “Those guys are crazy, but you have to have a little bit of crazy in you to do what they do, I suppose.” Portraying a French clown character, Sal’s role is to anchor the show and guide the audience through so that everyone feels involved. For some, that involvement may mean becoming a part of the action and taking their place in the spotlight but Sal is quick to point out that no one is coerced into participating or made the butt of any jokes. He acknowledges this is the thing that actually makes him most nervous and leads to him experiencing severe stage fright. To calm his nerves, he has dressing room rituals and always speaks to the stage manager last thing before he appears in front of an audience. “I have to carry the audience along and make them part of the show. It’s like a new show every night, influenced by how the audience responds. I’m always wondering, Will I get enough people to take part? But it always works out and I go back to my room, take a hot shower and think how lucky I am to do what I do.”
LE NOIR: THE DARK SIDE OF CIRQUE 28 October – 8 November Live at The Civic
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LIVE | JULY – SEPTEMBER 2015
ROCK OR BUST AC/DC play Auckland’s Western Springs Stadium as part of their Rock or Bust World Tour this December. Sarah Illingworth is here to tell you that yes, they’ve still got it and yes, you should go. STANDING IN THE PHOTO PIT AT WEMBLEY Stadium, waiting for AC/DC to take their opening bow, I did a slow pan of the 70,000-strong crowd. Six-year-olds on dads’ shoulders; tweens looking bewildered to be wedged against the front barrier with perhaps overzealous older brothers; many, many 50-year-old men sporting AC/DC T-shirts from every era and tour. Older women, younger women, people in wheelchairs, hundreds of Brian Johnson and Angus Young dressalikes fervently perfecting their air guitar – and one rogue Gene Simmons impersonator, impeccably outfitted from head to toe. Crowned the greatest rock ’n’ roll band of all time by legendary producer Rick Rubin (Beastie Boys, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Johnny Cash), AC/DC have sold 71 million albums in America alone, making them one of the biggest acts in US music history. But while their sales are impressive, they’re a band renowned for their live show, and from the first seconds of this Wembley set it was clear the five-piece can still summon a mighty wall of sound – aided in no small way by the 48 Marshall cabinets that flanked Chris Slade’s drum kit.
UNTIL YOU HEAR THOUSANDS OF VOICES THROW UP CRIES OF ‘THUNDER!’ IN TIDY UNISON THERE WILL REMAIN A SMALL HOLE IN YOUR ROCK ‘N’ ROLL LOVING SOUL. Classic tracks like Back in Black, Thunderstruck and Highway to Hell sparked the most visceral audience reactions of course, but newer material, including tunes from the band’s most recent album, Rock or Bust, also hit the mark. Unlike some big-name acts that struggle to hold a crowd’s attention between hits, all eyes and ears were on AC/DC for the whole two-hour performance. A couple of key members may be absent from the line-up but the music doesn’t suffer. Slade, the band’s drummer between 1989 and ’94, has returned in place of Phil Rudd, while guitarist Stevie Young covers for his uncle Malcolm, whose health issues sadly now prevent him from playing with the band he helped found. Long-time bassist Cliff Williams continues to hold strong; while, with a flick of his pitch on anthems like Hells Bells and You
Shook Me All Night Long, vocalist Brian Johnson can still easily command a primal scream from fans (including me). And then there’s Angus Young. Strutting magnificently in his trademark short-suit, Young takes Johnson’s undeniable charisma and cranks it 20 volts. Truly the crackle to his band’s pop, by the end of the night Young was holding court centre stage for a 10-minute solo on Let There Be Rock. Half-naked at this point and soaked with sweat, he filled the stadium with sound, flexing his credentials as one of the world’s finest rock guitarists. Pyrotechnics, confetti cannons and riffs as deeply familiar as the smell of sunscreen on a summer’s day.
I don’t usually go for hyperbole but I will say that until you hear thousands of voices throw up cries of “thunder!” in tidy unison, there will remain a small hole in your rock ‘n’ roll loving soul. AC/DC are booked to play Auckland’s Western Springs Stadium on December 15, and they’re an act to see for yourself. Go on, get your tickets. And start tuning that air guitar.
AC/DC ROCK OR BUST WORLD TOUR 15 December | Western Springs Stadium
LIVE | OCTOBER – DECEMBER 2015
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Mary J. Blige
WATCH THE MUSIC SOULFEST | 26 October | Western Springs Stadium
Photo by Danny Clinch
CHRIS CORNELL | 26 – 28 November ASB Theatre, Aotea Centre
Here comes the most exciting time of the year for music lovers, with the concert season about to get underway. Visit youtube.com/aucklandlive to watch the latest from these artists and festivals.
ED SHEERAN | 12 December Mt Smart Stadium
JOAN BAEZ | 20 October ASB Theatre, Aotea Centre
FLEETWOOD MAC | 21 & 22 November Mt Smart Stadium
IN THE ANZAC CENTENARY YEAR AN AMERICAN LEGEND RETURNS!
26 MUSICIANS, SINGERS AND DANCERS ON STAGE A 2 HOUR MUSIC SPECTACLE
SATURDAY 24 OCT 2.30 / 7.30PM AUCKLAND AOTEA CENTRE BOOK NOW! ticketmaster.co.nz
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LIVE | OCTOBER – DECEMBER 2015
LIVE CALENDAR Mt Smart Stadium THEATRE MANAWA ORA: HOPE FOR A GENERATION A live, inter-arts performance featuring one-act plays, artworks, performance pieces and music created by South Auckland teens and their creative mentors. 14 – 17 October, 7pm | $15-$20* Herald Theatre, Aotea Centre
STEPHEN FRY: TELLING TALES Stephen Fry will be touring New Zealand with his show Telling Tales. He will be telling some of the most marvellous stories ever heard in an evening of fun, frolic and uniquely Fryish delight. 2 & 3 December, 8pm | $89.90 – 129.90* The Civic Mt Smart Stadium MUSICAL CATS Following a triumphant season in London’s West End, the acclaimed revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s legendary musical Cats is now playing at The Civic for a strictly limited season. 11 September – 11 October | $99 – $129* The Civic
OP SHOP DREAMS Auckland City Mission’s Hobson Street Theatre Company returns to the stage with this show about a dream fixer who turns hopes into reality for a group of people who congregate at the local op shop. Not your usual theatre company. 27 – 31 October, 7pm | $15* Herald Theatre, Aotea Centre HUDSON & HALLS LIVE! In this new commission from Silo, prepare to be transported to a 1980s television studio for big laughs, rum-fuelled showdowns and very questionable cooking. 5 November – 5 December, various times | $30 – $55* Herald Theatre, Aotea Centre THE PITCH Neverland presents a story based on the processes of creating their end of year production. A boardroom meeting, five pitches and one show… what could go wrong? 4 – 6 December, various times | $19.99 – $29.99* Bruce Mason Centre
NYTC: DISNEY'S BEAUTY AND THE BEAST Straight from screen to the stage, this is the classic Disney musical with all the songs and characters that you love. 4 December, 7.30pm ASB Theatre, Aotea Centre Mt Smart Stadium FESTIVAL AUCKLAND DIWALI FESTIVAL A family-friendly festival celebrating traditional and contemporary Indian culture in all its forms, including live music, dance, street theatre, puppetry, workshops, food and craft stalls. 17 – 18 October, noon – 9pm | FREE Aotea Centre & Aotea Square
Mt Smart Stadium COMEDY JOHN BISHOP LIVE Strap yourselves in and prepare for lift off; the countdown is on for the long-awaited New Zealand tour by one of stand-up comedy’s biggest stars. 15 & 16 October, 8pm | $79.90* ASB Theatre, Aotea Centre 7 DAYS LIVE Dai, Jeremy, Paul and your favourites celebrate 7 Days’ 200th episode. See this bumper episode recorded live at the Auckland Town Hall – with special guests! 2 November, 7.30pm | $45 – $49* Great Hall, Auckland Town Hall
SOULFEST SoulFest brings you some of the world’s finest contemporary neo-soul and hip-hop artists. Featuring Ms Lauryn Hill, Mary J. Blige, Jill Scott and Miguel. Over 25 live acts and DJs will feature throughout the 10-hour day. 26 October, from midday | $147* Western Springs Stadium
BRENDAN GRACE: AN AUDIENCE WITH HIS GRACE Ireland’s best-loved comedian, Brendan Grace is famous for his “Irish wedding” send up, “Bottler” character, vocalist impersonations and playing Father Fintan Stack in Father Ted. 25 November, 8pm | $49* Bruce Mason Centre
Brendan Grace
TASTE OF AUCKLAND Try a smorgasbord of signature dishes from Auckland’s most exciting restaurants as you stroll through New Zealand’s greatest restaurant and food festival. 5 – 8 November, various times Western Springs SHOW ME SHORTS FILM FESTIVAL OPENING AND AWARDS NIGHT Show Me Shorts launches with a bang, announcing the winners of our Academy Awards-accredited prizes and screening the winning short films in full. 11 November, 7.30 pm | $25* The Civic
MUSIC 2015 DREAMWORKS SINGING CONTEST Sponsored by Barfoot and Thompson Greenlane, the 2015 DreamWorks Singing Contest features 12 finalists, hand picked from over 200 contestants to bring you a musical extravaganza. 17 October, 7pm | $20 – $80* Bruce Mason Centre BOYZ II MEN The four-time Grammy Award winners Boyz II Men redefined popular R&B and continue to create timeless hits that appeal to fans across all generations. 17 October, 7.30pm | from $92.10* ASB Theatre, Aotea Centre MORNING MELODIES Join us once a month on a Monday, when Morning Melodies fills the Bruce Mason Centre with easy-listening music that is perfect for all ages. The Band of the Royal Regiment of New Zealand Artillery 19 October, 11am | $5* Bruce Mason Centre
BONEY M FEATURING MAIZIE WILLIAMS With multiple sellout shows and rave reviews from their last outing, EuroPop superstars Boney M (featuring Maizie Williams) are back performing all of their greatest hits for an exclusive show in Auckland. 30 October, 7.30pm | $79* ASB Theatre, Aotea Centre PJ POWERS AND DOZI LIVE IN CONCERT It is not often that you get two enjoy two of the best artists that South Africa can offer. This show will feature all the hits from the last four decades and will take you back in time. 31 October, 7.00pm | various prices Bruce Mason Centre 10CC 10cc have sold over 30 million albums worldwide and given us some of the most lyrically dexterous and musically varied songs of the ’70s and ’80s. Don’t miss them. 10 November | $89 – 99* ASB Theatre, Aotea Centre
The Royal New Zealand Air Force Base Auckland Band 16 November, 11am | $5* Bruce Mason Centre The Royal New Zealand Navy Band 7 December, 11am | $5* Bruce Mason Centre LIFEHOUSE With more than 15 million albums sold, American alternative rockers Lifehouse made waves all over the globe. From their debut single ‘Hanging by a Moment’ through until now, Lifehouse have astounded audiences. 19 October, 8pm | $72.40 – 86.40* Great Hall, Auckland Town Hall AN EVENING WITH JOAN BAEZ One of the most celebrated singers of all time and the voice of a generation – a musical and political force of nature. 20 October, 8pm | $95 – $150* ASB Theatre, Aotea Centre RETROSPECTIVE: THE SONGS OF DAVID MULCAHY From the early Jean-Paul Sartre Experience days through to Superette, and now current monikers Mulchzoid and Zilverside, David Mulcahy’s body of work spans an impressive 30 years. 22 October, 7.30pm | $37.50 – $42.50* The Wintergarden, The Civic
SINATRA: THE CENTENARY CELEBRATION Salutes the greatest entertainer of his century. Known as Ol’ Blue Eyes and Chairman of the Board, Sinatra was charismatic, mesmerising and one of the best selling recording artists of our time. 20 November, 8pm | $79 – $195 The Civic UKULELE ORCHESTRA OF GREAT BRITAIN The world famous, all-singing, all-strumming Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain returns celebrating ‘30 Plucking Years’ playing old favourites and new songs. “First rate” – New York Times 21 & 22 November, 7.30pm | $59 – $79* ASB Theatre, Aotea Centre & Bruce Mason Centre FLEETWOOD MAC Touring as a five-piece for the first time since 1998, one of music’s most enduring groups, Fleetwood Mac. 21 & 22 November | $99.90 – $299.90* Mt Smart Stadium
THE GLENN MILLER ORCHESTRA The much-loved Glenn Miller Orchestra returns with those timeless ’40s hits, and this time including a special tribute of ANZAC-era music. 24 October, 2.30pm & 7.30pm | $79.70 – $99.90* ASB Theatre, Aotea Centre
AN EVENING WITH CHRIS CORNELL Chris Cornell is an innovator who transcends genre. The multi-Grammy award-winning, Golden Globe-nominated singer-songwriter brings his solo acoustic show to New Zealand. 26 – 28 November, 8pm | $109.90 – $119.90* ASB Theatre, Aotea Centre
FAT FREDDY’S DROP ALBUM LAUNCH Fat Freddy’s Drop play the iconic Auckland Town Hall for the first time on 24 October in anticipation of their new album. (Sold Out) 24 October, 8pm | $65 – $75* Great Hall, Auckland Town Hall
RISE AGAINST Chicago’s acclaimed punk rock four-piece Rise Against return for one show at Auckland Town Hall this December. 8 December, 8pm | $84* Great Hall, Auckland Town Hall
BOOKING TICKETS
PLAN YOUR VISIT
Online: www.ticketmaster.co.nz | Phone: 0800 111 999 or 09 970 9700 In person: Ticketmaster outlets including Aotea Centre and Bruce Mason Centre
Go to aucklandlive.co.nz for information on venues, parking and where to go for pre-show refreshments or call us during business hours on 09 309 2677.
*Service/booking fees will be applied when purchasing tickets.
LIVE | OCTOBER – DECEMBER 2015
October – December
AC/DC ROCK OR BUST WORLD TOUR Following the release of their worldwide number one album Rock Or Bust, the legendary band will play Western Springs. 15 December, 6.30pm | $169.90* Western Springs Stadium
Mt Smart Stadium CLASSICAL APO: MUSICAL TREASURES A programme of musical delights with works by Beethoven and Stravinsky. Part of the New Zealand Herald Premier Series. 1 October, 8pm | $26 – $125* Great Hall, Auckland Town Hall CMNZ: INSPIRED BY BACH Discover the musical influence of Johann Sebastian Bach in the form of piano transcriptions, homages and a brand new work by Ross Harris, with pianist Michael Houstoun. 2 October, 7.30pm 4 October, 5pm | $35 – 70* Concert Chamber, Auckland Town Hall AYO: PATHÉTIQUE – THE LIBERAL ARTS CONCERT Auckland Youth Orchestra performs Kabalevsky, Mendelssohn and Tchaikovsky in a concert featuring piano soloist Maria Mo and conductor Antun Poljanich. 3 October, 7.30pm | FREE Great Hall, Auckland Town Hall APO: VIRTUOSO VIOLIN Enjoy the Gypsy vivacity of Bruch’s brilliant violin concerto played by Henning Kraggerud. Part of the New Zealand Herald Premier Series. 8 October, 8pm | $26 – $125* Great Hall, Auckland Town Hall ASO: THE FRENCH CONNECTION Featuring orchestral favourites including music by Bizet, Mahler and Gershwin, as well as the premiere of the Alex Taylor Horn Concerto. Emma Richards – horn, Peter Thomas – conductor. 11 October, 2.30pm | Koha ASB Theatre, Aotea Centre VIVA VOCE: INSPIRED! Marking 30 years, Auckland Chamber choir Viva Voce presents some of the pearls of choral music, exploring what it is to be inspired… and inspiring. 14 Oct, 7pm | $10 – $45* Concert Chamber, Auckland Town Hall
CMNZ: VIENNA PIANO TRIO The Vienna Piano Trio is a polished gem steeped in the grand Central European musical tradition. Be transported to Vienna, the home of chamber music, for a captivating musical experience. 23 October, 7.30pm | $40 – 80* Great Hall, Auckland Town Hall AUCKLAND CHORAL: MISSA SOLEMNIS Auckland Choral sings Beethoven’s magnificent Missa Solemnis featuring tenor Simon O'Neill, bass Martin Snell, soprano Hyeseoung Kwon, mezzo-soprano Jacqueline Dark and Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra. 31 October, 7.30pm | $39 – $108* Great Hall, Auckland Town Hall APO: FAIRYTALES Scheherazade, and the Pied Piper Fantasy starring London Symphony Orchestra Principal Flute Adam Walker. Part of the New Zealand Herald Premier Series. 5 November, 8pm | $26 – $125* Great Hall, Auckland Town Hall NZSO: BOLD WORLDS – FIRE AND ICE Boldly go where composers had not been before with the NZSO’s Bold Worlds tour – a celebration of courageous new steps in classical music. 6 November, 7pm | $15 – $130* Great Hall, Auckland Town Hall APO: THE LAST NIGHT OF THE PROMS Pomp, circumstance, flag waving and tradition – in concert. 12 November, 8pm | $21 – $95* Great Hall, Auckland Town Hall NZSO: GARRICK OHLSSON PLAYS BRAHMS Let conductor Jaime Martín delight you with Mozart and Beethoven, then experience brilliance and emotion when piano master Garrick Ohlsson performs Brahm’s Piano Concerto No 1. 14 November, 7.30pm | $15 – $130* Great Hall, Auckland Town Hall APO: ALPINE ADVENTURE Music Director Eckehard Stier musters massive orchestral forces for the 2015 mainstage finale. Part of the New Zealand Herald Premier Series. 19 November, 8pm | $26 – $125* Great Hall, Auckland Town Hall APO: SETTLING THE SCORE LIVE New Zealanders’ favourite orchestral works – unveiled live in concert. 26 November, 8pm | $25 – $45* Great Hall, Auckland Town Hall NZSO: RITE OF SPRING Stravinsky specialist Jaime Martín leads the famously controversial work The Rite of Spring, after Vaughan William’s widelyloved The Lark Ascending, featuring NZSO Concertmaster Vesa-Matti Leppänen. 27 November, 7pm | $15 – $130* Great Hall, Auckland Town Hall
APO: FILM CLASSICS Scores from on-screen – great orchestral works immortalised in movies. Part of the Bayleys Great Classics Series. 22 October, 7.30pm | $26 – $125* Great Hall, Auckland Town Hall
Jakob Koryani
BACH MUSICA NZ: BEETHOVEN, STEFFANI & BACH Beethoven Piano Concerto No 5, ‘Emperor’, soloist: Jason Bae; Steffani Stabat Mater (NZ premiere); Bach Cantata No 80, conductor: Rita Paczian. 18 October, 5pm | $10 – 65* Great Hall, Auckland Town Hall
BACH MUSICA NZ: BACH CHRISTMAS ORATORIO Johann Sebastian Bach Christmas Oratorio (parts 4 – 6), Emma Roxburgh (soprano), Christie Cook (mezzo), Henry Choo (tenor), Nicholas Dinopoulos (bass); conductor: Rita Paczian. 6 December, 5pm | $10 – 65* Great Hall, Auckland Town Hall ASO: CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION The ASO presents a concert of sing-a-long Christmas favourites, conducted by Peter Thomas, with special guest choirs from Auckland churches. 11 December, 7.30pm | Koha Great Hall, Auckland Town Hall AUCKLAND CHORAL: HANDEL'S MESSIAH Celebrate Christmas with Auckland Choral’s Messiah. Featuring tenor David Hamilton, bass Martin Snell, soprano Marlena Devoe, mezzo Wendy Dawn Thompson and Piper’s Sinfonia conducted by Uwe Grodd. 14 & 15 December, 7.30pm | $10-$89* Great Hall, Auckland Town Hall Mt Smart Stadium DANCE SWAN LAKE The Imperial Russian Ballet Company returns to New Zealand with Swan Lake, the most loved classical ballet of them all, on the company’s 14th visit to New Zealand. 4 November, 8pm | $55 – $95* Bruce Mason Centre 13 & 14 November, 8pm | $55 – $95* ASB Theatre, Aotea Centre BLACK GRACE: SIVA Black Grace and Auckland Live proudly present Siva, a major new work from one of New Zealand’s most prolific choreographers, Neil Ieremia. 6 & 7 November, 7.30pm ASB Theatre, Aotea Centre TUTUS, TIARAS AND A TANGO OR TWO! Devonport School of Dance presents a delightful mix of classical and contemporary dance with tutus, tiaras, a tango or two and lots more to entertain and enchant. 21 November 1.30pm & 7pm | $15 – $24.99* On sale 27 October Bruce Mason Centre Auckland Town Hall FAMILY SQUARE KIDS Keep your family entertained these school holidays with Square Kids, Auckland Live’s programme of free performances in Aotea Square. 26 September – 11 October, 10am-3pm | FREE Aotea Square CARNIVAL OF THE ANIMALS The circus comes to town with stunning creatures of land and sea. The acrobatic animals will whisk you away with this spellbinding performance that is wildly imaginative, explosive and seriously funny. 6 – 10 October, 11am & 2pm | $20 – $75* Bruce Mason Centre KIDS FOR KIDS: SLICE OF HEAVEN Kids for Kids is back in 2015 with its iconic massed choir performances. Kids for Kids presents a brand new show Slice of Heaven, fronted by Jackie Clarke and Nathan King and showcasing our own talented Kiwi kids as its stars! 27 – 30 October, 7.30pm | $18 – $72* Bruce Mason Centre
TALK TO US
APO 4 KIDS CHRISTMAS A festive concert for pre-schoolers and their families. 28 November, 10am & 11.30am | $15 Great Hall, Auckland Town Hall FARMERS SANTA PARADE Heralding the start of the Christmas season, this beloved holiday parade features colourful grand floats. 29 November, 1pm | FREE Auckland CBD & Aotea Square SUMMER IN THE SQUARE Auckland Live brings music, big games, an interactive installation and a whole lot of all-ages fun to Aotea Square this summer. See aucklandlive.co.nz for the full programme announcement. 3 December – 19 February | FREE Aotea Square Mt Smart Stadium TALKS SHATNER'S WORLD The wait is over – after much persuasion, television and movie legend William Shatner has agreed to bring his Broadway smash hit show to New Zealand. 10 October, 8pm | from $99* ASB Theatre, Aotea Centre NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC LIVE PRESENTS: OCEAN WILD WITH BRIAN SKERRY Dive deep into the world’s oceans with one of National Geographic’s most seasoned explorers. Watch as Brian Skerry’s images illuminate the vast, hidden world beneath the waves. 21 October, 7.30pm | from $49* ASB Theatre, Aotea Centre DR WHO – PETER CAPALDI IN CONVERSATION Peter Capaldi in Conversation is a special one-time-only Doctor Who event, hosted by Adam Spencer, in which Peter will reveal how he approaches the role of the Doctor, with footage and stories from behind the scenes of the world’s longest running sci-fi television series. 24 November, 7.30pm | $89 – $149* The Civic
Peter Capaldi
ED SHEERAN This December Ed Sheeran becomes the first musician to perform an Australian and New Zealand stadium tour entirely solo. Every sound on stage will be produced by his voice, guitar and a series of loop pedals, filling the stadiums with hypnotising layers of sound. 12 December, 6.30pm | $79 – $139* Mt Smart Stadium
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Mt Smart Stadium MORE ARBORIA A dazzling maze of winding paths and soaring domes, a monumental inflatable structure that has astounded audiences around the world. Now, for the first time, this incredible luminarium comes to Auckland. 24 September – 11 October, various times | $10 – $12 Aotea Square LE NOIR: THE DARK SIDE OF CIRQUE See The Civic transformed like never before when the cirque extravaganza that has taken the world by storm finally comes to Auckland. 28 October – 8 November, various times | from $69.90* The Civic DIGITAL ART LIVE: EMERGING PIXELS #5 A selection of interactive art works created by emerging talents. 13 October – 29 February | FREE Aotea Centre
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LIVE | OCTOBER – DECEMBER 2015
Architects of Air The world’s newest luminarium has landed in Aotea Square! Arboria is a dazzling inflatable maze created by England’s brilliant Architects of Air, celebrating forest patterns and featuring a sound-scape that originated in the Ecuadorian Cloud Forest.
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The zebras juggle and flip The elephants have serious street-cred and rhythm And even the dinosaur bones shake, clatter and roll to the music
6 – 10 OCT 11AM & 2PM Bruce Mason Centre, Takapuna Tickets* from $20 ticketmaster.co.nz * Service fees apply.
NT A DV E
Arboria is on every day except Mondays until 11 October. You can pre-book or buy your tickets on site in Aotea Square. Check out #Arboria on Instagram to see other people’s photos and post your own when you visit. Make a day of it with free Square Kids shows at 11am and 1pm.
Photo by Justin Nicolas.
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LIVE | OCTOBER – DECEMBER 2015
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YAKETY CATS
Theatre veteran Sharon Case talks to Bronwyn Bent about Cats, the transformative power of makeup and the unexpected shortage of woolly mammals.
OTHER SHOWS HAVE HELICOPTERS, human-devouring plants or crashing chandeliers, but none has quite managed to top the spectacle of Cats, where people turn into very feline characters, with a little help from makeup – and a few shorn yaks. One person intimately familiar with this transformation is Sharon Case, Cats’ head of wigs and makeup. She’s worked on various productions of the show across many years, starting with the first Australian season in 1985. “I was very familiar with the way Cats looked in New York. This was long before the internet, so I bought a lot of overseas magazines, and I would find these photos and had a real attachment to the look. I was studying special effects, and my makeup teacher and my wig teacher started on Cats, and on day two they said, ‘We need an extra pair of hands’.” Sharon has seen a number of variations on the famous look since then. For this
season, designer John Napier – who has returned to the show after creating the first design in the early 1980s – has redesigned everything. “What’s really different is that they have gone back to an original look: shorter hair, less stylised, more real cat – you’ll just want to touch and pat each one. The makeup has become more blended, rather than the more theatrical lines from other productions. There was definitely a shift in the design when the show went to New York, a lot more razzle-dazzle. It’s slightly gone back to its roots in London now but with a modern twist. There’s a lot more glamour with the girls, with their eye makeup; it’s a really beautiful look.” Yaks aren’t usually associated with high glamour but their hair is widely used for character wigs. “All the wigs are made of yak hair except for Grizabella, she’s made of human and yak hair.”
The belly hair of the yak is softer and used for characters like the kittens, while hair from the tail is coarser and stiffer and used for wigs that require more structure. “At one point Cats was so popular it caused a yak hair shortage,” Sharon notes. All members of the cast apply their own makeup, under the tutelage of Sharon and her team.
“THERE’S A LOT MORE GLAMOUR WITH THE GIRLS, WITH THEIR EYE MAKEUP; IT’S A REALLY BEAUTIFUL LOOK.” “At the moment [one week before the show opens] we’ve been doing makeup calls with the new cast. The makeup is part of their immersion in to the show. I instruct on one half of the face and they do the other half. It’s a really lovely journey you have with the actor, and I think that’s part of the appeal for me as they do become their character, they really own everything about it.” Some of the more practiced hands can apply their make up in 15 minutes,
while others will come in early to get it done. In the hour before the show all the cast members are summoned to the wig and makeup room for checks. “There’s constant supervision of the makeup; just because you think it looks good in the mirror doesn’t make it look good to the audience. What they see up close is not what the rest of us see.” Once the makeup and wigs are on, Sharon has found that people willingly start believing in these human-shaped felines. “It’s very interesting how people backstage respond. People don’t see a person, they see a cat. As soon as they lose the human skin they are transformed.” It’s Sharon’s job to make this transformation invisible, to create an optical illusion, so that by the time the first performer starts slinking around the stage, the audience is not thinking about the hours of work and thousands of dollars that have gone into this remarkable change, they just accept that they’re surrounded by singing, dancing cats.
CATS 11 September – 11 October Live at The Civic
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LIVE | OCTOBER – DECEMBER 2015
KIP’S KITCHEN NIGHTMARES
There will definitely be cocktails. But will there be audience-participation cooking? Kip Chapman can't possibly comment. By David Larsen.
Kip is not of that generation. “I’m 35 so I was just slightly too young to know them, but my partner, Todd Emerson, who’s playing Peter Hudson in the show, he was talking to Rima Te Wiata at a theatre party one night – theatre parties, where all the great ideas happen – and he mentioned that he'd just completed a cooking course. Rima said, ‘Oh my God, have you heard of Hudson and Halls?’ She had actually worked for them as a teenager in their restaurant; by all accounts she was the worst waiter the world had ever seen. And they had this little shtick where they would call abuse at her from the kitchen. Which is just so Hudson and Halls. They were so theatrical. You'd go to their restaurant for the amazing food, but also to hear them bicker in the background and abuse their terrible 18-year-old waitress; that was part of the whole experience.”
What will the show be like? Kip doesn’t want to give too much away. “I make theatre that’s not typical. My number one goal is for the audience experience to be out of control.” What he’s prepared to tell me is that the evening will be an immersive snapshot of Peter and David’s lives, with the audience playing the studio crowd for a Hudson and Halls live broadcast. “It’s the first time they’ve ever tried a live version of the show. It's a Christmas special. Peter is extremely worried about the turkey. David has had a couple of champagnes to warm up for the show. It's possible the oven catches fire. We're transforming the Herald Theatre into a television studio from the 1980s, which is its own species of hilarious camp – I’ve always been fascinated by the period aesthetics of all the different eras of New Zealand culture, and I’m a real fan of kitsch, and the ’80s has a lot of that. And the theatre bar will become a combined studio foyer and cocktail lounge, so people can stick around afterwards for a drink, hang out with the stars and have a 1980s cocktail wonder-party.”
Emerson came home that night and described Hudson and Halls, their personalities, their cooking, their TV
“Hilarious camp” was, of course, the Hudson and Halls style. Their show ran at a time when homosexuality was still
David Halls and Peter Hudson, known to a generation as Hudson and Halls.
“ANY COOKING ON STAGE IS A recipe for disaster,” Kip Chapman says with detectable and mildly alarming glee. "We're going to try to harness that as much as we can." Kip is the director and co-creator of Apollo 13: Mission Control, one of the runaway local theatrical hits of the last five years and a successful export to Australia. His new show, which aims to be as off-the-wall immersive as that one and completely different in every other way, is a celebration of two of the great Kiwiana personalities: television cooking show sensations
show. Within 30 minutes he and Kip had mapped out a Hudson and Halls theatre show. “I make a lot of theatre and I've got a really good sense of what will work. This is the cleanest I’ve been able to see a show since Apollo 13: Mission Control. We came up with the idea for that one in about 10 minutes, and when we made it, it was exactly the show we’d imagined. This was just like that. Instant.”
criminalised under New Zealand law, and everyone in the country knew they were a gay couple. “That's what was so extraordinary about these guys. I admire camp people so much because they make themselves so visible. What they're saying with their campness is, This is who I am, like it or not. And these guys were doing it when it was still illegal. They were authentic. Their stage personalities were their real personalities. We just don’t see that nowadays. TV personalities around the world now are so synthetic.” The show is booked for a one-month initial run, Tuesdays through Saturdays. Apollo 13: Mission Control ended up running far, far longer than that. Is there any downside to that sort of success? Did Kip ever wish the show would end so he could do something else? “Oh my God no. We knew we had something special and we were so, so stoked that the audiences got the joy that we’d had in making it. I could perform it for the rest of my life. If I clocked up 2000 shows I'd be like, bring on the next 2000. The producing side of getting different seasons in different centres up and running is certainly a draining thing, it’s an absolute monster of a task. But once you're in front of an audience, that just drops away and it's heaven.”
HUDSON & HALLS LIVE! 5 November – 5 December Herald Theatre, Aotea Centre
LIVE | OCTOBER – DECEMBER 2015
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Artistic direction & photography: Neil Ieremia. Far left: photo by Kristian Frires for Urbis
DANCE CELEBRATION
It's two decades since celebrated choreographer Neil Ieremia started Black Grace. To celebrate, the company is bringing Siva to ASB Theatre, Aotea Centre for two nights in November. We asked Neil to share a few memories and tell us about Siva.
Black Grace turns 20 this year. Take us back to the beginning – did you have any inkling that what you started could be so enduring? When I started Black Grace in 1995 my aim was to create something that would be lasting, so I’m proud to still be here after 20 years.
What are a couple of your proudest moments from the past 20 years? Seeing the look on my parents’ face on the opening night of our debut season, performing at Jacobs Pillow 2004, developing UrbanYouthMovement with the late Sally Markham and watching my dancers perform 24 consecutive shows at last year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Tell us about Siva – what can audiences expect from a dance perspective?
What is still to come for Black Grace? More touring, more collaborations and more change.
The very best Pacific contemporary dance.
Is there anything else we should know? This is a dance show, but you’re collaborating with a number of creatives from other industries. Tell us about that. My collaborators are some of the most exciting and unexpected practitioners in their respective fields. They are also funny, slightly eccentric, fiercely determined and hard to get all together in the same country, let alone in same room, at the same time!
Directly following Siva, the company will be touring old school style, performing some of the iconic Black Grace works in community halls from Kaitaia to Oamaru for $20 on the door. The tour is called 20 for 20.
BLACK GRACE: SIVA 6 & 7 November | ASB Theatre, Aotea Centre
The Last Night of the Proms 8pm, Thursday 12 November Auckland Town Hall
apo.co.nz
Conductor Hamish McKeich Soprano Penelope Mills Pomp, circumstance, flag-waving, tradition – there’s nothing quite like The Last Night of the Proms. Favourite orchestral works, and the most entertaining British musical traditions. Bring your Union Jacks, streamers, noisemakers and your friends for a grand night out!
Book at ticketmaster.co.nz or call 0800 111 999 / 09 970 9700 (Booking and Service fees apply) Supported by
LIVE | OCTOBER – DECEMBER 2015
Original cast
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Looking ahead
Auckland Arts Festival has gone annual and we can’t wait for the full programme of theatre, dance, music… and just about every kind of spectacular artistic performance you can imagine. What we can tell you is that the festival dates are 2 to 20 March and that there are three works already announced that are worth getting excited about.
H RG VAL U I B IN EST D F E L HE NA T F IO T O NAT I H ER T IN
aaf.co.nz
The James Plays form an historical trilogy taking audiences and critics by storm. Moving to more recent history, Nixon in China is one of the most celebrated operas of our generation. John Grant is the first announcement in the contemporary music line-up with his psychedelic alt-rock sound The Guardian calls “fabulous, fantastical, magnificent”.
The James Plays 5 - 12 March, ASB Theatre
James I: The Key Will Keep The Lock
“Furiously exciting”
James II: Day of The Innocents James III: The True Mirror
BOOK NOW ticketmaster.co.nz 0800 111 999 Core Funder
Time Out, UK
“A feast of blistering emotion and theatrical might” More treachery and scheming than Game of Thrones
In association with *photography features 2014 cast
The Telegraph, UK
Auckland Live, Tim Lawson and Simon Painter present
THE DARK SIDE OF
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CONTEMPORARY CIRCUS AT ITS MOST THRILLING
28 OCT – 8 NOV The Civic, Auckland aucklandlive.co.nz or 0800 111 999
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WESTERN SPRINGS AUCKLAND
TUE 15 DEC
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