Tomorrow sees the opening of the Auckland Arts Festival, 18 days of theatre, visual art, burlesque, sound installations, acrobatics, music and more at venues across Auckland. On his first day as editor of The Spinoff’s new Auckland section, Simon Wilson talks to the people behind the festival and shares his 10 can’t-miss shows. Dolina Wehipeihana … Read more
After last summer’s successful debut, the Pop-Up Globe is returning to Auckland in February. That’s great news for audiences, says Laura Irish – but less wonderful for New Zealand’s actresses, who’ve been shut out once again. So here’s the thing. I love Shakespeare. I’m a thespian through and through. I’ve studied Shakespeare extensively, performed Shakespeare, … Read more
Alex Casey talks to Sophie Roberts, artistic director of Auckland’s Silo Theatre, about putting on their new all-female play Boys Will be Boys and being a tough bitch in a male-dominated industry. Let’s start with the show Boys Will be Boys – what’s it all about? Boys Will Be Boys is set in the world of … Read more
All week this week we revisit the Mervyn Thompson Affair – the strange, powerful 1984 incident when six women abducted an Auckland university lecturer, chained him to a tree in Western Springs, burnt his flesh with lit cigarettes, threatened to castrate him, and labelled him a rapist. Today: an essay by Thompson’s friend, novelist Stephanie Johnson. Trigger warning: … Read more
Looking for the next New Zealand breakout star? Don’t bother switching on your television, says writer and director Chaz Harris. Over a decade ago, I was working at Miramax Films in London. One of my colleagues, an acquisitions executive, was preparing to leave for the Berlin Film Festival. I asked him if he went to … Read more
Today The Spinoff assesses the state of the professional critic in New Zealand with four pieces – two new, two older – which reflect on the challenges the form faces. Here theatre critic Sam Brooks assesses the state of his art. “To be a critic in New Zealand is to be a kind of weed. It’s … Read more
There’s been a major push to keep the Pop-up Globe in Auckland. Sam Brooks says it’s deeply misguided. If you’ve been lucky enough to walk around Central Auckland over the past three months, then you’ll have seen a large white silo building sitting in the carpark that you might’ve tried to park in when the Civic … Read more