Tuesday 2 March 2010 at 8pm

NZ International Arts Festival

presents

DANCING ON YOUR GRAVE

Featuring the Corpse de Ballet, The Cholmondeleys

and The Featherstonehaughs / United Kingdom

A five-piece troupe of deceased and downtrodden

music hall artistes take you on a tour through performers’ purgatory. With live music written and performed by Steve Blake and Nigel Burch, this deliciously funny production is a cabaret-style theatre act with a devilish twist.

“Toe-tapping epitaphs, spectral harmonies and bonerattling banjoleles” are all part of Dancing on Your Grave’s deadly delights. Determined and resolute,

the performers dance and sing their way through

manic banjo tunes, resplendent with gruesomely

witty lyrics. Styled to look like ‘vaudeville zombies’

with a touch of glamour thrown in, the marvellously

maudlin cast will take you on a wholly entertaining

trek beyond the grave.

This award-winning company has performed at a

myriad of weird and wonderful venues – from large

and small theatres to bridges and beaches. They’ve

also performed at the Tate Modern and Glastonbury.

Don’t miss out on this fantastically fatal production.

Genesis Energy Theatre

Tickets: $45 Adult & $45 Child

Photo - Lea Anderson

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Tuesday 9 March 2010 at 7.30pm

New Zealand International Arts Festival

presents

MARK TWAIN

& ME IN MAORILAND

Taki Rua Productions / New Zealand

Weaving historical fact with magical realism, Mark Twain & Me in Maoriland fuses a spaghetti western
with an epic love story. Inspired by true events, this bullet-ridden, comic tale is set amidst the saloons of Whanganui in 1895 - a combustible time of mercenaries, prophets, vaudeville, and self-serving mayoralty.

This gun-toting production sparks from the true account of Mark Twain's Australasian lecture tour, which came to an abrupt halt when the outspoken writer incurred the wrath of the local English establishment. Twain shocked the colonials when he pronounced a Moutoa monument, honouring Maori loyal to the English, should be blown up for encouraging natives to become traitors to their
own race. He also claimed the rebel Maori, slandered as barbarians and fanatics, were in fact the country's true patriots.

Taki Rua Productions' Mark Twain & Me in Maoriland blends live music with audio visual technology as it navigates the complexities and contradictions of colonisation. A theatrical stick of dynamite from the award-winning producers of Strange Resting Places and Te Karakia, this entertaining creation proves that history, as always, is far from black and white.

Genesis Energy Theatre

Tickets: $38 Adult & $38 Child

Photo - Robert Catto

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Wednesday 10 March 2010 at 6pm

New Zealand International Arts Festival

presents

THE TRAGICAL

LIFE OF CHEESEBOY

Step inside an enchanting travelling theatre tent to discover the weird and wonderful world of Cheeseboy. When a freak meteor turns his planet into a bubbling
fondue, Cheeseboy embarks on a series of otherworldly adventures in search of his missing parents.

Cheeseboy's whimsical universe is brought to life by the magical storytelling of Stephen Sheehan. Set
to the rich and emotive music of Quentin Grant, The Tragical Life of Cheeseboy incorporates exquisite set design with puppetry, projection, and ingeniously simple theatricality.

Slingsby continues to direct captivating theatre pieces for young audiences and adults alike, canvassing both the dark and delightful aspects of human existence. Reminiscent of Edward Scissorhands, The Tragical Life of Cheeseboy is a richly imaginative production which will transport you to a most curious world.

Genesis Energy Theatre

Tickets: $38 Adult & $20 Child

Photo - Lea Anderson

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SOLD OUT

Sunday 14 March 2010

4pm & 8pm

By arrangement with

Avalon Promotions UK and Liberty Bell

BEN MCDONALD

presents

GRUMPY OLD WOMEN

Written by Jenny Eclair and Judith HOlder

Directed by David McPhail

Starring

GERALDINE BROPHY

PINKY AGNEW

LYNDEE-JANE RUTHERFORD

From Cardiff to Canberra and now New Zealand , women of a certain age can finally unite behind a common fear of graying hairs and sagging rears. Around the world it is suddenly OK to celebrate the cellulite.

Following a 40 date sell out UK tour and a West End run at the Lyric Theatre, Shaftesbury Ave, Grumpy Old Women has had thousands of women filling theatres across the world and leaving hundreds of men with no idea what they were going to have for their dinner.

Finally – and just in time for that perfect Christmas gift for the Grumpy People in your life -Grumpy Old Women comes to New Zealand, with an all kiwi cast, new cities to explore and new loos to try out.

Director David McPhail urges the men of New Zealand to take the Grumpy Women in their lives out for an evening of fun, with this sensational UK comedy hit.

Heading the New Zealand cast of Grumpy Old Women is Film and TV leading lady and Dancing With The Stars diva, Geraldine Brophy! Geraldine will be performing along side Pinky Agnew and Lyndee-Jane Rutherford.

And who better to keep these Grumpy Old Women on the straight and narrow but the extremely brave and ever cheery David McPhail. McPhail is no stranger to New Zealand comedy as one half of the famous McPhail and Gadsby and co-writer and star of Letter To Blanchy.

GENESIS ENERGY THEATRE

Tickets: $59.90 Adult, $45.90 Child,

$55.90 Groups of 8+

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Saturday 20 March 2010 at 8pm

Velvet Tiger

presents

THE FOURMYULA CELEBRATE

40 YEARS OF NATURE

Pioneering New Zealand pop band The Fourmyula ­ remembered for their iconic song 'Nature' and a string of Top Ten hits ­ return to the stage with all original members.

This show celebrates the release of The Complete Fourmyula: a definitive four-CD set comprised of all the group's recordings: their singles, three studio albums and live set, plus the legendary 'lost' LP Turn Your Back On The Wind, recorded in Britain shortly before the group disbanded in 1971.

This collection, produced by Grant Gillanders, will be released on February 22nd, 2010 through EMI.

Formed in Upper Hutt in the mid-sixties, The Fourmyula earned the title 'New Zealand's Beatles' for being the first local band to insist on recording their own material, resulting in a spectacular run of hits. Radio played them constantly: 'Come With Me', 'Alice Is There', 'I Know Why', 'Home', 'Otaki' and, of course, 'Nature'­ the song that won its author Wayne Mason the coveted APRA Silver Scroll Award, became a hit all over again in the 90s for The Mutton Birds, was voted Best New Zealand Song of the past 75 years and became the title song of the Nature¹s Best series.

RIVERSTONE RECREATION

All Tickets: $30

The Fourmyula

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Saturday 27 March 2010 at 3pm

Expressions Arts & Entertainment Centre

presents

QUEENS BIRTHDAY

JAZZ & BLUES FESTIVAL LAUNCH

The New Zealand School of Music Big Band with musical director Rodger Fox. Winners of the “Jazz Tui” New Zealand Jazz Recording of the Year 2009 performing items from their new CD release Run For Cover.

Genesis Energy Theatre

All tickets: $10

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This is being held at

Silver Stream Railway

Sunday 28 March 2010 at 4.45pm

RAILROAD BLUES

If you are feeling blue about day light saving ending on Sunday 28 March, come along to Silver Stream Railway Museum, Reynolds Bach Drive for some Railroad Blues.  This will be a great and rare opportunity to see and hear live blues music from the railroad era with top bluesmen Darren Watson, Dave Murphy and Terry Casey.

The steam train and carriages will be parked at the station, however if you want a ride on a steam train, get along to their normal operating hours between 11am and 4pm.

As there are limited seating on the station platform, it is advisable to bring along a small chair. Silver Stream Railway Museum and Silverstream Retreat are working together to make this happen, with food and bar facilities provided by Silverstream Retreat.

Silver Stream Railway

All tickets: $10

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mount marua gallery

27 February - 25 April 2010

SNAPSHOT

This exhibition delves into the wealth of 1970's New Zealand painting in the Te Manawa art collection to showcase a selection of works reflecting some of the concerns and practices of artists painting in New Zealand in the 1970's.

Artist Robin White

A touring show developed and toured by Te Manawa Museums Trust

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vector gallery

3 March - 25 April 2010

RECONNECTED

new ceramics from Cate Pates

This show is the latest development of Cate Pates’ ceramic journey, although the aim is always the same: to create something that causes a spark in the beholder and draws them to a piece, encouraging exploration of the surface and its subtleties.

The way of building using pieces like a jigsaw has been an innate development rather than a conscious decision.  The preparation of the slabs can take as long as the building process itself, but is one that she finds delightful, especially the sense of bringing something from the outside in through printing and imprinting.  The forms are not functional yet are based on traditional domestic vessels, which allows her to create sensuous ornate handles and provides a reference for the viewer.

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