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Latest FromDionne Christian

Head of wardrobe Sophie Ham with Pene Pati, who plays Nemorino in The Elixir of Love. Photo / Doug Sherring

ENTERTAINMENT

Dressing up to get into character

26 May, 2018 5:00am
5 minutes to read

At NZ Opera, wardrobe and makeup prepare for The Elixir of Love, writes Dionne Christian.

Peter Smith, pictured in his Melbourne home, is preparing to sell his contemporary art collection.

ENTERTAINMENT

Auckland Art Fair creates market for art

24 May, 2018 5:00am
4 minutes to read

As Auckland Art Fair begins, auction house gets ready for one of its more unusual sales.

School holiday performances kept (clockwise from front left) Torie Pickering, Abigail, Caleb and Joshua Leulua'i-Alo and Minia Prescott entertained and happy.

ENTERTAINMENT

Arts give South Auckland kids a wizard of a time

23 May, 2018 5:00am
3 minutes to read

South Auckland kids say new friends, confidence and a wizard of a time make arts fun.

Theatre-makers Amelia Reynolds (left) and Saraid Cameron have delved into museum archives for source material for a new play.

ENTERTAINMENT

Plays gives historic archive modern look

23 May, 2018 5:00am
4 minutes to read

A little known museum archive devoted to NZ women inspires play for 125th suffrage year

Auckland Museum's holiday programme. Photo / Supplied

ENTERTAINMENT

Arts survey draws surprise result from young Kiwis

23 May, 2018 5:00am
4 minutes to read

Survey shows New Zealanders love the arts - but young people don't feel creative.

Writer Ngugi wa Thiong o opened up about enduring racism from the mouths of his role models.

ENTERTAINMENT

Best bits of the Auckland Writers Festival

21 May, 2018 5:00am
5 minutes to read

Dionne Christian celebrates a fabulous gathering that shows us new ideas for old problems.

Artist Shane Cotton says a studio has to be a place you want to spend time in.

ENTERTAINMENT

Artists in residence: Where artists find their happy place

19 May, 2018 5:00am
13 minutes to read

Dionne Christian asks artists what 'place' means to them. Made with funding from NZ On Air

Pip Adam, the winner of the $50,000 Acorn Foundation Fiction Prize at this year's Ockham NZ Book Awards.

ENTERTAINMENT

Writing styled on cutting edge career

19 May, 2018 5:00am
6 minutes to read

'I was kind of expecting it to be a lesson in how to be a good loser'.

Norwegian author Karl Ove Knausgard speaks at the Auckland Writers Festival this weekend. Photo / Greg Bowker

ENTERTAINMENT

Book world's man of the moment hits town

18 May, 2018 5:00am
4 minutes to read

Karl Ove Knausgǻrd is a global literary phenomenon; now he's in Auckland.

The Lunar Reflection Transmission Technique performance as seen in the Mleiha desert in the United Arab Emirates. Photo / Courtesy of Sharjah Art Foundation

ENTERTAINMENT

Giant cinema will leave you moonstruck

16 May, 2018 5:00am
4 minutes to read

Get ready to unleash your inner werewolf and see the moon on screen as never before.

New Zealand's best books, as decided by the judges at the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards.

ENTERTAINMENT

Confrontational NZ novel best of the year

15 May, 2018 9:00pm
4 minutes to read

And then there were four - New Zealand's best books of 2017 announced.

George Henare has been performing in Australia for two years as the Sultan in Aladdin. Now he's coming back to Auckland with the show in January. Photo / Jason Oxenham

ENTERTAINMENT

Henare coming home for Aladdin

15 May, 2018 8:00pm
3 minutes to read

Two years after joining Aladdin, NZ actor George Henare is still awestruck by its scale.

Be prepared to be dazzled by Disney's Aladdin when it arrives in Auckland in January. Photo / Supplied

ENTERTAINMENT

Magical musical Aladdin to fly in for summer

14 May, 2018 5:00am
3 minutes to read

Disney announces the next blockbuster musical to fly into New Zealand.

Bridget Fogarty, left, Jane Langley and Becky Ollivier who have had their book,

ENTERTAINMENT

Musings on motherhood go global

12 May, 2018 5:00am
5 minutes to read

From kitchen table to US deal, three Kiwi mums have more reason to celebrate Mother's Day.

ENTERTAINMENT

Move your feet with Stomp

12 May, 2018 5:00am
5 minutes to read

Get your feet stomping to the soundtrack of everyday life, writes Dionne Christian.

Albert Wendt, Fred Graham, Billy Apple, Dame Gillian Whitehead and Bill Manhire, pictured with Govenor General Dame Patsy Reddy, received Arts Foundation Icon Awards.

ENTERTAINMENT

Icons of NZ art world recognised

10 May, 2018 5:00am
3 minutes to read

Who are the five New Zealanders joining an elite group of our most iconic artists?

Jodie Dorday as Deb, a woman with time on her hands and romance stories on her mind.

ENTERTAINMENT

Actress Jodie Dorday's literary love affair

9 May, 2018 5:00am
3 minutes to read

Jodie Dorday back on stage in Roger Hall rom-com where books are centre stage.

A scene from Stephen Shropshire's The Geography of an Archipelago. Photo: Caroline Bindon.

ENTERTAINMENT

Dancing to a new rhythm sets choreographer on new journey

2 May, 2018 5:00am
3 minutes to read

Most direct way to a goal isn't always best, says choreographer after NZ dance travels.

Fiction, sci-fi and short story writer Karen Joy Fowler, soon to speak at the Auckland Writers Festival, transcends genre boundaries.

ENTERTAINMENT

Author Karen Joy Fowler makes the ordinary extraordinary

28 Apr, 2018 5:00am
6 minutes to read

Karen Joy Fowler's books surprise because, says the writer, why do the same old thing?

Jennifer Ward-Lealand stars as Mrs Warren in a provocative comedy given a truly modern make-over.

ENTERTAINMENT

Mrs Warren's Profession still the subject of heated debate

28 Apr, 2018 5:00am
5 minutes to read

Auckland play suggests attitudes to sex work no more liberal than they were last century.

Feeling blue? The Mood Machine, which produces poetry and art to match the way you're feeling, may be for you.

ENTERTAINMENT

Satellites heads into Auckland orbit for third year

28 Apr, 2018 5:00am
4 minutes to read

Unexpected encounters launched across Auckland from our leading Asian artists.

London-based Kiwi artist Luke Willis Thompson was today announced as one of four artists in contention for the 2018 Turner Prize. Photo / Supplied

ENTERTAINMENT

Kiwi in running for world's highest-profile art prize

26 Apr, 2018 5:40pm
3 minutes to read

New Zealander Luke Willis Thompson a contender for the high-profile Turner Art Prize.

The Perfect Gift is a comedy show about the power of imagination designed with young audiences in mind.

ENTERTAINMENT

Wild imagination makes creative kids' theatre

23 Apr, 2018 5:00am
3 minutes to read

Creativity and imagination make for a gift of a school holiday show.

The Wizard of Otahuhu is full of energy and humour.

ENTERTAINMENT

Wizard show pulls in big crowd and wows them

23 Apr, 2018 5:00am
3 minutes to read

If you're planning on seeing The Wizard of Ōtāhuhu, I'd get booking.

Dancing pensioners Dick Lane, 75, and Liz Nicholson, 72, are part of community dance troupe SeniorsDance that stage free performances in central Auckland supermarkets next week. Photo / Dean Purcell

ENTERTAINMENT

Sprightly seniors dancing in the aisles

22 Apr, 2018 5:00am
4 minutes to read

Want to age creatively? Maybe you need to start dancing in supermarket aisles.

Waylon Edwards and William Duignan wrote and star in WEiRdO, a home-grown musical comedy.

ENTERTAINMENT

Taking the weird factor out of race debate

18 Apr, 2018 5:00am
3 minutes to read

WEiRdO's Waylon Edwards wants production to tackle subject without taking sides.

A scene from Antarctica: The First Dance. Photo / Supplied via Youtube

ENTERTAINMENT

First glimpse of historic first dance now available

18 Apr, 2018 5:00am
2 minutes to read

A trailer showing the first professional dance made in Antarctica has now been released.

The Kitchen Science Cookbook by Michelle Dickinson. Photo / Supplied

ENTERTAINMENT

Cooking up a solution - Nanogirl proves science is everywhere

15 Apr, 2018 5:00am
5 minutes to read

Dr Michelle "Nanogirl" Dickinson's cookbook is the new essential for kiwi kitchens.

Since it started last year, Dance For Abilities has become a hit in Sydney. Now it's coming to Auckland.

ENTERTAINMENT

Let Rosa dance

12 Apr, 2018 9:40am
5 minutes to read

Dionne Christian talks to the organisers of social events and shows for all party people.

Jason Bae with a Steinway Spirio Piano which uses an iPad app to play like no piano you've ever heard - or seen - before. Photo / Doug Sherring

ENTERTAINMENT

Self-playing piano brings top pianists to NZ

7 Apr, 2018 5:00am
3 minutes to read

A self-playing piano may sound like a horror film prop but it's now a reality.

Judge Arthur Tompkins has become a world leading authority on art crime.

ENTERTAINMENT

Art crime is an ugly business

7 Apr, 2018 5:00am
7 minutes to read

NZ judge's prestigious new book paints a picture of how common art crime during war is.

Matt Billington in rehearsals with some of the young cast from Disney's Beauty and the Beast JR.

ENTERTAINMENT

Cool theatre-makers are new kids on the block

7 Apr, 2018 5:00am
3 minutes to read

Ice cream and theatre are all in a day's work for young entrepreneur Matt Billington.

Playwright, novelist and poet Dominic Hoey is shaking off his life as rapper Tourettes and embarking on new journeys. Photo / Jason Oxenham

ENTERTAINMENT

Easy does it for rapper writer taking his words global

4 Apr, 2018 5:00am
4 minutes to read

Dominic "Tourettes" Hoey doesn't do things by the book but words now take him places.

Jenny Nagle (left) and Christine Dale launched OneTree Press to publish quality NZ children and YA books. Photo / Geoff Dale

BUSINESS

Read all about it - NZ publisher's big win

28 Mar, 2018 5:00am
3 minutes to read

NZ company wins big in Italy - founders still working from their kitchen tables.

Phil Ormsby and Alex Ellis share family stories in Conversations with Dead Relatives.

ENTERTAINMENT

Dead relatives tell tales

28 Mar, 2018 5:00am
5 minutes to read

Tales we tell about dead relatives and stories they may tell us on stage at the Basement.

Torise Flay, Leisa Siteine and Simone Pakieto. Photo / Doug Sherring

ENTERTAINMENT

Pasifika 2018: Village people

24 Mar, 2018 5:00am
3 minutes to read

Dionne Christian talks to some of Pasifika's organisers.

Choreographer Tallulah Holly-Massey is the Basement Theatre's 2018 artist-in-residence. Photo / Dario Grassi

ENTERTAINMENT

Basement Theatre's new artist in residence named

21 Mar, 2018 5:00am
3 minutes to read

Auckland's powerhouse arts venue announces its 2018 artist-in-residence.

Heto Ah Hi, Shimpal Lelisi and Dave Fane who are in a new play called The Naked Samoans Do Magic at The Auckland Arts Festival. Photo / Doug Sherring

ENTERTAINMENT

The Naked Samoans prepare to do magic

17 Mar, 2018 5:00am
4 minutes to read

The bros are buffed and ready for magic with a little help from Les Mills.

Choreographer and dancer Parris Goebel. Photo / Doug Sherring

ENTERTAINMENT

Conquest of Parris: Dancing to the top

17 Mar, 2018 5:00am
3 minutes to read

Story of a dancing queen is packed with advice, writes Dionne Christian.

Anonymouz, aka Matthew Faiumu Salapu, brings Samoan oratory and hip-hop together.

ENTERTAINMENT

Talking about my generation

14 Mar, 2018 5:00am
4 minutes to read

Battle rap and traditional Samoan oratory go head to head in Auckland Arts Festival show.

Anthony Harper lawyers, Pop-up Globe and Auckland University law students are joining forces to take a fresh look at the infamous trial scene in The Merchant of Venice. Picture / Dean Purcell

ENTERTAINMENT

Students to revisit 400-year-old case

14 Mar, 2018 5:00am
3 minutes to read

A possible miscarriage of justice highlighted by Shakespeare gets second hearing.

NZ actress/author Barbara Ewing's book The Actresses has been re-released. NZ Herald Photograph: Greg Bowker

ENTERTAINMENT

Barbara Ewing on the perils actresses face

11 Mar, 2018 5:00am
6 minutes to read

Published 21 years ago, Barbara Ewing's novel The Actresses is more relevant than ever.

Opera singer Natasha Wilson performs in NZ Opera's Candide at the Auckland Arts Festival in March. NZ Herald Photograph: Jason Oxenham

ENTERTAINMENT

A Candide chat with rising opera star Natasha Wilson

10 Mar, 2018 5:00am
7 minutes to read

One of our youngest opera stars talks about why she just wants to sing.

Body Mind Analyst, executive coach and facilitator Suzanne Masefield can now add author to her list of credentials. Photo / Scott McAuley

ENTERTAINMENT

Life's lessons can be learned early

10 Mar, 2018 5:00am
3 minutes to read

Body language expert Suzanne Masefield uses story-telling to teach kids life lessons.

House of Mirrors window cleaner Bas van Wel.

ENTERTAINMENT

Mirror, mirror on the wall - is Bas the best cleaner of all?

10 Mar, 2018 5:00am
4 minutes to read

Cleaner Bas van Wel is a star of Auckland Arts Festival because his squeegee never stops.

Tusiata Avia in action during her solo show, Wild Dogs Under My Skirt. Avia is now watching a new generation of Pacific women perform the piece.

ENTERTAINMENT

Still biting - Poet talks about Wild Dogs

7 Mar, 2018 5:00am
8 minutes to read

Tusiata Avia's Wild Dogs Under My Skirts is a piece of local literature like no other.

Goretti Chadwick plays a Pasifka grandmother who strikes an unusual relationship with a feathered friend.

ENTERTAINMENT

Pumpkin inspires tales of still life with chickens

7 Mar, 2018 5:00am
3 minutes to read

Why did the chicken cross the road? Maybe to befriend an elderly woman wanting a friend.

The covers of Sodden Downstream, Salt Picnic, The New Animals and Baby.

ENTERTAINMENT

Edgy fiction wins out in book awards

6 Mar, 2018 5:00am
4 minutes to read

The four finalists include novels which have polarised critics and readers.

There are 47 owls to see on the Haier Big Hoot art trail. Pictured: BB-Owl by Mandii Pope. Photo / Peter Meecham

ENTERTAINMENT

Owl art gives a hoot about child cancer

6 Mar, 2018 3:17pm
3 minutes to read

Super-sized owls swoop into Auckland for our biggest mass participation public art event.

Junk is a time-travelling circus journey from Australia's renowned Flying Fruit Fly circus.

ENTERTAINMENT

Amazing what can be done with a heap of 'Junk'

3 Mar, 2018 5:00am
6 minutes to read

There's "Junk" worth seeking out at the Auckland Arts Festival, writes Dionne Christian.

Michael Smither at work in his Otama studio.

ENTERTAINMENT

Artist Michael Smither paints the future

28 Feb, 2018 5:00am
5 minutes to read

Acclaimed artist Michael Smither is the subject of a unique NZ documentary series.

APO's principal horn player Emma Eden, Neil Finn and composer Victoria Kelly join forces, with a host of others, for the Out of Silence live performances. Photo / Doug Sherring

ENTERTAINMENT

Behind the scenes: Neil Finn

28 Feb, 2018 5:00am
8 minutes to read

Out of Silence was a social media experiment, now it's a must-see live concert

Former Green MP Catherine Delahunty's one-woman show Question Time Blues reflects the bizarre underbelly of politics via poetry and bad gossip.

ENTERTAINMENT

Ex-MP Delahunty takes to the stage

24 Feb, 2018 5:00am
3 minutes to read

The former Green Party MP goes from the House to the stage with her spoken word poetry.

The play Tea, an epic story that takes audiences from Auckland to Sri Lanka, could not have been made here a decade ago, say its makers.

ENTERTAINMENT

Behind the scenes: Auckland's changing theatre makers tell teatime stories

21 Feb, 2018 5:00am
8 minutes to read

Our first Sri Lankan playwright has written an epic story about families, history and tea.

Michael Keegan-Dolan's Swan Lake/Loch Na hEala is a far cry from many of the romantic and idealised tellings of the story.

ENTERTAINMENT

Jane Campion's The Piano reworked for the stage

17 Feb, 2018 5:00am
9 minutes to read

Two traditional favourites and an iconic Kiwi movie are reworked for the modern stage.

Auckland Arts Festival 2018: OrphEus - a dance opera by Michael Parmenter with The New Zealand Dance Company. Photo: John McDermott

ENTERTAINMENT

Behind the scenes: Choreographer ventures into new territory

17 Feb, 2018 5:00am
7 minutes to read

Choreographer Michael Parmenter charts new course with first full length work in a decade

New Zealand Artist and spatial designer Biljana Popovic is the 2018/2019 recipient of Creative New Zealand's Visual Arts Residency. Photo / Brett Phibbs

ENTERTAINMENT

Berlin's underground scene catches eye of kiwi artist

14 Feb, 2018 5:00am
4 minutes to read

The recipient of one of Creative NZ's most prestigious visual arts awards is announced.

Film maker Rebecca Tansley, at Karekare Beach, is making a documentary about how the movie The Piano inspired a Royal NZ Ballet production. NZ Herald photo: Dean Purcell

ENTERTAINMENT

Film becomes a ballet becomes a documentary

14 Feb, 2018 5:00am
4 minutes to read

Iconic NZ film The Piano inspired a ballet which has now led to a documentary film.

ENTERTAINMENT

At the heart of the arts

10 Feb, 2018 5:00am
7 minutes to read

Love is in the air this week, so Dionne Christian looks at some of the artists we love.

The Fringe festival is about inclusivity, celebration of otherness and taking chances.

ENTERTAINMENT

Variety the spice of festival

10 Feb, 2018 5:00am
5 minutes to read

Auckland Fringe's edge-of-your-seat events are sure to be offbeat, risky and inventive.

Two Auckland girls, Tia Ormsby (left) and Madeleine Walker, join an international cast in the Auckland Arts Festival production, 1984. Photo / Michael Craig

ENTERTAINMENT

Talented young Kiwis get big breaks in festival shows

3 Feb, 2018 5:00am
4 minutes to read

Girl power as arts festivals give young NZ performers a chance to shine in iconic roles.

A new generation will be introduced to the iconic Under the Mountain.

ENTERTAINMENT

Something nasty under the mountain

3 Feb, 2018 5:00am
7 minutes to read

We talks to the makers of a live production of the story that terrified a generation.