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Latest FromDionne Christian

Jay Laga'aia in Peter Pan Goes Wrong. Photo / supplied

ENTERTAINMENT

Why Jay Laga'aia is all at sea

20 Oct, 2018 5:00am
4 minutes to read

He appeared in Star Wars but is this the most dangerous role Jay Laga'aia has ever played?

ENTERTAINMENT

Why are these NZ actors so angry they're taking a sledge hammer to the stage?

19 Oct, 2018 5:00am
4 minutes to read

There's power in anger, say NZ actors taking pure unbridled rage onto the stage

Kieran Foster (centre) stars in City of 100 Lovers, the first resident theatre show at Auckland's SkyCity.

ENTERTAINMENT

'City of 100 Lovers' woos visitors, locals

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

Auckland set for Vegas-style theatre as blockbuster show opens at SkyCity.

Artist Dane Mitchell in his Auckland studio. Photo / Doug Sherring

ENTERTAINMENT

The art of making the unseen visible

12 Oct, 2018 5:00am
4 minutes to read

Dane Mitchell, NZ's artist at the 2019 Venice Biennale, conjures images out of air.

For Re:trace, Emily Mafile'o concentrated on taking photos of the people who call South Auckland home today.

ENTERTAINMENT

Retracing the journey of a neighbourhood

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

Looking back to the future - photographers capture changing Auckland neighbourhoods.

ENTERTAINMENT

Lifetimes in literature recognised in PM's annual awards

8 Oct, 2018 5:00pm
4 minutes to read

PM's Awards for Literary Achievement winners pioneers of new frontiers in local writing.

Artist Anna Crichton says the work she made in Varanasi, India was a direct response to issues she saw around her. Photo / Michael Craig

ENTERTAINMENT

Art meets street for beggar's banquet

8 Oct, 2018 5:00am
3 minutes to read

Art and food create an "edible mandala" for Auckland Artweek.

Ngā Rangatahi Toa performers rehearse their Manawa Ora production. Photo / Nick Reed

ENTERTAINMENT

Superstar's 'amazing gesture' for Kiwi youth

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

Auckland youth charity welcomes donation from Australian superstar Tim Minchin.

Lakiloko Keakea, stands in front of her largest ever fafetu. Photo/Greg Bowker

ENTERTAINMENT

Traditional Tuvaluan craft weaves links with island life

5 Oct, 2018 5:00am
3 minutes to read

West Auckland grandmother and master artist Lailoko Keakea gets Ponsonby gallery show.

WAR sTOrY by Natasha English and Tatyanna Meharry, of Christchurch. Winners of the Supreme WOW award and of the Aotearoa section. Photo / Stephen A'Court

ENTERTAINMENT

Sisters make history at WOW

29 Sep, 2018 5:00am
4 minutes to read

Winner's garment demonstrated an exceptional example of powerful storytelling.

Adam Reynolds and Chaz Harris, of Promised Land, are calling for children's media to include more LGBTQ+ characters.

ENTERTAINMENT

Hollywood can save young lives by including more LGBTQ+ characters

29 Sep, 2018 5:00am
3 minutes to read

NZ based publishers: "Here's how Hollywood can save young lives."

Sean Lynch in Watching Paint Dry, the show which involves exactly as its name suggests.

ENTERTAINMENT

An action-packed night watching paint dry

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

Could Watching Paint Dry be New Zealand's next big theatre export?

Meghan Markle will be in NZ alone before a joint trip with Prince Harry. Photo / KGC-107/STAR MAX/IPx

ENTERTAINMENT

Oceania's royal visit gets boost

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

Royal visit ensures all eyes will be on New Zealand and Pacific art at Oceania exhibition.

Art students picked works from Auckland University's collection for the Say so exhibition. They include (from left) Alice Karetai, Kirsten Raynor and Finn McCahon Jones. Photo/Jason Oxenham

ENTERTAINMENT

Suffrage art exhibitions 'a visual celebration of voices'

19 Sep, 2018 5:00am
5 minutes to read

Art exhibition raise visual voices to address gender inequality.

Dame Suzie Moncrieff pictured with one of the 4877 WOW creations that have been seen in the annual design competition.

ENTERTAINMENT

Dame Suzie Moncrieff reflects on 30 years of wearable arts

19 Sep, 2018 5:00am
9 minutes to read

When Dame Suzie Moncrieff started WOW 30 years ago, she invented a whole new art form.

Robert Webster has devoted most of his life to studying influenza viruses.

NEW ZEALAND

Flu pandemic 'matter of when, not if'

17 Sep, 2018 5:00am
10 minutes to read

NZ scientist Robert Webster may have saved the world from a killer flu.

NZ Secondary School Choir performing in Wellington. Photo / Mark Tantrum

ENTERTAINMENT

Singing the praises of choirs

16 Sep, 2018 5:00am
3 minutes to read

Dilworth School boys sing the praises of a unique NZ choir they say changed their lives.

Author Karen McMillan and Blong-the-cat who's now starring in her new series of children's books. Photo / Michael Craig

ENTERTAINMENT

Happily ever after ending for inspiring cat

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

A holiday in Vanuatu ended well for an inspiring cat now starring in Kiwi kids' books.

FOR CANVAS Kate Walker (standing, centre) and James Wilkinson (seated beside her) were both strong supporters of dress reform for women. Photo / Auckland Libraries

LIFESTYLE

How NZ's pioneering feminists fought for freedom

15 Sep, 2018 12:35pm
9 minutes to read

Dionne Christian looks at how Kiwi women busted the patriarchy in Victorian NZ.

Simon London and Anna Jullienne star in Rendered, but their love story isn't the romance it seems.

ENTERTAINMENT

New play questions what is our place in a war-torn world?

15 Sep, 2018 5:00am
4 minutes to read

As it premieres in Auckland, thriller play Rendered considers our place in the world.

Maggie Gresson, from the Artists Alliance, with her flow chart showing all the different sectors of the economy that profit from art. Photo / Dean Purcell

ENTERTAINMENT

Artists Alliance faces closure

15 Sep, 2018 5:00am
4 minutes to read

Funding crisis set to force closure of NZ's support for visual artists.

The LA Contemporary Dance Company make their New Zealand debut at this year's Tempo Dance Festival.

ENTERTAINMENT

Breaking down the walls one dance at a time

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

Tempo Dance Festival director Carrie Rae Cunningham has long been a mover and shaker.

The book was being worked on secretly while Clarke Gayford and PM Jacinda Ardern awaited the birth of daughter Neve.

ENTERTAINMENT

First baby's birth inspires picture book

8 Sep, 2018 5:00am
3 minutes to read

Baby Neve Te Aroha Ardern Gayford is the star of a new children's picture book.

Chelsea McEwan Millar shines as Beatrice Tinsley in Bright Star. Photo / Andi Crown

ENTERTAINMENT

Theatre review: Bright Star

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

Bright Star aims for the sun, reaches the moon.

27th Paramount Wallace Art Award winner 2018 Imogen Taylor with her winning work Refusal to Yield. Photo / Michael Craig

ENTERTAINMENT

Artist's star soars to new heights

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

The 2018 winners of New Zealand's richest art awards have been named.

Robin Kelly lends his body to science as partner Cherie Moore explains genetics in Valerie, a home-grown cabaret theatre show that won an Edinburgh Fringe Festival First Award in August.

ENTERTAINMENT

NZ theatre takes a place in the spotlight

1 Sep, 2018 5:00am
5 minutes to read

NZers get more chances to see ourselves on stage as our first theatre month begins.

Diogo Ferreira, 9 sister Alice, 13, get a sneak peck at the new Unity Books children's book shop that's about to open in High Street. Photo / Dean Purcell

ENTERTAINMENT

City bookshop turns over new page

1 Sep, 2018 5:00am
4 minutes to read

Little Unity is Auckland's new bookshop with little readers in mind.

Digital technology meets the 200-year-old opera in a new production of Mozart's The Magic Flute. Photo/Iko Freese/drama-berlin

ENTERTAINMENT

Opera meets animation in magical production

27 Aug, 2018 5:00am
3 minutes to read

Auckland Arts Festival announces it first 2019 show, an opera with appeal for film fans.

Jonathan Roxmouth as Billy Flynn and Carmen Pretorius as Roxie Hart. Dress rehearsal for Chicago at the Civic Theatre. Photo / Jason Oxenham

ENTERTAINMENT

Chicago brings razzle dazzle and all that jazz

26 Aug, 2018 5:00am
3 minutes to read

What you see on stage tells only half the story of bringing the musical Chicago to NZ.

Dancer Anu Khapung features in Footnote Dance Company's Balancing Point. Photo/ Caroline Atkinson Photography

ENTERTAINMENT

Artist father dances to daughter's beat

26 Aug, 2018 5:00am
3 minutes to read

Artist Richard Killeen and choreographer daughter Zahra Killeen-Chance join forces.

Having written A Ladder to the Sky, author John Boyne is now moving on to his next work.

ENTERTAINMENT

John Boyne climbs high with latest novel

25 Aug, 2018 5:00am
5 minutes to read

Irish novelist John Boyne creates truly monstrous leading man in latest brilliant book.

Kellie MacAlpine's creation won the 2017 winner for Best Enchanted Castle. Photo/Gino Demeer

ENTERTAINMENT

Worshipping at the temple of body art

25 Aug, 2018 5:00am
5 minutes to read

Creatures of the deep will come out at the 10th NZ Body Arts Award Showcase.

The four artworks nominated for the 2018 Walters Prize are bold, bright and evocative.

ENTERTAINMENT

Contemporary Contenders in the Walters Prize Exhibition

25 Aug, 2018 5:00am
6 minutes to read

The Walters Prize Exhibition opens at Auckland Art Gallery.

Aiwa Pooamorn (left) and Dan Goodwin in the play Breathe.

ENTERTAINMENT

Breathing new life into adversity

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

Dan Goodwin's life took an unlikely turn after he was mugged in a London park.

Poetry ambassador David Merritt, pictured at his Cross Street Market stall, has sent his poems all around New Zealand for our 21st National Poetry Day.

ENTERTAINMENT

Poet spreads the word on the street

18 Aug, 2018 5:00am
5 minutes to read

Street poet David Merritt's works may be the most performed of all on National Poetry Day.

Visiting Canadian scholar Deanne Williams is challenging the widespread belief there was a blanket ban on women performers in Shakespeare's day.

ENTERTAINMENT

Professor rubbishes girl ban in era of Shakespeare

15 Aug, 2018 5:00am
6 minutes to read

Were female performers illegal in Shakespeare's day? A visiting professor thinks not.

Dean Poole has honoured Japanese designer/table tennis master Katsumi Asaba with an interactive sculpture where the similarities between design, life and ping-pong come into play. Photo / Michael Craig

ENTERTAINMENT

Discovering the art of ping-pong

12 Aug, 2018 5:00am
3 minutes to read

It's not everyday you can play ping-pong - on a futuristic table - as part of an art show.

Feminist writer Roxane Gay. Photo / Kieran Scott

ENTERTAINMENT

Women of the World art exhibition

11 Aug, 2018 5:00am
5 minutes to read

Based on the book 200 Women, this exhibition could truly change the way you see the world.

Surrounded by Ormiston Junior College pupils, Kalyani Nagarajan plays Mrs Krishnan in Indian Ink's latest production.

ENTERTAINMENT

Indian Ink goes back to school

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

Going back to school gives one of our most successful theatre companies a chance to learn.

Jennifer Ludlam in Filthy Business, a play based on its writer's own family business.

ENTERTAINMENT

Play with bounce

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

Rather than run from his past, Ryan Craig embraced and re-imagined filthy family business.

NEW ZEALAND

Writer books herself a place in award history

8 Aug, 2018 8:00pm
6 minutes to read

Author Bren MacDibble's had a tough few years, but now she's got two reasons to smile.

TRAVEL

Brisbane: Head to the festival

7 Aug, 2018 4:00pm
8 minutes to read

Dionne Christian only realises what she's been missing Helen Morse in Memorial.

Miriama McDowell plays Aria, a idealistic politician, in Sam Brooks' new play, Burn Her. Photo / supplied.

ENTERTAINMENT

Political drama is a humdinger

6 Aug, 2018 5:00am
2 minutes to read

A wryly observed dissection of where humanity comes into politics.

Cornwall artist Mark Surridge makes work in the Owhanake Barn on Waiheke Island, where he is the first UK artist accepted for the Island's Artist-in-Residence programme. Photo/Peter Rees Photography

ENTERTAINMENT

Waiheke in winter paints appealing journey for UK artist

5 Aug, 2018 5:00am
3 minutes to read

A Waiheke Island arts residency is attracting artists from as far afield as Cornwall.

Humans of Hendo photo project members and mentors (from front left)Shane Taane, Sharon-Rose Whyte, Denzyl Jaymes, Manuela Adams, Vanessa Green, Elliott Coco Munn and Asha Munn. Photo / Michael Craig

ENTERTAINMENT

Humans of Hendo snaps up art award

2 Aug, 2018 5:00am
5 minutes to read

A project highlighting the hope and beauty in Henderson has won a major art award.

Rima Te Wiata sports a new look for her role as Paige in the play Hir. Photo/David St George

ENTERTAINMENT

Nuclear family dynamics explode on to Silo stage

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

Hunt for the Wilderpeople star in explosive new role as we've never seen her before.

Victoria Abbott is fierce on stage and in the poster for her show, Run Rabbit. Photo / Sacha Stejko and George Wallace

ENTERTAINMENT

Theatre review: Run Rabbit

28 Jul, 2018 5:00am
2 minutes to read

Past and present brought together in masterful exploration of life under siege.

Darcy Murray (centre) is a member of the Covert Theatre, a community improv group that likes to laugh.

ENTERTAINMENT

Nothing covert about performers' love for comedy

26 Jul, 2018 5:00am
3 minutes to read

The audiences might do much of the plotting but there's always a plan with Covert Theatre.

Victoria Abbott has written and performs in Run Rabbit, a homage to her ancestor Black Agnes. Photo / Sacha Stejko and George Challis

ENTERTAINMENT

Actor honours rebel ancestor with solo show

24 Jul, 2018 1:20pm
4 minutes to read

Performer honours rebel woman from history and ancestor Black Agnes with solo show.

Carol Dumbleton, now directing the Agatha Christie murder mystery Towards Zero, remembers serving the best-selling writer coffee and biscuits. Photo / Brett Phibbs

ENTERTAINMENT

Director's special link to Agatha Christie

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

An Auckland theatre director has a personal connection to Queen of Crime, Agatha Christie.

The cast of Massive Theatre Company's Sightings.

ENTERTAINMENT

In the company of friends

20 Jul, 2018 5:00am
4 minutes to read

On the eve of their new show, Kura Forrester and Miriama McDowell talk about friendship.

Pop- up Globe founder and artistic director Miles Gregory says the announcement of its next season of plays is already stimulating debate.

ENTERTAINMENT

Pop-up Globe faces angry response to use of #metoo in marketing

18 Jul, 2018 3:00pm
5 minutes to read

Pop-up Globe faces backlash over decision to call all-male production "feminist".

Expect more theatrical trickery when Pop-up Globe returns for summer 2018 - as seen in this picture of actor Stephen Butterworth.

ENTERTAINMENT

Pop-up Globe pledges controversial line-up

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

Abuse of power to be explored in Pop-up Globe's next season of Shakespeare.

ENTERTAINMENT

In the company of friends

14 Jul, 2018 5:00am
6 minutes to read

Massive has an unusual relationship with its performers.

NZ Barok plays two free concerts for young music lovers. Pictured are Helen Brinkman, Peter Reid, Miranda Hutton, Alison Salmons and Clara Voll aged 4. Photo / Doug Sherring

ENTERTAINMENT

Music to get the young ones (ba)roquing

11 Jul, 2018 5:00am
3 minutes to read

It's the music of yesteryear for the kids of today.

Dylan Underwood as a shark in The Great White Man-Eating Shark and Other Stories at Pumphouse Theatre, Takapuna. Photo / David Rowland.

ENTERTAINMENT

Putting a bite into school holiday fun

9 Jul, 2018 5:00am
2 minutes to read

School holidays mean that Tim Bray Productions will stage one of its plays for children.

Dust Palace NZ'S biggest cirque theatre company is moving to a purpose built premises and is busy fundraising. Pictured is performer Jay Clement. Photo / Doug Sherring

ENTERTAINMENT

Cirque company moves to fly higher

8 Jul, 2018 5:00am
4 minutes to read

The Dust Palace, our biggest cirque theatre company, aims to take its work to new heights.

ENTERTAINMENT

Gordon Walters: In the ultra-modern tradition

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

Dionne Christian talks to contemporary admirers of a visionary driven to abstraction.

Amber Curreen, Briar Collard, Edward Peni and Renee Liang are producing the same play in four different languages. Photo / Bob Scott Photography

ENTERTAINMENT

Play to sit in multiple languages

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

In a world first, local theatre-makers will stage same play in four different languages.

Artist Shelley Simpson on her way to Rakiura/Stewart Island to work on Wild Creations.

ENTERTAINMENT

Wild Creations bring nature up close

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

Artists explore how technology separates us from the sights and sounds of nature.

Artist Jessica Mentis, aka the Jellyologist, is helping others to get creative. Photo/Jason Oxenham

ENTERTAINMENT

Jelly artist set to show bright ideas happen at any time

1 Jul, 2018 5:00am
3 minutes to read

Artist noted for her jelly sculptures helps to shine a light on creative talent.

The polenta fries and salmon at Hinge & Co. Photo / Getty Images

LIFESTYLE

Chocoholics, look no further than Hinge & Co

30 Jun, 2018 10:30am
2 minutes to read

Plates of perfection worth driving south for, especially for chocoholics.