The Harcourts Hawke's Bay Arts Festival celebrates its sixth year with a homegrown line-up featuring some of Aotearoa's finest talent.
With 65 events over the two-week period from October 12-26, there is something for all tastes.
The Kaupapa for the 2020 Festival is inspired by the well-known local waiata Tūtira mai ngā iwi, written in the 1950's by Te Amorangi Wi Te Huata, which calls us to stand united, shoulder to shoulder, pakihiwi ki te pakihiwi and celebrate unity in diversity.
It is reflected in the festival's opening performance, curated by international theatre artist Lemi Ponifasio in collaboration with his company MAU Wahine, the Hawke's Bay Orchestra, conducted by José Aparicio, Kahurangi Dance Theatre and Ngatai Huata.
It will feature the music of radical composer Arnold Schönberg's Transfigured Night (Verklärte Nacht), that premiered to controversy in 1902, but is now seen as the most important late romantic work by the composer. This work also brings together the Poem by the same name, Transfigured Night, written by German poet Richard Dehmel.
Transfigured Night is a community gathering at the festival, to welcome each other, to reflect, to celebrate, to stand together and to challenge ourselves to radically transfigure our differences and move to greater unity through empathy, compassion and aroha. It will be a fitting moment for a festival meeting its time.
Tūtira mai ngā iwi is also the title of a concert on 24 October that features a special trip down memory lane with ten waiata performed by some of Ngāti Kahungunu's most beloved composers, including Te Amorangi Wi Te Tau Huata, (Tūtira mai ngā iwi) Paraire Tomoana, who published Pokarekare ana and the late Taite Cooper. Performed by local talent Howard McGuire, Erena Tomoana, Katherine Winitana, Ngatai Huata and whānau and Ngāti Kahungunu Taikura it is complemented by a stellar line up of iconic musicians from around Aotearoa who will perform their own iconic songs. These include no other than, Don McGlashan, Lisa Tomlins, Hollie Smith, Louis Baker, Tama Waipara and Whirimako Black.
Festival director Pitsch Leiser said it was important to programme the festival to reflect the year 2020.
"The line-up allows us to be reflective, thoughtful and challenging, but above all to celebrate stories and talent of our country and region. We are here as a festival to support our artists and offer them a platform to not just entertain, but a space to discuss and express the important issues of our current time. We welcome all of our community to come and engage, participate, discuss, laugh and cry with us. A wide range of lower priced and free performances will enable broader access for our wider community and hopefully better reflect our diversity in the audiences, not just on stage."
The main hub of the festival will this year be in central Hastings with the bulk of performances to be held at Toitoi - Hawke's Bay Arts and Events Centre.
Big draw cards for the Festival are the intimate NZ Opera production The Human Voice, performed to a maximum audience of 20 people in a hotel room, Country music star Tami Neilson, Troy Kingi and the Clutch with his latest album The Ghost of Freddie Cesar, Tom Scott with Avondale Bowling Club, and Ria Hall bringing us a conversation Piece based on her album Manawa Wera featuring a fantastic line up of NZ's hottest reggae musicians.
Local singer songwriter Anthony Stretch partnering with Cellist Paula Sugden will release his second album, Our Dreams are changing. Thomas Oliver, after cutting short his European tour earlier this year, will bring The Brightest Light Tour to his hometown.
The excellent theatre features generously with Black Lover written by Award-winning playwright, Zimbabwean Stanley Makuwe, presented by Auckland Theatre Company introduces us to the story of a great New Zealander, Invercargill born, former Prime Minister of Southern Rhodesia, Sir Garfield Todd.
As the Day Draws In is based on interviews conducted by Puti Lancaster and Teresa Woodham, It brings to life the unique and intimate voices of six elderly people shared through the platform of verbatim theatre. They range from 70–91 years of age, and their voices reflect the cultural and social richness of this region performed by a fantastic cast including Hawke's Bay locals Kristyl Neho and Catherine Wilkin alongside Lloyd Scott (Scotty) with music by John Gibson and Matiu Whiting, directed by Puti Lancaster.
The story of two strays in A Traveller's Guide to Turkish Dogs features the amazing adventure of Barnaby Olsen on his OE. This is the story of a dog and her man, one of friendship, adventure, loyalty, and truth.
The grand finale is on Labour weekend Monday with NZ's queen of Pop Bic Runga returns to Hawke's Bay for the first time in a long time, taking the stage to close the 2020 festival.
The Harcourts Hawke's Bay Arts Festival is now a well-established annual event nurturing Hawke's Bay's reputation as a vibrant and exciting place to live and visit. This year it offers a unique opportunity to support talented local and national artists and to celebrate the gift of being able to come together and to connect through the magic of live performance.
Tickets to all the events are now on sale through www.hbaf.co.nz or can be purchased in person from, iSites in Napier and Hastings as well as Ticketek outlets at Toitoi, MTG and Napier's Municipal Theatre.