Some talented young Kiwis will be taking the stage on Sunday for the String Together concert. Photo / Jessica Chloe Gernat
Wondering what to do this weekend? Zanna Gillespie has some sound ideas.
There’s a motley collection of events happening in Tāmaki Makaurau, including some wildly creative theatre pieces that push boundaries and bend minds.
If you’ve got kids you’d like to get off the couch, there’s the Weet-Bix Kids Tryathlon on Sunday. That’s also when the General Collective’s holding a last Ponsonby Central Market and the NZTrio is performing with friends at Kāhui St David’s. Plus, consult your calendars, there are two events to put in the diary for next week.
Here are our top picks for things to do in Auckland this weekend and beyond.
This week, a group of passionate and promising musicians from primary school to university age has spent two busy days attending workshops and being mentored by some of the country’s most outstanding musicians, most notably the NZTrio. On Sunday, along with the young mentees, the University of Auckland School of Music, Tironui Music Trust, and Sistema Aotearoa, the NZTrio will perform a public concert.
The aim of the three-day initiative is to provide mentoring and performance opportunities for young musicians and pathways to careers in classical music, ensuring that Aotearoa maintains a thriving classical music community lest we find ourselves in a dystopian future where only robots can play Rachmaninoff. It’s bound to be an inspirational afternoon of music.
When: March 30, 3pm - 4.15pm.
Where: Kāhui St David’s, 70 Khyber Pass Rd, Auckland.
Price: Tickets $25 adult; $15 students; free for children, from eventfinda.co.nz
One man show Te Tupua - The Goblin is in the midst of a tour of Tāmaki Makaurau, playing on Saturday night at Uxbridge Arts Centre in Howick, Q Theatre on April 10 and 11, and at the Rose Centre on April 27. It’s a challenging piece of theatre, written and performed by a stalwart of Aotearoa’s theatre scene, John G Davies.
It tells the story of a young Scottish sailor shipwrecked on our shores in 1815 and captured by a Māori hapū. Davies plays many characters, including Te Tupua - a goblin character inspired by Japanese Noh Theatre, a tradition that has greatly influenced his practice. It’s a truly unique performance, which has evolved over the more than 20 years since Davies first began working on it. Drawing on historical records and Māori oral histories, it compels audiences to confront Aotearoa’s past while remaining thoroughly engaging.
When and where:
March 29, 5.30pm. Uxbridge Arts Centre, 35 Uxbridge Rd, Mellons Bay, Auckland. Tickets $25.
April 10 - 11, 7pm. Loft Q Theatre, 305 Queen St, Auckland. Tickets $25 - $35 + booking fees.
April 27, 4pm. The Rose Centre, School Rd, Belmont, Auckland. Tickets $25 + booking fees.
Price: Visit johngdavies.nz for more info and tickets.
Sure, it’s an early start for the whole whānau but spending the morning outside, taking in some vitamin D, encouraging our kids to be active and give hard things a go is well worth setting your alarm for a Sunday morning.
It’s not too late to sign your kids up for this weekend’s Weet-Bix Kids Tryathlon at Point England Reserve, where they’ll swim, bike and run their way to a medal, free Weet-Bix brekkie and spot prizes. There’s always a great supportive atmosphere at the tryathlon, with more than 2000 children participating and a strong sense of community around them. Register on the website and you’ll be able to pick up your registration pack when you arrive in the morning.
When: March 30, 9am - 12.35pm.
Where: Point England Reserve, Point England, Auckland.
Price: Entry $67 - $71.80 from tryathlon.co.nz
The musical is a powerful medium. You can swallow some pretty sour medicine if it has a catchy melody and a dance break, which is what you can expect from Three Forty One - The Climate Musical. It’s a climate crisis musical that tells the story of a Kiwi wedding party who travel to an island paradise for the nuptials, only to get slapped in the face by the reality of climate change - through song.
It’s written by former concert pianist and Baptist minister Stephen Worsley and is being performed this weekend and next at the Eastgate Christian Centre. It’s not Worsley’s first rodeo in this genre, his previous show, The Way of the Raukura - A Parihaka Musical, received standing ovations at the Bruce Mason Centre in 2023 and Three Forty One has high hopes for a similar reception.
When: March 29, 2pm and 7pm, March 30, 5.30pm, April 4 and 5, 7pm.
Where: Eastgate Christian Centre, 5 Ben Lomond Cres, Pakuranga Heights, Auckland.
Price: Tickets $28 - $38 + booking fees from iticket.co.nz or toitoicollective.com for more info.
Auckland masters of markets, General Collective, will be hosting a last hurrah at the Sapphire Room in Ponsonby Central on Sunday. Fear not, it’s not the last hurrah for General Collective which will continue to reign supreme in the market market at many other locations throughout Tāmaki Makaurau but will no longer be hosted at the Sapphire Room, where dozens of General Collective markets have been held over the last decade.
Head along for a carefully curated selection of homewares, fashion, jewellery, skincare and more by local creators and makers and artistic entrepreneurs. Fuel up with a Sunday brunch or lunch at one of Ponsonby’s eateries and that’s a pretty perfect lazy Sunday in our books.
When: March 30, 10am - 2pm.
Where: The Sapphire Room, Ponsonby Central, 138 Ponsonby Rd, Auckland.
Price: Free.
Sunday is your last chance to catch Nightsong’s outlandish, dark, funny and unexpectedly thought-provoking show Mr Red Light before the company takes it across the ditch for an Australian tour. Written by Carl Bland and directed by Ben Crowder, Mr Red Light is a thriller dressed up as a slapstick comedy.
The character of Mr Red Light is described as the unluckiest man in the world, “either a fool or a prophet”, who barrels into a pie shop while escaping police and ends up taking two customers and the pie seller as hostages. It’s fast-paced, absurd and highly entertaining, with original cast member Jennifer Ludlam returning alongside a superbly talented cast. Sunday’s performance at the Herald Theatre is a one-off so you’re going to need to act swiftly to secure tickets.
When: March 30, 6pm.
Where: Herald Theatre, 50 Mayoral Dr, Auckland Central.
Price: Tickets $50 - $75 + booking fees from aucklandlive.co.nz and ticketmaster.co.nz
On Saturday, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki opens a significant retrospective exhibition of New Zealand photographer, Mark Adams. The Ōtautahi Christchurch-born artist has a career spanning 50 years, which has included ongoing explorations of whakairo Māori (Māori carving), Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland’s master Samoan tatau artists, the sites where Te Tiriti o Waitangi was signed and the sites where Captain James Cook and crew came ashore in Aotearoa.
Titled Mark Adams: A Survey / He Kohinga Whakaahua, the exhibition is accompanied by a book of the same title and will be on display until mid-August. It’s a worthwhile trip into the city for anyone interested in photography and/or local history.
When: March 29 - August 17.
Where: Auckland Art Gallery, cnr Kitchener and Wellesley Streets, Auckland Central.
Price: Free.
Its kaupapa is in the title, Her Festival is five days of festivities and celebrations specifically for the shes and hers of Tāmaki Makaurau. It’s broad. There are workshops, performances, exhibitions, talks, outdoor events and even fitness sessions. From a screening of the brilliant Bryn and Ku’s Singles Club to a tyre changing workshop to stand-up comedy and more, Her Festival is both empowering and entertaining.
It kicks off on Wednesday, with one of the highlights being Into the Night, a free outdoor dance party next Saturday in Myers Park with light projections, art, birdsong, dancing and DJs. Rally your ladies and find yourselves something to enjoy at Her Festival.
When: April 2 - 6.
Where: Various locations in Auckland Central.
Info: Visit herfestival.co.nz for the full programme of events.
You don’t have to be a classical music aficionado to be excited by the Auckland Philharmonia’s concert next Friday, it’s for film buffs too. Art of the Score: The Music of Hans Zimmer is an evening of recognisable musical scores by one of the most well-known composers in Hollywood.
Featuring rousing pieces from Interstellar, The Dark Knight Trilogy, The Lion King, Kung Fu Panda, Pirates of the Caribbean and Gladiator, and hosted by Andrew Pogson and Dan Golding, hosts of the podcast Art of the Score, audiences will get an education in the career of Zimmer and hear how these epic pieces of music sound when played live by a 70-piece orchestra.
When: April 4, 7.30pm.
Where: Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre, Aotea Centre, Auckland Central.
Price: Tickets start at $51 + booking fees from ticketmaster.co.nz or aucklandphil.nz/zimmer
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