Watch Scenes from the Climate Era, a collaboration between Silo Theatre and Auckland Theatre Company, at Q Theatre.
Lost on what to do this weekend? Refer to our definitive guide on all things film, food and fairies to make the most of Auckland’s winter offerings.
While the cold weather may be ushering you to stay indoors, there’s no better place to be this winter than out and about in Tāmaki Makaurau.
With stage performances inviting you to the theatre, markets overflowing with trinkets and treats and an ice rink to bring some magical winter charm to the city centre, staying indoors seems too hard a task when a world of wonder awaits.
Remove yourself from the heater and immerse yourself in some of Auckland’s top winter offerings.
Two of Tāmaki Makaurau’s premiere theatre companies have joined forces for this one: Scenes from the Climate Era, a collaboration between Silo Theatre and Auckland Theatre Company, opened on Friday night at Q Theatre. At once confronting, humorous, devastating and thought-provoking, the play is exactly what the title describes - a collection of 25 scenes set in the past, present and future, which reflect on our lives in a climate crisis. Written by Australian playwright - and son of a climate scientist - David Finnigan, the show premiered last year in Sydney and received rave reviews. For this production, Finnigan has worked with director Jason Te Kare to adapt the script for Aotearoa and incorporate mātauranga Māori (indigenous/Māori knowledge) into the story. Not only is the set design adhering to the principles of recycling, repurposing and reimagining, the casting is too, with the five actors Dawn Cheong, Arlo Green, Nī Dekkers-Reihana, Sean Rivera and Amanda Tito playing all 43 characters. It’s an urgent piece of theatre that you should urgently get tickets to.
When: August 2-24.
Where: Q Theatre, 305 Queen St, Auckland.
Price: Tickets $30-$82 + booking fees from qtheatre.co.nz
Auckland Philharmonia is in the throes of a festival of Wagner, which started with a lecture by Dr David Chisholm earlier this week and culminates next Saturday night with a performance of Tristan und Isolde. You’re unlikely to get tickets to that extraordinary musical event, which is a ticket or two away from being entirely sold out, but you can still be part of Phil Opera Fest by signing up for the Sunday Singalong with Wagner this weekend. It’s a free event where you’ll learn Wagner’s Wedding March from Lohengrin with members of the NZ Opera. You don’t need to be a choral expert to participate, it’s a relaxed event that’s open to everyone, including young people, who wants to give singing an opera a red-hot go. If you register in advance, you’ll get sent the sheet music to run your eyes over before the Sunday morning event.
When: Sunday, August 3, 10.30am.
Where: Supper Room, Auckland Town Hall, Queen St, Auckland Central.
Price: Register for free at aucklandphil.nz/phil-opera-fest
Spark Arena is hosting a heck of a dance party this Saturday night with Synthony Pride, an orchestral ode to dance music. Following the massive success of Synthony in the Domain earlier this year, Synthony Pride is all about celebrating LGBTQIA+ communities and the role of the queer community in popularising dance music. The Auckland Philharmonia, who are in the midst of their Phil Opera Fest, will be taking a break from Wagner’s epic masterpieces to take the stage along with guest musicians and vocalists including Boh Runga, Harper Finn, Kita Mean and many more to perform 30 dance tracks inspired by queer icons like Lady Gaga, Beyonce, Kylie Minogue, Sam Smith, Madonna and others. The vibes will be extremely good at Spark Arena on Saturday, so if you love a good dance party, don your fiercest outfit and get tickets.
When: Saturday, August 3, 7pm.
Where: Spark Arena, 42/80 Mahuhu Cres, Parnell, Auckland.
Price: Tickets start at $119 + booking fees from ticketmaster.co.nz
We may be deep in the heart of winter but even on the dreariest of Saturdays, there’s still no better way to spend your morning than by strolling a quirky market and stumbling across a one-of-a-kind item that has your name on it. This weekend, one of our favourite Friday-night haunts - Freida Margolis - turns into a monthly morning market full of preloved and vintage clothes, vinyl, ceramics, crafts, handmade jewellery, vintage treasures, plants and flowers, freshly baked goods and more. The vinyls are always spinning, too, so the market is consistently fun and the best little mood elevator to kick off your weekend.
When: Saturday, August 3, 10am - 1pm.
Where: Freida Margolis, 440 Richmond Rd, Grey Lynn, Auckland.
Price: FREE.
August is time to reignite your passion for reading things other than your phone because it’s Auckland Council Libraries’ We Read Auckland Festival. A keystone of the festival is the Bestie Collection, a curated selection of 16 local stories that are a must-read for New Zealanders and available immediately for two weeks, no holds, no reserves. This year’s collection includes books by Matt Heath, Michael Bennett, Judy Bailey, Liam Dann, Niki Bezzant, Saraid de Silva and more. Throughout the month there are also writing workshops for rangatahi and free author talks on topics like crime writing, money matters, midlife health, women in wartime and several others. Let We Read Auckland be your motivation to up your local literary content consumption, supporting New Zealand writers as you hunker down with a good book this winter.
When: August 1 - 31.
Where: Various Auckland Council Libraries.
Price: Visit aucklandlibraries.govt.nz/WeReadAKL for more information and to register for events.
Anyone with little people to occupy this weekend should head down to the Western Springs Gardens Community Halls for the Fairies and Superheroes event by Auckland Mama Markets. It’s a magical few hours of activities and fun for wee ones, with Spiderman and Nicole the Flower Fairy providing entertainment, along with hair braiding, face painting, sand art, bracelet making, a bubble dome, a dress-up corner and market stalls for the adults. Dressing up is encouraged to get in the spirit of the day.
When: Saturday, August 3, 9.30am - 1pm.
Where: Western Springs Gardens Community Halls, 956 Great North Rd, Western Springs, Auckland.
Price: Free entry.
The countdown is on until the last day of the Aotea Square Ice Rink for this season so, if you’ve been planning to hit the ice this winter, the time to procrastinate has passed. Get your winter woollies on and head into the city for the most wholesome fun you can have in the big smoke. This year they’ve added curling lanes, so you can choose to either skate around the rink or take on your friends, whānau or colleagues in a brutally competitive curling match. The Aotea Ice Rink has become an iconic Auckland winter pastime and you’ve got just nine more days to experience the joys of falling on your rear in the heart of the city while completely sober.
When: Daily until August 11.
Where: Aotea Square, Auckland Central.
Price: Skating $26 adults; $21 children; $13 preschoolers; $69 family pass. Curling $21 per person (minimum two people); $15 Monday-Thursday evenings. Book at aucklandlive.co.nz
In this fairly bleak time for hospitality in Tāmaki Makaurau, a new establishment opening its doors is a thing to celebrate. Put this in your group chat: next Friday a high-concept whisky, champagne and cocktail bar opens at Commercial Bay that you’re going to want to check out. Kemuri Hi-Fi is inspired by Japanese jazz kissa, little bars that specialise in the art of listening to vinyl. It’s the creative vision of two friends, Jason Clark and Vishal Vasan, who had a unique concept for the bar, which synthesises their years of experience visiting the world’s best hidden gems – Clark as a bartending champion and Vasan as a DJ. With Clark’s whisky collection and Vasan’s vinyl collection taking centre stage, Kemuri Hi-Fi is set to be a temple for the tastebuds and taringa. The pair hope to create a culture of community within the space by offering memberships to the bar - either a Whisky membership, Champagne membership or Hi-Fi membership. It’s open to the public of course, all are welcome, but don’t be surprised if this downtown diamond woos you to membership before you’ve finished your first cocktail.
When: Opens Friday, August 9.
Where: Kemuri Hi-Fi, 1 Queen St, Auckland Central.
Price: FREE.
Next week, the Whānau Mārama New Zealand International Film Festival launches its programme of 86 feature films and 19 shorts in Tāmaki Makaurau. There really is no better place to spend a winter afternoon or evening than in a movie theatre, and no better reason to skive off work or escape life’s other responsibilities than to catch a festival film. One of the standout film experiences of the festival is next weekend’s screening of French documentary Menus-Plaisirs - Les Troisgros. For a profoundly detailed look inside France’s family-run three-star Michelin restaurant, Le Bois san Feuilles, 93-year-old documentary master Frederick Wiseman embedded himself in the restaurant to create this four-hour epic culinary and cinematic experience that explores what it takes to hold on to three Michelin stars for more than 50 years.
When: Sunday, August 11, 10am.
Where: Hollywood Avondale, 20 St Georges Rd, Avondale, Auckland.
Price: Tickets start at $19 + booking fees from nziff.co.nz
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