Festival chief thrilled at public response to shows

The Auckland Festival wraps up this weekend, but has already achieved a higher box office than AK07.

Director David Malacari said he was delighted to see Aucklanders attend local, international and obscure works in droves.

"Attendances are only one tiny measure of a festival ... but it makes us think that we are on the right path in providing work that is challenging and unique," he said.

"The response has been really gratifying. We have had great reviews, both for the challenging work, and for the tried and true. The New Zealand programme has also really stood out, and proven itself to be a central pillar of the festival programming."

He said it was no surprise that the "marquee names" such as La Clique and singer Camille sold out early.

But he also found it rewarding to see beaming faces emerge from the major New Zealand works Sleep/Wake, a dance piece and art installation, and The Kreutzer, a local theatre piece based on a Beethoven Sonata.

Festival organisers were also surprised to see comedian Tim Minchin sell out so quickly. "He has never been here before yet enough people seemed to know about him that he just went through the roof."

The Queen St Sing Sing was hampered slightly by poor weather, but stood out as the highlight so far for the festival director.

"We would have had double the attendance if we had had a nice day. But, you know, we decided against a large fireworks display this year, which is good because it would have been cancelled in this case.

"We opted for something more intimate and it worked."

Two major pieces anchor the end of the festival - Venus and Adonis, a theatrical adaptation of the Shakespeare poem, and the "blockbuster" of the festival, Canadian Robert Lepage's The Andersen Project.

Of Lepage's work, Mr Malacari said "people would really doing themselves a disservice to miss someone who has been described as important to contemporary theatre as Shakespeare was in his day to theatre at the time".

"He is no Shakespeare in terms of writing, but in terms of stagecraft and theatricality, he is peerless."

Those wanting a more humble festival experience can pay $2 for the Artlink art gallery tour.

On Saturday festival-goers can board one of two Metrolink buses circling 12 of the city's galleries, most of which are free to enter.

HIGHLIGHTS
* Venus and Adonis, March 18-22, Bruce Mason Theatre
* The Andersen Project, March 19-22, Aotea Centre
* Artlink, March 21, central Auckland art galleries
* Mikelangelo and the Black Sea Gentlemen, March 18-21, The Festival Club, Aotea Centre