Marlborough Express - Weekend Express
Magical launch for Nelson Arts Festival
Performances by the Royal New Zealand Ballet and a theatre show that packs a powerful social punch are among the stand out features of this year’s Nelson Arts Festival.
The event, which started on Thursday, boasts more than 100 acts by local, national and international performers from theatre, dance, music, and visual arts to poetry, as well as interactive shows and workshops.
Founders Heritage Park will be the ‘‘festival hub’’ with the granary building converted to a cafe during the two week-long event, and hosting free entertainment like music gigs and visual arts shows.
Christchurch-based entertainers, Lizzie Tollemache and David Ladderman, kicked off the festival with a slapstick show for children titled the Messy Magic Adventure.
Festival Director Charlie Unwin said what made the 24th edition of the festival special was a record number of local performers.
That was due largely to ‘‘Sounds Excellent’’, a show at the Nelson Centre of Musical Arts featuring several choirs, with 80 local performers.
Organisers had scored a coup by bringing the Royal New Zealand Ballet onboard for the first time too, he said.
‘‘They are doing a package of their 2018 programme, so you’ll have a little bit of Nutcracker, a little bit of Mozart, and some other things, as well as a sneak peak of their 2019 programme.
‘‘Lots of other festivals in the country, which we work quite closely with, are looking at us with quite envious eyes.’’
The festival also featured performances with a strong social impact, he said.
‘‘We like to have shows that don’t only entertain but also challenge, and Jane Doe show about rape culture.
‘‘It is the transcript of an actual rape trial, where the audience will be asked to come up on stage and read from the transcript is a as the prosecutor, as the defendant, it’s quite powerful.’’
The Masked Parade will wind up the festival, with the theme ‘‘Weird and Wonderful’’.
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