Festival of Colour
DUBBED ‘‘the best little arts festival in New Zealand’’, the Southern Lakes Festival of Colour has plenty for the whole family to enjoy. Launching on Monday April 3 with bonfires, storytelling and song on Wanaka’s lakefront, the seventh biennial festival presents 48 exceptional events, showcasing the best in New Zealand and international music, dance, theatre, comedy, and visual arts, and Aspiring Conversations.
ASPIRING CONVERSATIONS
This popular festival highlight features seven sessions sparking discussion and debate on subjects as diverse as cycling, the Waikato War (with former prime minister Jim Bolger), Antarctica, technology, and how things can change for the better in a posttruth world. Just added is a session on Saturday April 8:
Innovation & Disruption with Londonbased cofounder of tech startup Decoded Kathryn Parsons and managing director of Google Australia Jason Pellegrino. Chaired by RNZ’s Lynn Freeman, the pair will discuss the constantly changing technological landscape and how it is changing the world we live and work in.
Saturday April 8, 9am, Central Lakes Trust Crystal Palace. Tickets: $15
Not to be missed is a session with Tim Naish and Joe Michael: Antarctica — Beautiful but
Melting.
New visitors to Antarctica are always blown away by its sheer beauty and photographer Joe Michael captured something of this when he led an expedition targeting the icebergs around the edge of the frozen continent.
Joining Michael to discuss the state of Antarctica is Antarctic Research Centre director and scientist Tim Naish.
Sunday April 9, 1pm, Central Lakes Trust Crystal Palace. Tickets: $15
MUSIC FOR ALL TASTES
Sad songs, country songs, rhythm & blues, choirs and orchestras — the festival’s music programme features 17 incredible national and international performers. Here’s a taster:
Dangerous Song: An intriguingly beautiful and moving musical performance combining the human voice with the sounds of endangered and extinct animals.
This unique performance tells the sad story of extinctions not through words, but through sound, using the voices of the animals themselves (including the humpback whale and our very own kokako). Their calls speak directly to the heart and they are joined by one lone human voice in a song for the planet.
Created and performed by musician and composer Linsey Pollak with vocalist Lizzie O’Keefe; their music shimmers through drifting images of the natural world created by photographers Bonnie Jenkins and Jenny Pollak.
Friday April 7, 10am & 1pm; Saturday April 8, 6pm; and Sunday April 9, 6pm, Luggate Hall. Tickets: Adults $39, students $10
THE BLUE MOMENTS PROJECT
Ranging from jazz and blues to spoken word, The Blue Moments Project explores foreignness, identity and home. The more places we live, the more places we long for, and once you’ve left, home is never home again.
This show is a local collaboration between composer Angela Mote and writer Laura Williamson, and includes bassist Dominic Stayne, drummer Jeff Sinnott, singer Karen Hattaway and Graeme Perkins on piano.
Friday April 7, 5pm, Central Lakes Trust Palace. Tickets: $15
TELL ME MY NAME
You’ll find riddles in the Bible and riddles in
The Hobbit and riddles in every place on earth. They remind us just how mysterious the world can be. Over the years, leading New Zealand poet Bill Manhire has translated Old English riddles, and for this show he has composed a number of new riddles, which are presented as songs.
The settings range from meditative ballad to joyful stomp, with Hannah Griffin’s sublime voice woven in counterpoint with Martin Riseley’s violin and composer Norman Meehan at the piano.
Tell Me My Name is a staged performance directed by Sara Brodie. You’re each given the choice at the start either to read the answers or wait and guess for yourself.
Held on Wednesday April 5 at 1pm at the Central Lakes Trust Crystal Palace. Tickets: $28.
PRINCESSIN HANS
From Berlin comes Princessin Hans, featuring New Zealandborn Hans Kellett with Jo¨rg Hochapfel. Described by French media as ‘‘the perfect mixture of Pamela Anderson and Rasputin’’, Kellett has been active in the Berlin queer and punk scene for 16 years.
With musical genius at the piano Hochapfel, the pair reimagine 1920s Berlin cabaret for the 21st century. They say it’s their job to comfort the disturbed, and disturb the comfortable.
Thursday April 6, 10pm, Gin and Raspberry. Tickets: $15
PADDY FREE —
THE LANGUAGE OF THE LAND
Known as one of the godfathers of electronica in this country, and one half of the duo Pitch Black, Paddy Free performs a special solo show of live electronic music. Filled with unique Aotearoa grooves to move the heart, mind and body. The uplifting electronic beats and soulful dub bear witness to Paddy’s years of collaboration with some of the finest Maori and Pasifika musicians in the business.
Friday April 7, 10pm, Gin and Raspberry. Tickets; $15
PLUS there’s more . . .
SING IT TO MY FACE
Take four local choirs with singers of different ages and you’ve got the ultimate singoff between generations — a community singing about their experiences and expressing how they really feel about the society we live in.
Tuesday April 4, 5pm & 7.30pm, Lake Wanaka Centre
THE SONG DISPENSARY
The popup Song Dispensary opens its Wanaka doors on Tuesday April 4. Throughout the festival, come and have an original song written and prescribed for you by three expert song alchemists: Hans Kellett, Jo¨rg Hochapfel and Dan Untitled.
Each day they interview people, write lyrics and devise music to reflect and enrich people’s stories and lives.
ROTO
This stunning new video work by video artist Louise Potiki Bryant (Ngai Tahu) has been created especially for the festival and will play on the large outdoor screen on the deck of the Central Lakes Trust Crystal Palace.
For Potiki Bryant, a sense of place is incredibly important and this work, created as a collaboration with her partner (composer Paddy Free), is based on Lake Wanaka itself.
The word roto can mean lake, but it also means inside and they explore in dance, image and music the connection between lake and person.
Potiki Bryant is also a dancer and choreographer, and her work KIRI is also featured during the festival.
Browse the full Festival of Colour programme at www.festivalofcolour.co.nz
Tickets are available via the website or phone 0224TIXNOW (0224849669).