This weekend we want to go to . . .
The Powerstation
Last year, Sons of Zion had the mostplayed song — the mellow
— on New Zealand radio (11 weeks running) and have clocked up impressive numbers on Spotify and YouTube, so it’s not wrong to describe them as one of Aotearoa’s most loved acts. Now the band — Rio, Sam, Joel, Matt, Ross and Caleb — are in the midst of a seven-centre NZ tour which arrives in Auckland this weekend. The Come Home tour celebrates the release of their new single of the same name — it debuted at six on the NZ singles chart — and showcases the new music they’ve been making. Sons of Zion, Come Home Tour, Power Station, Saturday.
Pop-up Globe
In a glowing review of Pop-up Globe’s winter season, Herald theatre reviewer Paul Simei-Barton wrote that it was difficult to think of a better place to chase away the winter blues — and Auckland’s home of all things Shakespeare certainly turns it on this weekend with all four of its seasonal shows on stage: Twelfth Night,A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Measure
for Measure and Hamlet. We’d recommend all of them but if you can only see one, make it the Saturday afternoon performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Artistic director Dr Miles Gregory fuses Jacobean theatre with Ma¯ ori folklore and te reo to create one of the most lively and humorous versions of Shakespeare’s great comedy. It won the Broadway World Sydney Theatre Awards for best play, best director, best costume design and best choreography and has become one of the company’s flagship shows. Pop-up Globe, the Shakespeare Gardens, Ellerslie Racecourse, all weekend.
Basement Theatre
I am Rachel Chu, an ever-so-slightly rebellious and funny take on the blockbuster Crazy Rich Asians, first won over audiences at the Auckland Fringe Festival. It proved so popular that its makers (Nathan Joe, Amanda Grace Leo, Ravi Gurunathan and Angela Zhang) have rewritten, reworked and revitalised the story with their own personal histories superimposed on the so-called “relatable protagonist” of the bestselling book and film, Rachel Chu — NYU economics professor, AsianAmerican underdog, model minority and romantic lead. They are, of course, not Rachel Chu but got to thinking what Crazy Rich Asians might have looked like if they were. They describe it as “an interrogative act of literary anarchism”; we say it’s witty and wry.
I am Rachel Chu, Basement Theatre, until Saturday.
Auckland Town Hall
Little-known fact: we now listen to more classical music than ever before — even if we’re not regulars at orchestral or chamber music concerts. How? Because the magnificent sounds of soaring strings and bold brass permeates video games, television shows and movies. Can you imagine Star Wars without its signature tune? Would Jaws be as terrifying without the John Williams score? Film songs and scores — from the likes of Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Star Wars and The Lion King — are centre stage at Auckland Symphony Orchestra’s familyfriendly Sunday concert with special guest Will Martin. It’s free but bookings are required. Auckland Symphony Orchestra: Film Favourites, Great Hall, Auckland Town Hall, Sunday at 2.30pm.
Q Theatre
She may be approaching her senior years but Mrs Krishnan is not about to let a little thing like ageing stop her from enjoying a good knees up. First introduced to Kiwi theatre-goers in Indian Ink’s award-winning play Krishnan’s Dairy, Mrs Krishnan has returned to show how life has treated her in the 22 years since we last saw her. To catch us up, Indian Ink Theatre Company has concocted a party-within-a-play where the audience can be guests at a table in the back room of Mrs Krishnan’s shop or, if you’re feeling shy, sit in traditional tiered seating. It’s funny, poignant and you might just get fed at the end of it all. Mrs Krishnan’s Party, Q Theatre, until Sunday, August 18.