Bigger stage and fresh ideas for NZ Festival
More shows, more arts jobs, more diversity: The New Zealand Festival is lifting the curtain on extra shows outside its biennial event.
In a radical shake-up, the festival has announced two new major works to be staged ahead of the 2020 festival.
Organisers will also invite three guest curators to each oversee one week of the festival, to offer a fresh approach and talent to the line-up.
The NZ Festival’s transformation is one of the biggest since its inception in 1986. Organisers say there is a distinct growth in audience demand for the kind of work and events it presents.
Wellington City Council’s $16 million injection to support the arts – part of the ‘‘decade of culture’’ in the council’s long-term plan – was another indication of the appetite for more arts events in the capital, NZ Festival executive director Meg Williams said.
The additional events come under a new brand within the NZ Festival, Ta¯ whiri, a name gifted by Mana Whenua.
The first major annual event, Second Unit, will take place next year as an immersive experience inspired by the world of film.
There was a growing trend internationally in performance where the audience member was placed within a 3D experience rather than the traditional theatre scenario of sitting passively and watching what’s happening on stage, festival creative director Marnie Karmelita said.
‘‘There’s big demand, particularly with millennial audiences . . . It’s much more participatory and playful.’’
The second innovation, Made In Wellington, will see worldrenowned Irish director and choreographer Michael Keegan-Dolan travel to Wellington for a sixweek residency as he works on a new major production.
It will then be premiered at the Dublin Theatre Festival at the end of next year and performed at London’s Sadler’s Wells Theatre in early 2020, before returning to the NZ Festival.
Keegan-Dolan, who was behind the Festival’s 2018 production of Swan Lake, will invite fans to go behind-thescenes as he makes the work in collaboration with Kiwi artists.
‘‘There’s a group of audience members who are hungry for the opportunity to go a little deeper with artists to understand the nature of the process,’’ Karmelita said. ‘‘It’s about giving people more – more shows, more opportunity for New Zealand artists and more opportunities to have a deeper interaction with the artists.’’
The first of the three guest curators at the 2020 Festival is Sala¯ Lemi Ponifasio, a pioneer in the development of contemporary Pacific theatre and dance. Samoaborn Ponifasio’s work is regularly seen at the world’s major performing and visual arts festivals, including the Venice Biennale and the Edinburgh International Festival. The other guest curators will be named next year.
Having guest curators was about opening up the festival to more and different voices, Williams said. ‘‘By having three guest curators there’s an opportunity for audiences to understand their world view ... Ponifasio was a natural choice. He believes in the power of art bringing value to society and pulling a community together.’’
The expansion of festival events follows Wellington On a Plate increasing its run from 17 days to 31 in 2019, and developing Matariki events. ‘‘We see ourselves as part of a big picture in terms of the city and how it’s responding to the demand for arts and culture,’’ Williams said. The NZ Festival is one of the five largest in Australasia, and injects tens of millions of dollars into the capital’s economy.