Young Folk, fresh theatre

A French chanteuse, and Irish folk/rock band and Ngaruawahia’s third best children’s novelty act are all taking the stage at the Hamilton Gardens Arts Festival tonight.

Exposing Edith, a musical tale that charts the tragic life of French icon Edith Piaf, will begin the first of a pair of performances in the Pacific Crystal Palace stage at 8.30pm.

The production, which won the Best Cabaret award at the Adelaide Fringe Festival in 2016, was created and is performed by the Australian duo Michaela Burger and Greg Wain and mixes French chanson with contemporary music, and is punctuated by tales from Piaf’s extraordinary life.

In the same venue, at the earlier time of 6.30pm, the Aucklandbased Te Rehia Theatre Company are staging a performance of the company’s acclaimed three-man comedy production Larger Than

Life, which tells the tale of the former members of Ngaruawahia’s third best children’s novelty act who land the comeback opportunity of a lifetime: opening for the legendary John Rowles at a concert in Wellington.

The semi-political satire that features the talents of Shadrack Simi, Brady Peeti and Chris Rex Martin contains references to and even a few ‘‘guest appearances’’ by several prominent New Zealanders such as Prince Tui Teka, Georgina Beyer, The Topp Twins (who are performing at the festival themselves on Sunday) and even Rob Muldoon.

Over at the Rogers Rose Garden Stage at 7.30pm, the Young Folk will be playing. The four-piece band who hail from Dublin, Ireland, are known for their immaculate harmonies and have been compared to the likes of Fleet Foxes and Crosby, Stills and Nash. They have been described by the UK music magazine Maverick as ‘‘one of the most promising Irish bands for decades.’’

Tickets to all shows are available through hgaf.co.nz.