Category: Reviews, News and Commentary

Reviewed by John Daly-Peoples

Living Between Land and Sea

The Bays of Whakaraupō Lyttelton Harbour

Jane Robertson

Massey University Press

RRP $75.00

Reviewed by John Daly-Peoples

The early history of New Zealand apart from that of the major centres was a history of small, often remote communities who developed physical, economic and social infrastructure to establish develop and organise their communities.

One such community was centred around the many bays of Whakaraupō Lyttelton Harbour and a new book by Jane Robertson, “Living Between Land and Sea – The Bays of Whakaraupō Lyttelton Harbour” provides such a history of the settlements of the harbour.

The area and the surrounding hills have a long history of Māori activity. The islands of Aua / King Billy Island  and Ōtamahua / Quail Island were important sources of resources for local Māori, despite being uninhabited. Ngāi Tahu and Ngāi Mamoe used the islands as a source of shellfish, bird’s eggs and flax, as well as stone for use in tools.

This wide raging and superbly illustrated history tells of the settlements which developed in the bays of Whakaraupō Lyttelton Harbour. Each of the bays is given a chapter which the author details with extensive photographs from both the nineteenth and twentieth century  as well as details about the people, the history, the jetties and the activities  in each of them.

The various settlements include the larger areas of Lyttelton itself, Governors Bay, and Diamond Harbour as well as the smaller places such Purau and the military establishment and lighthouse at Godley Head / Taylors Mistake.

Many of the chapters deal with the history and myth of local Māori as well as the impact of the European settlements which gives a background to the unique development of each area of the harbour.

Robertson provides interesting historical facts and events which enliven the history making the book immensely readable and rewarding.

She writes about the torpedo boat which was stationed in the harbour at the time of the Russian Scare of the 1880’s and the development of military installations in the area.

There are the events around the establishment of the leper colony on Quail Island  in the early twentieth century as well as the whaling station at Waitata.

There are accounts of the tsunamis which occurred in 1868 and 1960 which did much damage to jetties and buildings in the harbour.

The  individuals and events of the area are woven together into a tapestry of intersecting threads covering both the European period of settlement and that of Māori going back many years, providing a history which is common to many areas of the country.

The book is richly illustrated with photographs from the nineteenth and twentieth century as well as some nineteenth paintings of the area including an 1850 work by Richard Oliver showing the Māori settlement and waka at Purau and  one by J M  Gibbs of Rapaki painted in 1877.

The book explores the history of Te Hapū o Ngāti Wheke and their guardianship of this place,  describing the early history of Māori in the region. It also takes a geographical sweep around the harbour from the signal station at Te Piaka Adderley Head to the lighthouse at Awaroa Godley Head. In between, the stories of the bays and islands of this picturesque and historic harbour are described with fascinating details of early and contemporary life including maritime history and dramatic rescues, farming and trade, wartime experiences and quarantine stations, tourism and recreation.

Talking about her motivation for writing the book Robertson says “Whakaraupō Lyttelton Harbour is my home, the place I love, my tūrangawaewae. I wanted to understand this place better and then share that with others. When I completed Head of the Harbour: A History of Governors Bay, Ōhinetahi, Allendale and Teddington, in 2016, friends and local residents were interested in what was to follow. (I wasn’t, I just wanted a break!) When I was ready to write again, I started thinking about the Governors Bay and Teddington jetties, whose stories had so intrigued me. I thought I could extend that curiosity to all the jetties in the harbour — those still extant, those now derelict and those long ago dismantled and/or swallowed by the sea. While jetties were the physical starting point, I realised that they were just a portal — a way of stepping back into harbour communities whose reliance on the sea was so much greater than ours today.

I also believe strongly in the value of local history, of capturing voices and memories before they are lost for good.”.

“Living Between Land and Sea” adds greatly to our knowledge and understanding of the development of New Zealand and is an outstanding example of documentation about local communities.

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Reviewed by John Daly-Peoples

Symphonic Dances

Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra

Auckland Town Hall

October 19

Reviewed by John Daly-Peoples

The APO’s latest concert, Symphonic Dances opened with a welcome from the new CEO of the orchestra Diana Weir who was previously the Director of the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra in Ontario. She said it was a unique experience to be working with the orchestra which made phenomenal music possible. She also noted that she was announcing the orchestra’s programme for next year which included a superb range of music.

Conducting the programme was Chloé van Soeterstède who has been attracting the attention of orchestras across the globe. She has been praised for her intuitive, sensitive, expressive, music-making and attention to detail.

The major work on the programme was Mendelssohn’s  Violin Concerto, a work he had spent nearly ten years writing. The concerto adheres to the classical style of Beethoven while containing much of  the romantic ethos which leads on to the music of Brahms.  In several ways he  broke with tradition such as having the violin make an instant introduction to the work .

Violinist Sergey Khachatryan opened the turbulent first movement with a  relentless vigour, grappling with the music  as though he were in competition with the orchestra. At times his playing was raw, almost feral while at other times  he exposed the delicate and sensual elements of the music.

He tackled the work with a  lively self-confidence, expertly managing the passages which Mendelssohn must have written to  technically challenge any performer.

In the second movement where the violinist can be dominated by the orchestra Chloé van Soeterstède ensured that even when he played softly his sound still rose above the orchestra and some of these whispered moments were tantalising. Equally his dramatic displays were achingly emotive.

There was a precision and focus throughout as though he was thinking his way through the music, thinking and contemplating.

In the third movement in which many of the motifs of the first movement were restated he responded in an almost playful way, engaging with the music in a very physical manner.

Throughout he managed to conjure up some graceful unforced tones with crisp articulation heightening the romantic  sweep of the music and discovering emotional depths in the music.

The concert opened with Prokofiev’s Classical Symphony, composed in 1916 and  the first of his seven symphonies.

It might seem incongruous that Prokoviev composed a work which hints at the music of a century before at the same time as the Russian revolution. In many ways the work is revolutionary in that it alludes to the work of Mozart whose symphonies and opera were revolutionary in their time.

The symphony is also revolutionary in term of Prokovievs own work being a major change from his dramatic First Piano Concerto which had marked him out as revolutionary only a few years before.

Van Soeterstède opened the first movement which is full of joyous music demonstrating why she is valued as a conductor. She conducted with dramatic gestures and a style which was balletic.

The dance-like whimsey of the second  movement had hints of the composers later ballet music while the third movement had a recognisable theme which would end up in his ballet music for Romeo and Juliet two decades later.

The Symphonic Dances was the last music Rachmaninov wrote, and the third movement features musical references to the Roman Catholic Requiem “Dies Ires”.  It is a  theme which recurs in many of his compositions reminding listeners of the terrors of the day of judgment. Mozart had previously employed the same melody in his “Requiem”, both  composers using the setting as premonition of their death.

The work saw van Soeterstède conducting with more feline gestures  as she led the orchestra in  the vigorous opening with its march-like music and an exquisite  passage featured featuring the woodwinds, the piano merging with the strings and an intrusive clarinet.

The elaborate music of the  second movement was enriched by Concertmaster Andrew Beer leading the orchestra in a slow, almost filmic  dance  theme.

In the third movement there were a range of innovative sounds, notably from the percussion, a disturbing clarinet and after an appearance of the Dies Irie theme a dramatic martial finale.

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Reviewed by John Daly-Peoples

Urgent Moments

Art and Social Change: The Letting Space projects 2010–2020

Edited by Mark Amery, Amber Clausner and Sophie Jerram

Massey University Press

RRP $ 65.00

Reviewed by John Daly-Peoples

The recent elections showed that political parties appear to have little interest in developing arts policies which engage with communities. While there were major efforts made in the late 1980’s with the creation of Community Arts Councils which had funding from Creative New Zealand there have been few initiatives which not only help artists but strengthen local communities

Examples of communities engaged in transformative activities, often led by artists can articulate ideas and desires so that art becomes a catalyst for change and community cohesion.

The new book “Urgent Moments” provides examples of individuals and groups creating art environments or situations which address aesthetic, social and political  issues making use of non-gallery spaces.

in the mid-1990s, the public art curators Letting Space began occupying vacant spaces in post-stock-market-crash Auckland. The social conditions of the time in the wake of the 2008 global financial crisis led many to question the prevailing dealer gallery system and the way in which art was produced, marketed and commented on.

The book is written and edited  by Mark Amery, Amber Clausner and Sophie Jerram with contributions from leading New Zealand writers and thinkers, including Pip Adam and Chris Kraus, Urgent Moments demonstrates the vital role artists can play in the pressing discussions of our times.

Letting Space worked  in Wellington and Dunedin with property managers, individuals and community groups to broker the temporary use of vacant space for projects.

The idea was to use public art as a way to regenerate and rejuvenate communities and urban spaces.

In  Wellington some designer-artists turned an old bank building into a ”mood bank” for three weeks. Instead of depositing money individuals deposited one’s idea of their personal mood of the day. A deposit slip  was filled out and this mood slip was stamped and authenticated.

Another project, Free Store featured a grocery shop where everything was free with much of the produce donated by local businesses. of the  area.

The group also created  TEZAs (Transitional Economic Zone of Aotearoa) which brought a community-based approach to public art. The first TEZA was in New Brighton, Christchurch, after the suburb’s shopping centre was destroyed by earthquakes.

They set up an encampment on the shopping area and welcomed artists and locals to come and be creative. Installations cropped up, a school documented itself with photography, and locals biked around the suburb singing as part of a ‘Bicycle Choir’.

In Porirua as part of a local arts festival people could create their own coffins or design urns for their own remains as well as baking bread to create a Porirua Loaf.

One of the more ephemeral works was Projected Fields,  a temporary contemporary public art project that involved contributions from the public, local communities, sporting groups and businesses, mixing the worlds of physical and digital community interaction, as well as expanding on the notion of public art. 

The playing fields of Macalister Park in Wellington were painted with coloured charts which reflected the community use of the area as well as identifying the geographical and historical aspects of the area.

The book feature dozens of projects undertaken by the group over  a decade as well as photographic documentation along with essays by noted artists and writers on the impact of these projects.

One of the editors of the book, Sophie Jerram says, “ What’s important with this book is that we’re documenting amazing ideas created years before they became mainstream. For example, Free Store is an accepted institution now; discussions about employment and productivity and the UBI have become serious; single-use plastics are practically outlawed.

“Urgent Moments” shows the unique power of art to unite, transform and revitalise communities and how individuals collectively can become artists.

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John Daly-Peoples

Auckland Theatre Company have announced eight plays in their 2024 Season, presenting a line-up of shows that feature star-studded creatives and high flying collaborations, alongside striking international works. After welcoming over 50,000 people through their doors this year, the 2024 programme, will be presenting  five works by New Zealand playwrights (four of which are world premieres), alongside West End hits, a climate change epic and a big-scale retelling of one of the most popular children’s stories of all time.   The works on offer also reflects the Company’s continued commitment to collaborating with organisations across the motu, including Te Pou Theatre, Nightsong, Silo Theatre, I Ken So Productions, Auckland Arts Festival and Agaram Productions.   Artistic Director & CEO Jonathan Bielski says, “After a great year for our 30th anniversary in 2023, we are excited to offer Aucklanders a 2024 season of outstanding theatre filled with stars, local heroes and extraordinary storytellers.”   Auckland Theatre Company’s accessibility programme continues as a commitment to inclusive access. Each production in 2024 will have a dedicated New Zealand Sign Language-interpretated and audio-described performance and touch tour. A Sensory Relaxed Performance will be introduced for the first time in the Company’s history to welcome people who would benefit from a more laid-back theatre atmosphere including people who are neurodivergent, and folks with sensory and communication needs.       The Plays Hyperspace by Albert Belz 7 – 24 Feb In Albert Belz’ award-winning play Supernova, the audience is taken back to 1990, the heyday of Pump Up The Jam, Miami Wine Cooler, Timotei shampoo and Gloss. Entries are open for the NZ Aerobics Competition and small-town Natalie ends up having to team up with haka queen Tāwhai for the mixed doubles. This world premiere season is for all the lovers of dance movies and ‘90’s time capsule nostalgia. Co-produced with Te Pou Theatre, directed by Tainui Tukiwaho (Astroman) and choreographed by New Zealand dance icon (and former aerobics champion) Jack Gray. This season of Supernova is proudly presented with the support of MiNDFOOD.   O le Pepelo, le Gaoi, ma le Pala’ai | The Liar, the Thief, and the Coward by Natano Keni and Sarita So 5 – 23 Mar The second show of the year is a family drama in the vein of August: Osage County, set in Sāmoa’s not-so-distant past, in collaboration with Auckland Arts Festival and I Ken So Productions. Proud chief Pili Sā Tauilevā has devoted his life to his village, but when he falls ill and refuses to name a successor, his daughter and son become rivals to the title. Power, politics and tradition collide in this darkly comic piece by Natano Keni and Sarita So, starring Semu Filipo (Things That Matter, Young Rock).   The Effect by Lucy Prebble 16 Apr – 11 May Straight off a critically acclaimed season at London’s National Theatre, The Effect, directed by Benjamin Kilby-Henson (King Lear), brings four stars to the ASB Waterfront Theatre. In this chemistry-laden medical drama from Succession writer Lucy Prebble, two participants of a clinical trial struggle to figure out whether their attraction to each other is real or just the medication. Jayden Daniels (Head High, Celebrity Treasure Island) and Zoë Robins (Amazon’s The Wheel of Time) make their Auckland Theatre Company debuts, Jarod Rawiri (Long Day’s Journey into Night) returns and New Zealand screen legend Sara Wiseman (Under the Vines, Creamerie) makes her return to the company after 20 years.   Red, White and Brass adapted by Leki Jackson-Bourke 18 Jun – 6 Jul Adapted by award-winning playwright Leki Jackson-Bourke (Inky Pinky Ponky), the beloved hit movie Red, White and Brass makes its theatrical world premiere. Reprising his star-making film role, John-Paul Foliaki is a Tongan superfan who will do whatever he can to score tickets to see his team play in the Rugby World Cup. Directors Anapela Polata’ivao (Things That Matter) and Kila Kokonut Krew royalty, Vela Manusaute will create a family-friendly feel-good entertainment where everyone gets to experience just how cool it is to be Tongan.   Scenes from the Climate Era by David Finnigan 2 – 24 Aug Scenes from the Climate Era confronts the current and future effects of climate change. This scorching work from Australian playwright David Finnigan is a genre-bending, wide-ranging look at the climate crisis, the biggest story in human history. This show, directed by Keagan Carr Fransch (seven methods of killing kylie jenner) is the first collaboration between Auckland Theatre Company and Silo Theatre, fitting for a collective call to action of the greatest urgency.   Girls & Boys by Dennis Kelly 10 – 28 Sep Girls & Boys brings the West End and Broadway sensation to the ASB Waterfront Theatre stage. A play made famous by Hollywood star Carey Mulligan, this shattering solo drama by Tony-Award winning Dennis Kelly stars Beatriz Romilly (the West End’s 2:22 A Ghost Story, King Lear) as a funny, gutsy, messy woman who falls head over heels for a charismatic man who imports European antiques. This show, directed by Eleanor Bishop, explores the dark shadow on the far side of love – and asks how far we’ll go for it.   Peter Pan by Carl Bland 8 – 28 Oct The boy who never grows up comes flying through the stage in Peter Pan, a collaboration with the magical team at Nightsong (Te Pō, The Worm) and written by Carl Bland adapted from the novel by J. M. Barrie. This fresh twist on the classic story will have all your favourites – Captain Hook, Tinker Bell, and the Lost Children – with the visually spellbinding storytelling that directors Ben Crowder and Carl Bland have captivated the country with.   a mixtape for maladies by Ahi Karunaharan 19 Nov – 7 Dec a mixtape for maladies is a new collaboration of Agaram Productions, Arts Laureate Ahi Karunaharan (Tea, The Mourning After) and director of Basmati Bitch) that sweeps from 1950s Sri Lanka to modern-day Aotearoa. Directed by Jane Yonge (Scenes from a Yellow Peril) this is both a love letter to Sri Lanka and a lament, the story plays out over 17 songs – ranging from Dusty Springfield to La Bamba to the hit single from a Tamil rom-com.

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Reviewed by John Daly-Peoples

St Mathew Passion

Auckland Choral

Auckland Town Hall

October 15

Reviewed by John Daly-Peoples.

The St Mathew Passion  tells the story of the of the last days of Jesus – his betrayal, trial, crucifixion and burial. . The major roles are that of the evangelist Mathew and Jesus. The other individuals and  groups also have parts to play with singers given the various roles of Judas, Peter, a slave girl, hight priests and soldiers.

The work is monumental both in conception as well as in performance with two choirs, six major soloists as well as several minor soloists both singers and players. For the work to be successful it needs a great orchestra, experienced choirs, exceptional soloists and a conductor with an understanding of the work.

With the latest Auckland Choral production all of these elements were present resulting in an outstanding performance.

Central to the production is the role of the evangelist Mathew sung by Iain Tetley who was positioned in the centre of the stage between the chorus and the orchestra. His voice was initially uneven as he struggled to change register. However for the most part his voice which ranged from the soft and fluid to the forceful was able to convey the narrative of the story, giving emphasis to important moments.

Conductor Uve Grodd maintained a from control over Pipers Sinfonia and choirs, deftly directing the orchestral sounds, the intensity of the choirs and finely balancing the levels of the soloists and orchestra.

Providing the musical support for the performance and guiding the threads of the melodies were organists John Wells and Edmond Wong.

David Greco’s purity of voice served him well in his various  portrayals and Andrew Grenon singing the role of Peter as he kept watch with Jesus  showed the singers grasp of the music and later when he denies Jesus three times he was equally able to give a sense of the moment. There was a special moments when  Polly Sussex accompanied  Grenon playing the Viola da gamba her instrument providing a freshness which matched the singers intense voice

Jesus was sung by James Ioelu and his sharp chiselled voice gave a sense of Jesus, the man speaking to the audience.

Sarah Court’s well-modulated voice gave the recitative   “Du lieber Heiland du”, (Beloved Saviour thou) a sense of grief while Soprano Anna Leese was able to express anguish  in her aria “Blute nur, du liebes Herz!” where she gave  urgency to the phrase, “Threatens to murder its guardian”,

The two of them sang the only  duet in the work,  “So ist mein Jesus nun gefangen,” where the oboe and flute wail their lament at the seizing of Jesus and the chorus cries out “Let him go.” The two women delicately shared the melodies before the choir erupted with their response, calling on lightning and thunder with a forceful clipped sound.

Another exceptional sequence was  the concertmaster Alexander Pilchen accompanying Sarah Court as she sang the poignant aria “Erbarme dich,” where she seeks mercy for the world’s sins.

Alexander Pilchen’s playing was a delight. His performance was that of a more urgent contemporary violinist providing a skilful and moving account.

Some of the lesser  roles were sung by members of the choir including  John Mitchell as Judas.

The choirs, Auckland Choral and Cantare Westlake Girls Choir could not be faulted. From their full-throated raging to their gentle pleading they gave the words and emotion a genuine authenticity

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Reviewed by John Daly-Peoples

In The Temple

By Catherine Bagnell and Jane Sayle

Massey University Press

RRP $35.00

Reviewed by John Daly-Peoples

“In The Temple” is a new collaboration between artist Catherine Bagnell and poet L. Jane Sayle which follows on from their previous work “On We Go” published two years ago.

The small pocket-sized book of 26 poems and 21 watercolours is like a breviary or book of the hours, to be referred to for inspiration and reflection. Both the thoughtful  poems and the wistful illustrations have much to offer.

The Temple of the title is no man-made structure but is situated in the natural world, and where poet and artist find solace and tranquillity. It is a place which holds memories and ideas, both transient and enduring. Both the poems and the illustrations are a mix of the observed and the imagined, evoking both the physical and contemplative aspects of encountering the environment.

One of the poems, “The Singing Tree” is something of  an advisory to the reader about the accessibility and understanding of poetry.

Thank you for your poem

I think I understand it

Its just with the watermarks

The old buff paper

Your scrawl

This image of the handwritten poem is given form in “John Weeks” and “Englischer Garten” where watermarks or tears blot some of the words.

The poems range from the haiku-like “Scroll White”

And when I close my eyes

black shagreen

Through to the longer pieces such as  “GPS” describing  actual place and event.

Many of the poetic images Sayle creates have a slight surreal quality as with “In Camellia Time” with the image of “a puppy drowning” oddly matched with Bagnall’s watercolour of a mourning figure that has shed formal gloves while the tears or petals of a camellia float down.

The words and pictures touch each other lightly and there is a sense of the visual and poetic images being in parallel dream worlds where  images and ideas flicker and merge.

In some cases there could be the need for  a footnote and explanation as Sayle says of the lines

I can’t hear myself think  

for the whales 

singing in the harbour

That they are based on comments made by early English settlers to the Wellington area about how noisy the whales in the harbour were, and she wonders whether such an event would ever happen again.

Some of these images exist in a dreamlike world while others are rooted in real, natural places such Paradise Valley or the Makara coast but once there the reader is deftly transported past glimpses of exotic locations such as Florence or Nablus.

Catherine Bagnell’s watercolours are a cross between a nineteenth century children’s book and a set of symbolist, colour experiments where figures flit through wooded places .These figures include humans, rabbits and black birds, all suggesting loss, remembrance and discovery.

Jane Sayle says of the title poem , that it “ honours the act of sacred daydreaming in specially consecrated feminine places. And these places are to be found everywhere: special clearings in a forest or where a stream runs out of the bush, a stone ruin from antiquity or a home that suddenly shines when everyone else has gone out, a bay at dusk. And, crucially, this work is not to be interrupted.”

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Review by John Daly-Peoples

Gordon Walters by Francis Pound

With a Foreword and Afterword by Dr Leonard Bell

Auckland University Press

RRP $89.99

Reviewed by John Daly-Peoples

A new book by Francis Pound on the abstract artist Gordon Walters (1919–1995) provides insights into the career of this remarkable artists as well as giving  the reader  an understanding of the development of abstract art in New Zealand

The book traces the development of the artist’s work from his early experimental works up to his 1966 exhibition at New Vision Gallery which is considered to be a significant point both in the artist’s career as well as the public’s  awareness of his work. 

Not only do we get to understand the ways in which Walters developed his vision and his art, we also get to understand something of the development of abstract art both within New Zealand and internationally.

Pound quotes Walters commenting on his own career, “Essentials of my work have not changed much. It has been largely a matter of developing insights into painting and a struggle to free myself form nature; that is working form nature. Essential character of my work has just become clearer as I have continued, but not without such struggle, false starts and wring directions”.

Walters more than any other artist in New Zealand was aware of and responded to intentional art movements including  post war American art. Colin McCahon who also encountered American abstract art did not use it in the way Walters did. Walters incorporated the ideas and stylistic features in a way which indicates a deep understanding of these overseas movements.

Pound meticulously follows the life and career of Walters with detail and understanding so that we understand both the creative genius of the artist but also the way he absorbed and adapted the work of others. The influences on the artist were wide-ranging from Picasso, Klee and Mondrian to Māori cave art and the unusual art of the Rolfe Hattaway He was also aware of the work of  Sophia Taeuber-Arp, Auguste Herbin, Giuseppe Capogrossi, and Americans such as Frank Stella.

Pound examines many areas of abstraction with an emphasis on the the Koru paintings but as well as this major series he also deals with what he terms the Vertical or Horizontal Men, the Spirals, the Bars and Balls, the Wandering Rectangles and the Diagonals. With all these series of works  the author takes an almost forensic approach in discovering and outlining the artist’s inspirations, visions and stylistic approaches.

The Rauponga series he produced were inspired  by his  interest  kōwhaiwhai patterns as well as Māori rock drawings which he documented along with Theo Schoon.

The book is a one of great scholarship with detailed information on the artist, a wealth of notes and references along with copious photographs of the artist’s work. It is also a book which reads like a biography and we get to understand the artist in much the same way that Pound, who devoted many years studying the artist’s work grew to understand the artist.

This  book and others such as the recently published  two volume work on Colin McCahon by Peter Simpson show there is a great interest in the development of contemporary New Zealand art.

Over the last forty years Pound has had a major impact on thinking about New Zealand art history having produced books which have helped change our perspectives on both historical  and contemporary art. These have included  Frames on the Land: Early Landscape Painting in New Zealand (1983), The Space Between: Pakeha Use of Māori Motifs in Modernist New Zealand Art (1994) and The Invention of New Zealand: Art & National Identity, 1930–1970 (2009).

Dr Francis Pound (1948–2017) was a New Zealand art historian, curator and writer. He taught for some years in the art history department of the University of Auckland before becoming an independent art curator and writer. His books include Frames on the Land: Early Landscape Painting in New Zealand (Collins, 1983), The Space Between: Pakeha Use of Maori Motifs in Modernist New Zealand Art (Workshop Press, 1994), Stories We Tell Ourselves: The Paintings of Richard Killeen (Auckland Art Gallery and David Bateman, 1999), Walters: En Abyme (Gus Fisher Gallery, 2004) and The Invention of New Zealand: Art & National Identity, 1930–1970 (Auckland University Press, 2009).

 Leonard Bell is an independent art and cultural historian based in Auckland. Among other works, he is author of Colonial Constructs: European Images of Maori 1840–1914 (1992), Marti Friedlander (2009), Strangers Arrive: Emigrés and the Arts in New Zealand, 1930–1980 (2017) and Marti Friedlander: Portraits of the Artists (2020), all published by Auckland University Press.

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Reviewed by John Daly-Peoples

Rewi

Āta haere, kia tere

Jade Kake and Jeremy Hansen

Massey University Press

RRP $75.00

Reviewed by John Daly-Peoples

Rewi: Āta haere, kia tere is a major book exploring the work  of the late architect Rewi Thompson (Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Raukawa) who was  a groundbreaking designer and visionary  thinker. It brings together a range of his projects, from conceptual work  to innovative houses such as his own house and one which was designed for the German artist Katharina Grosse,

His public projects include Wellington’s City to Sea Bridge, Puukenga School of and  Māori Studies at Unitec in Auckland. He was also involved in a proposal for the new Te Papa Museum in Wellington with Calder, Fowler Athfield Architects and Frank Gehry. This was half a dozen years before Gehry’s Guggenheim  Bilbao. This was one of the great unrealised New Zealand architectural  projects which would have given the country a truly iconic building.

His involvement with projects such as the Mason Clinic the Ngawha Correction facility and the Kaitaia Hospital saw him become influence on the design of prisons and mental health institutions.

He had a wide range of projects including an involvement with the “Future Islands” exhibition where New Zealand exhibited work at the Venice Architectural Biennale in 2016 which consisted of several dozen models of important New Zealand houses, all floating on clouds.

He originally trained as an engineer at Wellington Polytechnic and, for a short time, worked as a structural draughtsperson at Structon Group before to studying architecture at the University of Auckland. This combination of engineer and architect gave him both a pragmatic and creative approach to his work.

He established his own practice in 1983 and over the years worked with many other important New Zealand and international architects.

While he often dismissed the idea of Māori contemporary architecture and himself as a Māori architect many of his works are based on Māori concepts of design,  inclusion  and development. The subtitle of book Āta haere, kia tere  roughly translates as  “go slow go fast”, the idea of thinking thoroughly through a design issue before embarking on the actual design. It was concept which applies to Thompson’s way of working whereby he sought to understand the needs of the client, the challenges of the site  and the aims of the projects, fully before producing his designs.

His own house which has only recently been saved from destruction  has a ziggurat form which references the Māori poutama (stairway to heaven) tukutuku pattern as well as well as referencing the ideas of geometric abstraction.

Through his connections to Ngāti Porou and Ngāti Raukawa  fundamentally concerned with land and people, and conviction that architecture could return identity and well-being to people suffering from cultural estrangement.

The 455-page book is filled with images of his buildings which include many of his sketches which provide an understanding of his thoughts and spatial concerns.

The authors have  also included a Creative Process section which features dozens of his drawing not necessarily linked to any particular project but they give a sense of the man who thought visually and spatially.

The book includes many of his own writings as well as a number on extensive interviews with people who knew him and worked with him all if which help expand an understanding of the way he thought and worked.

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Rewi’s  bright pink signature on the cover of the book is a reference to a project he undertook as a mature first year architectural student  with his  bach on an exposed bush-clad site. All the other students had tried to integrate their designs into the bush but Rewi painted his bright pink which was both an indication of his innovative approach to architecture as well as a more subtle understanding of the way architecture sits on the landscape.

Reviewed by John Daly-Peoples

Auckland Theatre Company

Switzerland by Joanna Murray-Smith

ASB Waterfront Theatre

Until October 7

Reviewed by John Daly-Peoples

Patricia Highsmith is one of the few twentieth century crime writers whose work has transcended the genre, creating a body of work which deals with the complex mind of the murderer /  psychopath. With many of her Ripley  books, unlike most crime writers she creates a seemingly mundane environment with only a hint of suspense into which she inserts sudden moments of terror as Tom Ripley shows his true self.

With Tom Ripley she created a character who was both intelligent and unpleasant suave and self-conscious. He is the arch manipulator who spends most of his time creating the environment for his crime.

In her play “Switzerland” Joanna Murray-Smith has a young publishing executive from New York visit the writer in her modernist alpine hideaway. He has come to persuade her to write a sixth novel featuring her iconic anti-hero – an idea she is opposed to and has previously rejected.

Highsmith takes an instant dislike to Edward and their conversations become a duel of wits as she and Edward do a complex  literary dance around her lounge / study.

She allows Edward  to stay the night on the condition that he invents the means of murder for a storyline featuring Ripley which the two of them have developed.

They traverse many topics related to publishing, the creation of character,  the nature of crime fiction and the impetus to write. We get a portrait of the writer set within with a Highsmith story line.

We get a sense that there is more to Highsmith’s rejection of the idea of bringing to life her Tom Ripley just as there is more to Edward’s doggedness in convincing her of the need to give the character a new outing.

Sarah Pierse’s Highsmith is brilliantly acerbic, her witty ripostes recalling  Oscar Wilde- “I’m not ignorant, I’m just mean” “I can tell you have an inquiring mind but an inert imagination” – and she has opinion on a range of people and issues – Kurt  Vonnegut, Tom  Wolfe and Francis Bacon. She shows her unpleasant nature when she expresses her dislike of victims an admiration for  murderers. She becomes animated when she discovers that Edward has had a violent and unhappy childhood.

Jarred Blakiston’s Edward is intelligent and unpleasant, suave and self-conscious, slowly revealing complex dimensions to the character. He also introduces a couple of disturbing he alluding  to Highsmith previously threatening one of her publishers with a knife and Edward wonders whether the author has entered his bedroom.

Murray-Smith has created brilliant Highsmithian dialogue, director Sarah Goode a suspenseful atmosphere and Miichael Scott-Mitchell a perfect interior set.

Switzerland is a slow burner thriller with excellent casting, superb twists and turns of plot and a riveting dialogue.

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ÉMILIE
By Sophie Lindsay

Writer, Composer, Director: Sophie Lindsay
Music Director: Peau Halapua
Set, Costume and Props Design: Nati Pereira
Lighting: D. Andrew Potvin
Technical: Sam Mence (CASTL)
Graphic Designers: Gustavo Garcia

With: Beth Alexander, Justin Rogers, Bronwyn Ensor, Clementine Mills

Music: Peau Halapua (violin), Sarah Spence (cello) and Sophie Lindsay (pre-recorded piano)

Q Theatre Loft

Until 23 September

Reviewed by Malcolm Calder

It’s tough making one’s way in Aotearoa’s creative sector.  Especially so in Covid times where ill-timed lockdowns, stay-at-home audiences and shrinking budgets have all made life rather perilous. 

As a result the Covid years have seen many projects created in near-isolation or in small-group contexts.  Many have been the work of early-career creatives, the majority are subjective and some even highly personal.  Perhaps understandably their predominating world-view and potential audience has been a small one. I have seen many and my sense of ennui has grown accordingly.

So when a Covid-period piece that is intelligent, mature and authentic pops up reeking of class it is to be prized.  And when it does so with vigour and a multi-textured vitality that deftly touches actual events and real people, it is like a breath of fresh air.

Émilie is one of those shows. 

Sophie Lindsay tells an 18^th century tale of love and ambition between two people.  Philosopher-poet Voltaire, scion of the Age of Enlightenment, falls for Émilie du Châtelet – wife, mother, mathematician, scientist, essayist and translator.  And she for him.

Set in the realm of the French lesser nobility – its customs, attitudes, dress and social mannerisms are all well realised in what is a fairly simple staging – Émilie and Voltaire rapidly develop an interdependence, a mutual appreciation and yet an insistence on pursuing the outcomes of their own minds.   For this is a love story.  And, far more than a mere infatuation, this love story runs the gamut of both their emotional and their rational minds.  It embraces disagreement, sarcasm, encouragement, some very funny moments and an appreciation of beauty.  It is built on mutual support, encouragement and intellectual rapport.  It is moving.

Beth Alexander plays Émilie with an assured authority that allows us to see the occasional scraps of Émilie’s fragility sneaking in occasionally.  But ultimately she is driven by her own knowledge and sense of self – something uncommon in 18^th century France.  Not for one second does she doubt her own capabilities though.  Nor her love for Voltaire.  Both intellectually and emotionally she is a polymath

Justin Rogers (Voltaire) is portrayed as a slightly less multi-dimensional, but perhaps Sophie Lindsay felt her audience already knows him pretty well and focussed on some of his specific personality traits and their outcomes.  Nonetheless I left the theatre never doubting his partnership with Émilie. I felt I had been enlightened about his inner self and truly felt his heart break at her death.

They are superbly supported by two salonnières who double as ladies-in-waiting (Bronwyn Ensor, Clementine Mills).  Each is clearly established, their differences acknowledged and the subtlety of their contrapuntal comedy works very well indeed.

Supporting everyone is the incidental onstage music also written by her Sophie Lindsay.  Peau Halapua’s violin coupled with Sarah Spence’s cello (and some prerecorded piano by Lindsay herself) is something we rarely see in this country. It echoes and reflects, while the simple, haunting Émilie’s Theme remains with me as I write.

Nati Pereira’s set for this production of Émilie is simple and quite appropriately suggests rather than states.  Likewise her costuming is simple, effective and the changes are both subtle and apt.  I didn’t know how much one could achieve with a French Fan.

Émilie is very definitely a breath of fresh air.  It may have also revealed a playwright who will go far.

I understand that this production is partly funded through Boosted and has not reached its target at the time of writing.  Support for shows like Émilie is precisely what the Boosted scheme is all about.