Category: Reviews, News and Commentary

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Reviews, News and Commentary

N. Z. Opera’s La Boheme

Reviewed by John Daly-Peoples

La Boheme, The student garret / studio (Act I & IV) Image. Andi Crown

La Boheme

Composer Giacomo Puccini

Librettists Luigi Illica, Guiseppe Giacosa

N Z Opera

Kiri te Kanawa Theatre

Until June 6

Then

Wellington 18 – 22 June

Christchurch 2 – 6 July

Reviewed by John Daly-Peoples

There are no gods or fairies in La Boheme. There are no heroic figures in La Boheme. There are no evil or deeply flawed characters in La Boheme and there are no complicated plots or byzantine machinations in La Boheme.

All the characters we encounter are young and ordinary, all making their first steps into adulthood, living in a bohemian environment, full of possibilities.

This ordinariness is in contrast to many other great operas where characters face great moral dilemmas, battle tyrants or life’s injustices. This is one of the few great operas where we see characters on stage who we can recognize as very much like ourselves – or twenty year old versions of ourselves.

Four of the very ordinary characters live in a very ordinary student flat and the opera opens with Rodolfo, a writer and his artist friend Marcello struggling to create masterpieces while they battle the freezing temperature by burning one of Rodolfo’s plays to keep warm. Colline, a philosopher, and Schaunard enter with food and drink but instead of paying the rent they decide to celebrate Christmas at the Café Momus, where they encounter  Marcello’s girlfriend, Musetta who is with her sugar daddy Alcindora.

At the same time Rodolfo meets the frail seamstress Mimi, and they fall in love. But their tender romance is doomed, for Mimi is ill with consumption, and Rodolfo is too poor to help her. Through the opera they also have to confront the other aspects of life and love -jealousy, guilt and despair which comes with that love. As a contrast is Musetta whose love has a wider focus given to Marcello, Alcindora as well as others.

Ji-Min Park (Rodolfo) and Elena Perroni (Mimi) Image. Andi Crown

The slowly dying Mimi (Elena Perroni) who all but whispers in many of her arias gives memorable performances. While she presents a gentle voice often almost whispering while at other times she was able to sustain an expressive intensity as with her “Donde Lieta Usci”aria

Rodolfo and Mimi have a purity of soul which seems to bond them despite their Act 3 questioning of their relationship and this is reflected in their voices. Ji-Min Park (Rodolfo) is able to express an urgency with his rich voice while both Elena Perroni’s voice and demeanor coveys a sensitivity and frailty.

Rodolfo’s three friends  also contribute  some lively singing with their first act witty dialogue and humorous interchange with the landlord Benoit. Marcello  provides some brilliant duos with Mimi and Musetta, notably the third and fourth acts while the philosopher Colline ( Hadleigh Adams) provides an additional concept of love with his aria dwelling on his much-loved coat.

The musician Schaunard (Benson Wilson) contributes slightly to the singing in the opera but his main purpose seems is to always have some money and always has food or wine available as the hedonist of the group and a contrast to Rodolfo.

Emma Pearson (Musetta) Image. Andi Crown

The setting has been changed for Mid nineteenth century to Paris in in 1947 and the bohemian nature of the artist’s lives in seen ibn some huge paintings like those of Pierre Soulages in the studio / garret. The post war date also means the costume designer (Gabrielle  Dalton) have been able to give the Musetta and Mimi some contemporary fashion with Musetta being attired in some stylish Dior inspired outfits.

The simplicity and honesty of La Boheme  has meant it is always accessible with a story which is clear, immediate and romantic and universal. Director Bruno Ravella and Conductor Brad Cohen have ensured that the story and  the characters are brought to life with sensitivity, authenticity and joie de vivre.

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Mark Adams: Photographs across time and cultures

Reviewed by John Daly-Peoples

Mark Adams A survey — He kohinga whakaahua

Mark Adams and Sarah Farrar

Massey University Press

80.00

Mark Adams: A Survey | He Kohinga Whakaahua

Auckland Art Gallery

Until August 17

Reviewed by John Daly-Peoples

The current exhibition “Mark Adams: A Survey | He Kohinga Whakaahua” is the artists first comprehensive exhibition of his work and features more than 65 works spanning his 50-years as a photographer. documenting the land, the people and its history. These photographs are of places across the Pacific, the United Kingdom and Europe.

Much of his practice documenting sites of significance across the country, include places where Captain James Cook and his crew came ashore on their visits in 1769 and the 1770s, as well as locations where Te Tiriti o Waitangi was signed in 1840.

Over the decades, Adams has sustained a deep and ongoing engagement with subjects of interest. He has photographed whakairo Māori (Māori carving) both here and overseas and the work of, Samoan master tattoo artists, Māori–Pākehā interactions in Rotorua, carved meeting houses, locations of significance for Ngāi Tahu in Te Waipounamu and  the place of museums and photography in the area of cross-cultural exchange.


It includes photographs taken across the Pacific, the United Kingdom and Europe that explore the migration of artistic and cultural practices across the globe, and examine the role of museums, and photography itself, in the ongoing area of cross-cultural exchange.

The various sections of the book show Adams’ range of work from his early works, his focus on Rotorua, tatau, Treaty Signing Sites, Museums, Cooks Sites Māori meeting house in overseas locations, Te Waipounamu and his more recent interest in Photograms.

Several of his multi-image work are fascinating in their scope and production but the book does not do them credit, even when spread across several pages. With these works the exhibition at the Auckland Art Gallery make an impression in some cases filling an entire wall of the gallery. “0 degrees” is such  a work, a  panoramic 360-degree set of images taken at Greenwich Park which includes the Royal Observatory, the home of Greenwich Mean Time and Prime Meridian.

Other works on a grand scale  include  his “Nine Fathoms Passage”, the photographers view replicating William Hodges view of Dusky Sound, and his panorama of the  meeting house, Hinemihi in the grounds of Clandon Park in Surrey, England as well as the magnificent meeting house Rauru in the Museum am Rothenbaum in Hamburg.

Mark Adams, 13.11.2000. Hinemihi. Clandon Park. Surrey. England. Ngā tohunga whakairo: Wero Tāroi, Tene Waitere, 2000, colour inkjet prints, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, gift of the Patrons of the Auckland Art Gallery, 2014.

Author of the book Sarah Farrar says “You could say that, in many respects, Mark has been ahead of his time as a Pākehā and Palagi artist. But what does that really mean — to be ‘early’ or ‘ahead of one’s time’? It’s all relative and I’m sure many people would view a respectful approach to tangata whenua and tangata o le moana as seriously overdue.”

Adams’ photographs are of exceptional quality and intriguing in their distinctive approach to subject matter. The viewer is challenged to interpret , question and reflect on them. One commentator, Damian Skinner has noted that Adams photographs “offer no resolution, only problems. They patiently track the material traces of various forces that coalesce in specific sites”.

Mark Adams, 19.05.1989. Te Ana o Hineraki. Moa Bone Point Cave. Redcliffs. Ōtautahi Christchurch. Te Waipounamu South Island, 1989, gold-toned silver bromide fibre-based prints, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, gift of the Patrons of the Auckland Art Gallery, 2014.

Generally, with photographs of important sites the photographer is essentially saying – “I was here – this is how it looks”. However, with many of Mark Adams photographs of historical sites, the land seems of little interest, often devoid of figures. With these the photographer seems to be saying “this is how it looked”. The photographs require the viewer to transport themselves back to that place but in another time.

Sarrah Farrar notes “His photographs of museums and art galleries remind me of the artifice and stagecraft that we are actively involved in as curators and museum professionals. Every decision we make communicates something to audiences. We construct meaning through the selection of objects (even those that are absent), their placement and their interpretation. Mark’s photographs remind me of the power dynamics and knowledge systems that are inscribed in museum, library and art gallery experiences — even embedded into the design of the buildings themselves. A great example of this is Mark’s panorama of the science-fiction-like modernist design of Berlin’s Staatsbibliothek, which feels so at odds with the fact that it’s the home of the journals of Georg Forster, the naturalist who travelled with James Cook on his second voyage.”

Mark Adams, 1988. Hori Korei. George Grey monument. Albert Park. Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, 1988, silver bromide print, courtesy of the artist.

The book is a stylish, superbly-designed production with over 200 images, mainly black and white. It features  an excellent text by Sarah Farrar as well as a forward by Ngahuia te Awekotuku and afterword by Nichlos Thomas

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The Play That Goes Wrong: skillfully executed chaos

Reviewed by Malcolm Calder

The Mischief Theatre Production of 
THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG  

By Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer and Henry Shields

GMG Productions & Stoddart Entertainment Group
Associate director – Anna Marshall
Resident director – Nick Purdie
With Olivia Charalambous, Edmund Eramiha, Tom Hayward, Stephanie Astrid John, Joe Kosky, Jonathan Martin, Jack Buchanan, Anthony Craig and Kira Josephson

ASB Waterfront Theatre, Auckland

Until 1 June

Reviewer Malcolm Calder

The crew were frantically seeking a missing dog called Winston (I thought that was pretty funny from the outset), couldn’t find a missing CD, contending with a tricky door that wouldn’t latch, dealing with a floorboard that seemed have a mind of its own and contending with a mantlepiece wouldn’t mantle.  All this before the show had even started.

Their crew’s efforts were entirely unsuccessful of course and the litany of woes continued once things got underway.  But the teddibly English lads and lasses of the fictitious Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society struggled on in their efforts to ensure their eminently forgettable murder-mystery actually took place, with nowhere near understanding their own characters or, it seemed at times, even the plot.  Not to mention a set that seemed intent on total disintegration.  Their efforts certainly did go wrong and they eventually staggered to a dis-assembled conclusion.

However that’s not what The Play That Went Wrong is all about.  Rather, it uses the context of an amateur theatre production to very quickly hit the spot demonstrating both subtle and in-your-face comic writing, exquisite nuance and a mature command of the farce-wrapped-in-slapstick idiom whilst totally demolishing the fourth wall.

Lewis, Sayer and Shields, formed Mischief Theatre in 2008 and created The Play That Went Wrong while still studying at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.  Originally titled The Murder Before Christmas, their production opened initially on the Edinburgh Fringe, enjoyed enormous success, moved to a pub on London and then quickly transferred to the West End.  It has been winning accolades around the world ever sinceand has even spawned a range of not unrelated television spinoffs.

This cast is very much an ensemble.  In performance they consummately demonstrate a broad-ranging set of physical theatre skills, demonstrate the importance of timing in making these work and do pretty well in convincing the audience that this is a collection of loosely-linked, impromptu standup snatches despite being a meticulously scripted work.

On Oening Night in Auckland I noticed a couple of rather precious looking luvvies in deep discussion during interval but they appeared to have missed the point entirely.   Deep, thought-provoking, question-raising theatre this is not.  Technique – yes!  But, rather, if set in the context of a funeral parlour, not dissimilar gags, techniques and characters these writers could probably transmogrify it quite readily into The Funeral That Goes Wrong.

After any number of productions that occasionally take themselves a little too seriously, we seem to be on something of a comedy roll of late.  Down at the water-side anyway.  The Play That Goes Wrong is the second bout of hilarity in a row with another soon to follow.

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Peter Cleverly: The artist revealed

Reviewed by John Daly-Peoples

Peter Cleverly: Between Transience and Eternity

Alistair Fox

Quentin Wilson Publishing

RRP $60

Reviewed by  John Daly-Peoples

Peter Cleverly has rarely shown his work in Auckland galleries apart from a few times the early 1990’s, so for many his work is unknown apart from images in publications.

However, a new book, “Peter Cleverly: Between Transience and Eternity” by Alistair Fox will correct this.

The heavily illustrated book traces the artists career from the 1980’s to the present with images of his work across more than four decades.

These four decades of art practice have seen him developing a personal style partly influenced by other New Zealand artists as well as his personal, response to his environment –  physical, social and political.

His early work was predominantly figurative but from the 1990’s these were replaced with landscapes, often with texts and then. more recently the  inclusion of figurative elements again.

His work, particularly early on was influenced in different ways by Toss Woollaston, and McCahon.

McCahon probably influenced his palette and his use of text but he may have also gained an understanding of McCahon’s approach. Unlike many artists influenced by McCahon he referenced A C Cotton’s book “Geomorphology” which was a prime source for both artists and Cleverly uses Cottons illustrations and shapes. He also used objects such as the pitcher as symbols in his work.

Other influences include New Zealand artists Bill Sutton and Tony Fomison while the importance of several international artists  such as George Baselitz, Mimmo Paladino and David Salle and appears to  have adapted their thinking about art.

His early landscapes owe much to McCahon shapes in “Six Days in Nelson and Canterbury while interiors such as “Still life kitchen Oamaru” are Post Impressionist distilled though Woollaston.

Peter Cleverly, All twenty-nine

His figurative work often dwells on mortality and death. “All Twenty-nine” his response to the death of 29 miners at Pike River. Here and in many other works the artist has a personal and visceral approach to his subject.

This is also seen in “Couriers” featuring two distorted hanging figures – is reaction to the incarceration of drug couriers Lorraine and Aaron Cohen. Often his figures are something  between flayed corpses and angels.

Peter Cleverly, Seadog

Cleverly has developed his own distinctive iconography including a dog shape/face which serves a range of emotional and symbolic purposes as in “Seadog”. 

The book is a very readable account of the artists varied life which has had an impact on the way he sees the world and the influences on his practice as well as an understanding of the artists thoughts and motivations.

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Auckland Philharmonia’s “Tchaikovsky 5”

Reviewed by John Daly-Peoples

Alexander Gavrylyuk Image Adrian Malloch

Tchaikovsky 5

Auckland Philharmonia

Auckland Town Hall

April 15

Reviewed by John Daly-Peoples

First up on the Auckland Philharmonia’s “Tchaikovsky 5” programme was Kenneth Young’s “Douce Tristesse”, a work composed in 2012 in response to the composer’s final visit to the  long-time family holiday spot near Tauranga.

Strings and woodwind opened the work with a description of landscape, with swathes of colour conveying the changing light and textures of the land, sea and sky.

These vignettes were studded with musical highlights deftly conveyed by the small group of percussion instruments – cymbals, glockenspiel, crotales and harp suggesting the sparkles of light on water, the movement of clouds and the chirping of birdlife.

The work manages to suggest panoramic images from dawn to dusk suggesting the romanticism of the idyllic as well as a nostalgia for lost times and memories.

The composer says that the title ‘Douce Tristesse’ means ‘ sweer sadness and that the piece is about looking at a familiar scene for the last time, a view never to be seen again.

Prokofiev’s third Piano Concerto was written in 1921 during a period of self-imposed exile from Russia and a period when he did not feel oppressed by war or demands on his time and seems to have  more leisurely ambience . The work was first performed in Chicago with the composer playing. The audience and press raved over the music with The Chicago Daily Herald calling it the “the most beautiful modern concerto for piano,”

It opens with the sounds of a clarinet and strings playing a floating melody emblematic of his own more relaxed life. This led quickly to pianist Alexander Gavrylyuk racing into the first movement of the work with fiery sounds from both orchestra and  pianist who played as  though the piano were a percussion instrument

Hunched over the piano his playing was by turns delicate and ferocious as he grappled with the various sequences. There were times when his sounds were languid and romantic and other times when he took a delicate almost spiderly  approach to his playing.

In the second movement he turned the slow dance-like opening into a cacophony of jarring sounds and the intense finale of the third movement saw him in studious concentration.

He displayed a mastery of stylish playing, able to ignite the orchestra with his passion and drive.

His playing technique – changing tempos, charging through themes and varying the tonal qualities added to the excitement of the playing and appeared to enliven conductor Shiyeon Sung well as the orchestra.

Shiyeon Sung Image Adrian Malloch

The major work on the programme was Tchaikovsky’s “Symphony No 5” which saw Shiyeon Sung and the APO deliver one of their outstanding performances. The work is full of sensuous melodies, intense emotions and dramatic climaxes which make it one of the composers more invigorating works.

Some of the sequences are monumental with music similar to his 1812 Overture while there were traces of his ballet music in others.

Sung deftly, guided the orchestra, building musical images, of landscapes, seasons and events creating a world of sensation and emotions.

There were joyous  moments throughout the work but these were set against contemplative sections with the composer finding redemption in the grandeur of the work.

From the anguish of the first movement through the graceful mid-section and onto the final tumultuous fourth movement the orchestra provided a rich and satisfying performance.

While the orchestra was expertly conducted and the players superbly coordinated there were some stand-out performances by the bassoons, flutes, clarinets and French horns.

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Mozart’s Jupiter: Musical foothills and a mighty mountain

Reviewed by Peter Simpson

Genevieve Lacey Photo. Pia Johnson

Mozart’s Jupiter

Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra

Auckland Town Hall

May 1

Reviewed by Peter Simpson

Thursday’s Mayday concert by the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra consisted of some pleasant foothills leading to a mighty mountain. The foothills were all acts of homage by different composers to a major predecessor: Tchaikovsky honouring Mozart; Australian composer Elena Kats-Cherwin (born 1957) honouring Bach, and British composer George Benjamin (born 1960) honouring Purcell. The mighty mountain was Mozart’s sublime ‘Jupiter Symphony’, No. 41.

The conductor, Leo Hussain (born 1978), is British and is currently Principal Guest Conductor of the George Enescu Philharmonic in Bucharest; he also worked with Simon Rattle at the Berlin Philharmonic and is probably He is best known as a conductor of opera. In Auckland he began the concert informally with a brief verbal introduction emphasising the linking theme of homage and describing the Mozart symphony as the summation not only of Mozart’s career but of the whole Classical period in music. His control of the orchestra was impeccable throughout and the whole concert was warmly received.

Tchaikovsky’s ‘Mozartiana’, dating from 1887, orchestrated what the composer called ‘gems of musical art, unpretentious in form, but containing incomparable beauties’. The first three movements are tasty miniatures; the final movement, a set of variations, based on Mozart after a theme by Gluck, is more extensive and includes some effects a million miles from Mozart; the variations fully explore the large orchestra’s resources, one being entirely for strings, another entirely for woodwind, and including solo turns by clarinet, flute, violin and glockenspiel. The performance was spirited.

Elena Kats-Chernin describes her six-part work as ‘Re-inventions (after Bach)’; they are based on some of the great composer’s inventions for keyboard. Scored for small string orchestra and solo recorders the performance featured entertaining solos on four different recorders (discount, tenor, bass, sopranino) by Australian virtuoso Genevieve Lacey who impressed the audience (especially in her bird-song imitation encore) with her skill and vivacity.

Composer George Benjamin was a pupil of Messiaen; his ‘Three Consorts’ responds particularly to the ‘mesmerising intersection of line and harmony’ in Henry Purcell’s 1680 Fantasias. The middle piece was especially sonorous and pleasing.

Mozart’s Jupiter symphony is an astonishing work which the composer himself probably never heard performed; it certainly owes its name to somebody else. One scholar described it as ‘the greatest orchestral work of the world which preceded the French Revolution’ and the APO played the work as if they agreed with that dizzy estimation. The way the symphony combines both clarity and complexity, especially in the last movement, was apparent throughout the orchestra’s sparkling rendition. Glorious music!

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Murder on the Orient Express: Unadulterated Entertainment

Reviewed by Malcolm Calder

Cameron Rhodes (Hercule Poirot), Edwin Wright (M Bouc) Photo Andi Crown

Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express

Adapted for the stage by Ken Ludwig

Auckland Theatre Company

Dir: Shane Bosher

Set: John Verryt

Lighting: Sean Lynch

Costumes: Elizabeth Whiting

Composition and Sound: Paul McLaney

Motion: Harley Campbell

Dialect: Kirstie O’Sullivan

Intimacy: Todd Emerson

Engine Room Assistant Director: Nī Dekkers-Reihana

With Bronwen Ensor (Greta Ohlsson), Sophie Henderson (Countess Andreyi), Jennifer Ludlam (Princess Dragomiroff), Mayen Mehta (Hector McQueen), Ryan O’Kane Col Arbuthnot/Samuel Ratchett), Mirabai Pease (Mary Debenham), Cameron Rhodes (Hercule Poirot), Jordan Selwyn (Michael/Head Waiter), Rima Te Wiata (Helen Hubbard), Edwin Wright (Monsieur Bouc)

ASB Waterfront Theatre

Until 10 May

Reviewer Malcolm Calder

Photo: Andi Crown

I’ve had a busy time of it lately.  What with school holidays, two successive long weekends and a seemingly endless round of rather long and demanding days, I had half a mind to settle for a quiet glass of red, a good book and an early bedtime blithely avoiding any additional responsibilities that might involve going out to the theatre. Had to rush to make the 7pm start too!

Thank goodness I didn’t.

With this re-vamp of the original classic, Director Shane Bosher has turned in a blinder for Auckland Theatre Company and come up with something that is pure, unadulterated entertainment. 

Adaptor Ken Ludwig’s cull of the original murder mystery, after having been approached by Agatha Christie’s grandson for the Christie Estate, was first performed in 2017.  So if you are a Christie devotee looking for a simply stage-adaptation of her original go no further.

Ludwig adamantly insists that he is a writer of plays and not simply a ‘murder-mystery guy’.  As a result he has redrawn, reduced and compacted the number of characters, enhanced the comedy and come up with a tightly-scripted and genuine ensemble piece that adds to the already enormous output that has made him arguably the most produced playwright of his generation.

It is sometimes suggested that more serious undertones may have underpinned aspects of Christie’s original but few are evident here.  Bosher may have drawn some slight allusions to contemporary geo-political issues that underpin the entire structure but this may or may not be the case.  What he has done however, is generate something that entertains big time. 

The result is an actor’s piece to die for.  And this cast do more than just deliver.   Just as Auckland Theatre Company, CEO Jonathan Bielski has urged audiences to avoid spoilers about resolution of the murder, mystery and mayhem of the play itself, it would be churlish to single out any one cast member.  The entire cast is let loose, projecting archetypes rather than convincing portrayals of real people.  Each character is distinct, their backgrounds are as varied as their accents and the ensemble functions as a singular unit predominantly by using that essence of great comedy – precision timing and the credibility of relationships between them.

ATC is to be congratulated too on once again continuing to develop pathways for increasing numbers of younger actors and production people who we are seeing as first-time performers with ATC.

This is a consummate, professional ensemble and even a tiny glitch with a prop on opening night was more than successfully ad-libbed around, the comedy was sustained and the professionalism acknowledged by an audience who got it.

I am advised that ticket sales for MOTORE are already strong and ATC is to be congratulated on both the production itself and for hopefully hitting a jackpot.

The 7pm start time may have been a bit of a scramble but it had the bonus of my being home and abed well before 10pm.  No book though – my head was still laughing inside itself.

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The Art of Banksy coming to Auckland

John Daly-Peoples

Girl With Balloon
The Art of Banksy – the major exhibition which has brought Banksy’s era defining works to over 1.5 million visitors in 19 cities across the globe will visit Auckland for a final and strictly limited New Zealand season. The exhibition will be hosted at Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland’s Aotea Centre (Hunua Rooms) from Monday 7 July through Sunday 3 August 2025.

The Art of Banksy is the world’s largest collection of original and authenticated Banksy art showcasing more than 150 pieces including prints, canvases and unique works. The collection wowed thousands of Wellingtonians in 2024 and now it’s Auckland’s turn.

Michel Boersma, curator and producer of the exhibition says: “Following a hugely successful 19 city global tour and 2 years in London, UK, we’re very excited to bring this larger-than-ever collection to Auckland, bigger and better! The last 9 years we have been working with collectors in expanding the collection which we are able to display, from 70 in Auckland in 2018 to over 150 authenticated and genuine works, no replicas – the real deal. I am particularly proud that trusted associates of Banksy, for example Ben Eine, have been willing to contribute to the exhibit with their privately held works, gifts and hand drawn sketches and video testimonials. This way The Art of Banksy is able to lift the veil on how some of the iconic Banksy works were created and reveals some of the secret stunts they got up to.” 

Daniel Clarke, Tātaki Auckland Unlimited Director of Performing Arts, leading Auckland Live adds: “We’re delighted to be working with GTP Exhibitions to bring The Art of Banksy to Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland. As one of the world’s most successful contemporary artists Banksy’s work consistently captures the public’s attention and imagination – over a million people worldwide have seen the exhibition – so to have this number of works on show is a hugely exciting addition to our winter events season.”

Visitors at The Art of Banksy can expect to see the seminal artworks that brought the infamously anonymous artist international notoriety such as Girl With Balloon in four different colour variations, including the rare Gold Edition. Banksy fans can also see unique personalised gift prints created for friends, associates and lovers. The exhibition also focuses on Banksy’s Dismaland and recent artworks acknowledging the ongoing war in Ukraine.


Many of Banksy’s iconic works are also featured in the exhibition including a very rare collection of ‘thank you prints which Banksy created as gifts to staff and team members who worked with him at Dismaland and other Banksy stunts. The exhibition also features a series of unique hand drawn sketches by Banksy. The fragile pieces of paper are one-of-a-kind depicting Banksy’s working on versions of his famous rat images.

The Art of Banksy is an unmissable show for anyone who wants to learn more about one of the world’s most important current artists and what their work reveals today; the power of art to affect social change, inspire the public and lay bare the undercurrents of social issues.

The Art of Banksy is not curated or authorised by the artist and only displays authenticated art sold or gifted by the Artist, no replicas or art removed from the street.
Banksy’s Dismaland
ART OF BANKSY
 
Monday 7 July – Sunday 3 August 2025
Mon – Wed: 10am – 6pm
Thu – Sun: 10am – 9pm
 
Tickets start from $39.50. Service fees apply
 
Tickets on sale from Wednesday 7 May
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Delicacy and grandeur in nineteenth century masterworks

Inon Barnatan. Image. Sav Schulman

Romantic Brahms

Auckland Philharmonia

Auckland Town Hall

April 10

Reviewed by Peter Simpson

The April 10 concert of the Auckland Philharmonia headed ‘Romantic Brahms’, placed the audience squarely in the nineteenth century (where most audiences most like to be), with an overture from 1834, a concerto from 1881 and a symphony from 1888. The conductor was the Swiss-Australian Elena Schwarz who is currently with Klangforum, a chamber orchestra specialising in contemporary music based in Vienna; she is also a guest conductor with leading orchestras in Europe, America and Australia.  Elegant and agile in her dark trouser suit she seemed completely in command of these complex scores.

Louise Farrenc (1804-1975) was famous in her time (and is now undergoing recuperation) as a pianist, teacher and composer in Paris, earning the respect of Schumann and Berlioz for her compositions which included symphonies and chamber works as well as two orchestral overtures in 1834, the second of which played in Auckland demonstrates her confident control of the post-Beethoven orchestra and musical idioms.

Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 2 is possibly his greatest orchestral work, at least I have thought so since the early 1960s when I first heard Sviatoslav Richter’s famous recording with the Chicago Symphony under Erich Leinsdorf made during Richter’s first tour of America. Israeli-pianist Inon Barnatan was well up to the demands of this heroic score ranging as it does from  extreme delicacy – as in the opening exchanges between piano and horn (the beginning slightly fluffed by APO’s horn soloist) – to full orchestral grandeur in the many climactic passages. For his encore the pianist unusually chose a graceful duet by Rachmaninov with a cellist instead of a solo piece, perhaps in recognition of the lovely ‘cello solo at the start of the third movement of the concerto.

According to Heath Lees’ programme notes, César Franck’s Symphony in D has somewhat lost favour with modern audiences compared to its earlier fame, but it still comes across as a noble and majestic piece, especially in its swelling major theme which recurs throughout the circular structure The texture of the work can sometimes seem a bit muddy but not in Elena Schwarz’s expert separating out of the separate layers of sound. It was a fitting conclusion to a stirring and satisfying evening of Romantic music.

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High Couture meets High Country

Reviewed by John Daly-Peoples

Central Otago Couture: The Eden Hore Collection

By Jane Malthus and Claire Regnault, photographs by Derek Henderson

Te Papa Press

RRP $70.00

Reviewed by John Daly-Peoples

We know who all the great names in New Zealand fashion of last century  are  -Karen Walker, Kate Sylvester, Trelise Cooper, the list goes on. There are even some key male figures – Gus Fisher, Adrian Hailwood and Francis Hooper.

One name though  has been missing from that list for many years. Eden Hore. A merino farmet from the Maniototo of Central Otago, he epitomises the “Southern Man” having been one of the first farmers to introduce cattle to the normally sheep running areas of Central Otago.

But his main claim to fame is his collection of high couture garments which he has amassed since the 1970’s and is considered to be one of the most impressive collections of garments in the Southern hemisphere.

Barbara McKain strapless dress with tulip hemline, early 1980s.
Flannel-blend fabric and sequins, EH79.
Photographed at Two Paddocks Vineyard, Earnscleugh, 2024
Model:Alannah Kwant
Image supplied by Te Papa Press/Eden Hore Central Otago
Image/s © Derek Henderson

A new book “Central Otago Couture: The Eden Hore Collection” by Jane Malthus and Claire Regnault with photographs by Derek Henderson is a remarkable publication documenting the life and times of Eden Hore, his collection and the development of the high fashion industry in New Zealand  

Along with the release of the book there will be exhibitions at Toitū Otago Settlers Museum and Art Gallery, Alexandra, celebrating Hore’s remarkable history of collecting and his unique museum which held his collection for many years – a converted shed on his farm.

Vinka Lucas evening dress and cape, early 1970s.
Taffeta, synthetic voile, feathers and swansdown, EH48.
Photographed at Lake Dunstan, 2024
Model:Alannah Kwant
Image supplied by Te Papa Press/Eden Hore Central Otago
Image/s © Derek Henderson

The designers of many of the clothes featured in the book  were all well-known in fashion circles in the 1970s and 1980s – Kevin Berkahn, Vinka Lucas, John West, Rosalie Gwilliam, Jo Dunlap, Wapiti Handcrafts, Annie Bonza and James Jaye Leathers.

The photographs of the garments in the book were taken by Derek Henderson during two photoshoots in Central Otago in 2024 and 2019 with models Ngahuia Williams, Alannah Kwant and Hannah Clark.

The dozens of designs which he has photographed are set in the stunning landscapes of Central Otago. There are the tussock lands, vineyards, orchards, lakes, rugged hills and  old stone buildings.

In many of the photographs the striking garments contrast with the lands  and building while others blend in with the landscape. Colours and textures of some seem to have grown out of the landscape and there are some shown with iconic images of the area such as the photospread with the Wedderburn goods sheds made famous by Grahame Sydney.

Kevin Berkahn evening dress, 1973.
Pleated taffeta ruffles on nylon net, EH23.
Photographed at Little Valley Road, Alexandra, 2024
Model:Ngahuia Williams
Image supplied by Te Papa Press/Eden Hore Central Otago
Image/s © Derek Henderson
 

Jane Malthus is a dress historian and honorary curator for the dress collection at Tūhura Otago Museum, and has an academic background in textiles, clothing and fashion, history and fine arts. She has been Involved with Eden Hore’s collection since the 1980s.

Claire Regnault is Senior Curator New Zealand Histories & Cultures at Te Papa and is the author of Dressed: Fashionable Dress in Aotearoa New Zealand from 1840 to 1910 (2021), and co-author of The Dress Circle: New Zealand Fashion Design Since 1940 (2010). She is the President of Costume & Textiles Aotearoa New Zealand, and a member of the Eden Hore Central Otago steering committee.