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‘Beyond the Barricade’ the music sensation coming to New Zealand next year

John Daly-Peoples

‘Beyond the Barricade’

2027 Nationwide Tour

6 – 17 July 2027

John Daly–Peoples

It seems that New Zealand has fallen in love with the world-wide phenomenon of seeing great musical and cabaret acts of the nineteenth and twentieth century on stage.

Just finished at Q Theatre was “Songs for Nobodies” with Jackie Clak singing the great songs of Judy Garland, Patsy Cline, Edith Piaf, Billie Holiday, and Maria Callas.

In March next year The Auckland Arts Festival will feature “The Choir of Man” which will be full of chart-topping songs — including songs by Queen, Luther Vandross, Sia, Paul Simon, Adele, Guns N’ Roses, Avicii, Katy Perry and more. It boasts a cast of nine blokes who also happen to be tap dancers, slam poets, multi-instrumentalists and powerhouse singers.

Then in July the musical show Beyond the Barricade is set to make a return to New Zealand. Celebrating its 27th anniversary year, this blockbusting production brings the magic, passion, and show-stopping hits of London’s West End and Broadway to audiences across New Zealand in July 2027.

Starring four past principal performers from the West End and UK touring productions of Les Misérables, Beyond the Barricade delivers a two-hour concert packed with iconic songs. Accompanied by a top-tier ensemble of live musicians, the powerhouse cast recreates the orchestrations and harmonies of the world’s most beloved musicals.

From recent sensations including Paddington, Hamilton, and Come From Away, to immortal classics such as The Phantom of the Opera, Chicago, Miss Saigon, and Jesus Christ Superstar, the evening builds to a thrilling finale featuring the powerful music of Les Misérables.

Since its inception, Beyond the Barricade has played to over one million theatregoers worldwide, selling out at venues around the world Next year’s tour will be the show’s third visit to New Zealand, having previously played to packed houses across the country in 2016 and 2018.

A review of the show in the Osussex periodical the UK this year  was typical o0f the review which the show generates.

“Beyond the Barricade have been going for 25 years – and on the evidence of their show at Hawth, they just get better and better.

The brainchild of Andy Reiss and David Fawcett, the show is very simple, but very, very affective.

Its three musicians and four singers (David, Andy, Katie Leeming and Sarah Ryan) belting out songs from some of the most famous musicals – and its of such quality it, at times, sends chills down your spine.

They always end with a few songs from Les Miserables – the show David and Andy met at and that all four singers have played principals in West End’s longest running show.

And even though I have seen Beyond the Barricade umpteen times now, their rendition of One Day More still astonishes me. It’s normally performed by 8 principals and an ensemble of 25. To see it performed impeccably by four singers is incredible and deserves the standing ovation it always gets.

Every show, Andy says, when introducing David: “I am sure you will agree, he is singing better than ever.” And he’s not wrong. Although I can’t stand the song Bring Him Home, there is no denying David absolutely smashes it of the park. But Andy is sounding as good as ever as well, especially in Stars.

But it’s not just about Les Mis. They started with Phantom of the Opera, Sarah wowed us with her vocals in Think of Me, and went on to classic shows like Evita and Jesus Christ Superstar – where Katie shone with her Don’t Cry for Me Argentina and I Don’t Know How to Love Him.

What was nice to see were some newer musicals and, rather fittingly given the date of the show, there were a couple of nice arrangements from Come From Away (although I would have loved to have heard Katie sing Me and the Sky), Hamilton (It’s Quiet Uptown was performed beautifully) and Dear Evan Hansen.

But it was the classics where they really shone and, in my opinion, Andy’s best number was Gethsemane from Jesus Christ Superstar while David’s was Anthem from Chess.

And as well as One Day More, there were some brilliant ensemble pieces including Masquerade from Phantom and what they called their Disney ‘Silly Medley’ which included Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah,

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

Beyond the Barricade is a wonderful show and I can’t wait to see them numerous times in the next 25 years…”

NEW ZEALAND TOUR DATES & VENUE SCHEDULE

  • Palmerston North — Tuesday, 6 July — Regent Theatre
  • Whanganui — Wednesday, 7 July — Royal Whanganui Opera House
  • Napier — Thursday, 8 July — Municipal Theatre
  • Auckland — Friday, 9 July — Auckland Town Hall
  • Hamilton — Saturday, 10 July — BNZ Theatre
  • Dunedin — Tuesday, 13 July — Regent Theatre
  • Christchurch — Wednesday, 14 July — James Hay Theatre
  • Blenheim — Thursday, 15 July — ASB Theatre Marlborough (Whitehaven Theatre)
  • Wellington — Friday, 16 July — Lower Hutt Event Centre
  • Tauranga — Saturday, 17 July — Baycourt Community & Arts Centre
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This must be the Island

Reviewed by John Daly-Peoples

This Must Be the Island — Liga Hanai e Motu

Oceanic conversations

GREGORY O’BRIEN AND JOHN PUHIATAU PULE

Massey University Press

RRP $70.00

Reviewed by John Daly-Peoples

“This Must Be the Island” is an extraordinary book – part conversation, part visual diary, part poetry book and an exploration of artistic motivation.

The book follows the poet-artists John Puhiatau Pule and Gregory O’Brien from 2010 as they embark on a voyage of artmaking and travel around the South Pacific, making collaborative etchings, corresponding, writing poetry and immersing themselves in Moana Oceania.

The two artists enjoy and respond to each other’s visions with O’Brien noting “There is an incredible energy, vitality and momentum in John’s poetry and painting. I am in awe of it, rather than being exactly ‘influenced’ or directly affected by it. John is certainly a wise, knowledgeable person to travel with — particularly in the Pacific. One is lifted up.”

Sixteen years on, their collaboration continues to yield a mixture of dreams, memories and a pervasive sense of the joy and wonder of being alive in this part of the world. This Must Be the Island — Liga Hanai e Motu is the story of their creative friendship and an art project as expansive and all-encompassing as the Pacific.

In this diary they write about the mundane events of their daily lives, discoveries and their commitment to exploring their own lives, their writing and their art.

So, the book is a mixture of their drawings, etching and poetry and writings, creating a tapestry of the simple and the profound as they reflect on their journeys, art influences, the practicality of their project.

They also reflect on the 2011 expedition when they were part of a nine artist contingent artists including Phil Dadson, John Reynolds, Elizabeth Thomson and Robin White which voyaged, on the HMNZS Otago, through the subtropical Kermadec region, one of the few remaining near-pristine ocean sites on the planet.

The works they produced in response utilise an abundance of materials, methods, and ideas sourced from Pacific handcrafts, poetry, waiata, jewellery, maritime painting traditions, and scientific photography.

Gregory O’Brien and John Puhiatau Pule

The book has letters from the artists to each other as well as poems by each of them as well as collaborative poems. There are also a number of illustrations taken from each from the artist’s notebooks which add to the  rich tapestry of ideas and reflections.

The book reveals an intriguing and complex dialogue between the two creative minds exploring the Pacific and their interconnected responses to their friendship and journeys.

Reflecting on the genesis and the development of the book O’Brien says “the shape of John’s and my book was entirely determined by the etchings we have made together. There are over 70 reproduced in the book. Once these collaborative images were in place, we both had a strong sense of other materials that would be drawn into the book. Firstly, there were the poems we had written together or separately during the period. Then there were the visual journals which we both keep all the time — those journals wanted to be part of our conversation too.”

“The last component in the book to fall into place was the correspondence, most of it in email form. We have written thousands of emails backwards and forwards. I started reading my way through them (yes, you’re right, I sensibly hadn’t deleted any of them). I soon realised that they told the story of our friendship and our creative work together. And they also tracked our movements — the many places we have been together over the past 16 years: Australia, New Zealand, New Caledonia, Niue, Raoul Island, Tonga, Rapanui, Chile . . .”

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Songs for nobodies at Q

Reviewed by John Daly-Peoples

Jackie Clarke

‘Songs for Nobodies’

By Joanna Murray-Smith

Figment Productions

Q Theatre

Until November 1

Jackie Clarke   Performer
Penny Dodd   Musician
Jennifer Ward-Lealand   Director
Joanna Murray-Smith   Writer
Callum Brodie   Producer
Lachie Oliver-Kerby Sound Designer
Michael Goodwin Lighting Designer and operator
Rachel Marlow Set Designer

Reviewed by Jonh Daly-Peoples

‘Songs for Nobodies’, could be billed as the five female singers who provided the sonic background to the  twentieth century. We meet Judy Garland, Patsy Cline, Billie Holiday, Edith Piaf and Maria Callas as their lives intersect with five  “nobodies” whose lives are transformed by their encounters

The Australian playwright Joanna Murray-Smith  comes with good credentials and Auckland audience will have seen her plays recently. There was “Switzerland” at ATC and “Three Little Words” at the PumpHouse and I have seen her brilliant play “Julia”  in Brisbane which charts the political life of Julia Gillard


Jackie Clarke provides a sensational performance as the audience is taken on a musical journey with insights into the lives of some famous singers and their  casual meetings with five  “nobodies”. The songs which she sings include  “Come Rain or Come Shine,” “Crazy,” “Amazing Grace,” and  “Ain’t Nobody’s Business If I Do.”

Highlights of the show are her Edith Piaf singing “Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien”  and Maria Callas singing one of Tosa’s arias from the eponymous opera.

This isn’t just five singers belting out their well-known hits, there is a sense of the “nobodies” having their lives changed by encounters with the singers in imagined  settings, the songs, the singers and the environments acting as a backdrop to their changed world and lives.

Through the course of the play she  creates  characters ranging from miserable lavatory attendant who encounters  Judy Garland in a bathroom and fixes he hemline to a fashion reporter trying to get out of fashion reporting by doing a piece on an taciturn Billie Holiday


Director Jennifer Ward-Lealand  has kept the staging simple, with the focus always on Jackie  Clarke  and her remarkable performance in creating the characters of the five distinctive “nobodies” and four singers (she doesn’t try to tackle Callas). She moves effortlessly between the characters giving them personalities and presence along with singing their signature songs.

Pianist Penny Dodd, the sole musician on stage accompanies Clarke with skilful musical direction and just the right amount of volume, never intruding on the singers and providing a sense of being in a nightclub.

‘Songs for Nobodies’ is a theatrical gem with one of New Zealand great voices taking us on an musical journey with emotional depth.

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Shane Cotton: Moerewa — Liquid Sleep

Reviewed by John Daly-Peoples

Shane Cotton: Moerewa — Liquid Sleep

Anthony Byrt

Auckland University Press

RRP $89.99

Reviewed by John Daly-Peoples

Anthony Byrt’s new book “Shane Cotton: Moerewa — Liquid Sleep” is more than a biography of one of the country’s foremost artists. Byrt’s Northland whakapapa links him to that of the artist with his documentation and analysis of the artist’s life making the book more of a personal survey and discovery.

Byrt dispenses with the usual early biographical history of the artist (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Rangi, Ngāti Hine, Te Uri Taniwha) and his family, beginning the book when Cotton is an almost fully fledged artist.

He traces out the more than thirty years of the artist’s practice with Cotton developing an evolving visual language through which he has confronted his personal, tribal and national histories.

In this voyage into Te Tai Tokerau he deals with the relationships, landscapes and histories that are the basis of Cotton’s thinking and his art. We enter the world of Kororāreka and Hongi Hika, of mission stations and religious ideas which shaped Māori society in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

Byrt is skilful in providing insights and analysis which help us make sense of the paintings and the thinking of the artist.

He presents Cottons life through six chapters which hint at the artist as being some sort of latter-day prophet, dividing his life and work into six approaches – The Covenant, Mission Station, The First Book, The World Turned Over, White Hole and The Return.

He shows how Cotton has progressively mined the history and myth of Māori along with its intersection with European colonisation, with images that recall stories referencing historical and mythical figures, western and Māori knowledge as well as locations.

Byrt delves into the artist’s work showing the various influences, appropriations, inspirations and interests which have helped shape the artists’ works – artist such as Dick Frizzell and Gordon Walters and his diverse interests such as gaming and gang patches.

His early sepia-coloured paintings in which he linked landscape, symbols and history, Māori Folk Art, Op and Pop as well as Biblical texts explored his thinking about art and the early history of New Zealand.

Shane Cotton, Black Bird (Part I), 2005

Since then, his work has featured brightly coloured targets shapes, preserved heads dramatic cliffs and flower paintings, these works hinting at human and mythic histories.

More recently his works have connected with his living in Northland and revisiting some of his earlier work and the notions of colonialism and cultural exchange.

With his very recent work the artist could be seen as entering his Fauvist period with many of the paintings having the features of those early twentieth century artists who employed simplified shapes along with intense and juxtaposed colours.

Shane Cotton, Super Radiance, 2024

With works such as “Super Radiance” he has appropriated the Augusts Earle painting “Distant View of the Bay of Island”. Depicting a Māori with a taiaha who is acting as a guide through the landscapes of the North. These works connect with his (and the authors) living in Northland and revisiting some of his earlier work with the notions of colonialism and cultural exchange.

Shane Cotton, Things behind the Sun, 2021 (Left) Blue, Black Korona 2020 – 21 (Right)

There are several works of Cotton’s Toi Moko works where the tattooed and preserved Upoke Tuhtuhi Māori heads reference conflict, trade, and repatriations. The tattoo lines tracing out genealogy are linked to the notion of neural connections, knowledge links and computer networks.

Byrt writings about the artists’ iconography provide clarity and depth to our understanding of the artist’s work exploring how the artist adds many dimensions to our understanding to the art and our history.

The fully illustrated book provides an excellent visual history of the artist’s work with some double page spreads which all help in providing an appreciation of the artist’s work.

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Sir Donald Runnicles, Madeleine Pierard and the NZSO

Reviewed by John Daly-Peoples

Sir Donald Runnicles

New Zealand Symphony Orchestra

Four Last Songs

R. Strauss: Rosenkavalier Suite

R. Strauss: Four Last Songs (Vier letzte Lieder) performed by Madeleine Pierard

Johannes Brahms: Symphony No. 3

Conductor; Sir Donald Runnicles

Auckland Town Hall

October 2

Reviewed by John Daly-Peoples

The Rosenkavalier suite is an orchestral arrangement derived from Richard Strauss’s famous 1911 comic opera and consists of five connected sections that capture the emotional and melodic core of the opera. It is a marvellous piece of composition which showed off the strength of the orchestra with Sir Donald Runnicles conducting with tremendous energy particulary in the final, uproarious waltz sequence, where Sir Donald seemed to be like a ringmaster in charge of a circus band.  

Throughout the work he ensured that all the tonal and percussive qualities of the music were appreciated, bringing out the intense drama of the work as well as the more pensive parts where the orchestra was almost whispering and in several of the dance sequences, he almost seemed to take flight.

The strings were particularly expressive in the presentation of the rose sequence as well is in the final trio, but the finest sequence of all was the prelude, with its marvellously colourful horns.

Strauss’s Four Last Songs come at the end of the period of great German music and while the songs are something of a requiem for the composer, they are also a meditation on the downfall of Germany and the end of its romantic period. However, the mixture of the depressing and the defiant can also be seen as a celebration of the eventual resurrection of the man as well as that of the country.

The four poems which are set in a garden trace out both a day and a life from the perspective of the composer reflecting on the passing of time and his own life.

The first song Frühling (Spring) is a setting of a poem by Hermann Hesse about waking up in a scent filled spring garden. The second song September makes use of a Hesse poem depicting the garden’s colours changing to autumn.

In Beim Schlafengehen (Going to Sleep) the composer uses the poem to explore his desire to escape the demands and worry of the day and to escape into the night.

The final song Im Abendrot (At Sunset) takes a poem by Joseph von Eichendorff in which the composer depicts himself and his wife at sunset contemplating death with the composer quoting from his own composition Death and Transfiguration.

 Madeleine Pierard

 Madeleine Pierard managed to capture the sense of life slowly ebbing from the body and contemplation of death with the occasional vision of tranquillity. Her shimmering gown seemed to mirror her shimmering voice shot through with light sparkling against the dark.

At times she allowed the music to overwhelm her voice as though overcome by the forces of death and despair, only to then rise above the music. At times her voice seemed like a musical instrument as it flowed among the sounds of the orchestra

Throughout the songs her voice had an introspective quality, the music providing the garden in which she wandered, her aching despairing voice emerging as though striving to find new life.

Her voice had a superb quality of emotional expression matching the emotional quality of Strauss’s music, always able to complement the power and delicacy of the music.

Concertmaster Vesa-Matti Leppanen provided a soulful violin solo in the Going to Sleep song, mirroring the vocal soaring of Pierard’s voice depicting the rising of the soul in flight and is emotional highlight of the song cycle.

The major work on the programme was the Brahms “Symphony No 3, a work which is full of marvellous melodies, but which is something of an enigmatic work.

In many ways it is a forerunner of the impressionist works of Debussy and Ravel reflecting the interest of the Impressionist artists of the late nineteenth century. Much of the music is linked to visions of landscape, light and shade, colours and texture.

Sir Donald took a very nuanced approach to the music exploring the chiaroscuro of the work. Every tonal change seemed to have an extra emphasis with some sections slightly truncated while others were extended and several sequences had a palpable tension.

These images he created parallel a world of emotions and feelings, the composers inner and exterior worlds mingling. In building a structure based on these links Brahms explores the nature of the human condition. This is particularly evident in the final movement with its passages of drama and tumult suggesting natural forces as well as the inner turmoil of love and passion.

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Australian Music: Umberto Clerici Conducts Dvorak

Reviewed by John Daly-Peoples

Umberto Clerici

Australian Music: Umberto Clerici Conducts Dvorak

Concert Hall

Sydney Opera Houseouase

September 18

Reviewed by John Daly-Peoples

In February 2022 as Auckland was coming out of Covid lockdown the Auckland Philharmonia gave a special performance in the Town Hall to 100 masked patrons. It was the orchestra’s first concert after nearly two years and the major work on the programme was Dvorak’s Symphony No 8, a joyful work sounding the relief after many days of seclusion.

Last week the Sydney Symphony Orchestra was playing the Dvorak symphony as part of their Tea & Symphony series which feature one-hour daytime orchestral performances at the Sydney Opera House complete with complimentary tea and biscuits.

The symphony is like the soundscape to a Czech epic tale with a mixture of nature, landscape, events and dancing, it is the music of adventures, heroics, and larger than life figures,

Like other composers of the period there is a strong element of nationalism to the music similar to the earlier works of Jean Sibelius’  such as “Finlandia” and Edward Greig’s “Peer Gynt Suites”.

The music is focused on the landscape and ethos of the country with Dvorak presenting changing moods and unfolding spectacle. He moves from the playful to the picaresque, from the dramatic to the contemplative. There is wit and there is angst all skilfully delivered by conductor Umberto Clerici.

After the honeyed tones of the opening and the sweetness of the flutes the orchestra erupted with joyous celebratory tones flecked with hints of drama. Then we heard bird-like sounds from the strings followed by some ferocious sounds from the percussion heralding a triumphant Nature.

The second movement featured a flowing dance sequence illuminated by woodwinds and flutes. Then after a mysterious segment there was another spritely dance sequence featuring strings, brass and woodwinds.

The third movement was full of shimmering sounds creating a spring-like impression full of joy followed by passages of dark foreboding while the fourth movement opens with a big, bold march tune which morphed into a sequence of Czech dance tunes such as the polka, Dvorak turning these simple melodies into clever musical inventions.

The final movement opens with commanding brass fanfare that is followed by the cello which introduced the lyrical main theme—a distinctly Czech melody consisting of wide-ranging variations which shift dynamically between moments of fiery, rustic energy and tender, introspective beauty.

The first work on the programme was Ligeti’s “Romanian Concerto“ which like Dvorak’s Symphony was a nationalistic work with the composer responding to the sounds of Romanian village band.

The work composed in1951 opens with a sweeping landscape common to many composers reacting to their country’s nationalist sympathies. The flute sounds hinting at the bright glint of light on water also suggested the dawn of a new era of modernist composition.

Then there were rousing sounds from the woodwinds referencing lively, dance themes as well as some quirky abrupt, sequences and some rustic sounds from the horns. There were also mysterious, restless passages with the sounds of gypsy strings which Legeti recalled from his youth.

The way in which he wrote the music of the village bands with a slight discordant sound was regarded by the authorities as incorrect and led to the work being banned for many years.

Future Sydney Symphony Orchestra concerts

October 30 – 31 Mendelssohn’s Elijah with Bryn Terfel

November 6 -8 Simone Young conducts Mozart & Bach

November 19 – 22 Simone Young conducts Gotterdammerung

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The Art of Terry Stringer

Reviewed by John Daly-Peoples

The Art of Terry Stringer

Edited by Linda Tyler

Massey University Press

RRP $90.00

Reviewed by John Daly-Peoples

Terry Stringer has been a leading New Zealand sculptor and a key figure in the history of art in New Zealand. Working predominately in bronze, the majority of Stringer’s sculptures depict figures and still-life subjects. Many of his works reveal his interest in classical sculpture, Renaissance art, cubism and architecture along with mythology and literature.

It is these wide range of influences which are explored in a new book “The Art of Terry Stringer” which examines his life and work.

Along with a substantial introductory biographical essay by Linda Tyler, the book features essays by Peter Simpson, Mark Hutchins-Pond, Mark Stocker, Andrew Douglas and Robin Woodward, each focusing on different aspects of Stringer’s body of work. It is handsomely illustrated with photos of Stringer in his studio by Jane Ussher, and of the artist’s work by art photographer Haru Sameshima.

Terry Stringer. Arts Laureate Award, 2000. Bronze, 19.5cm. Haru Sameshima

It is a book that reveals the inspirations, the thinking, the processes, and the way he perceives his art within various environments ant the writers, photographers and designers have crafted a book which seems to have all the characteristics of the artist’s approach to creation.

Some of his major works can be seen at public sites throughout Aotearoa/New Zealand. These include The Risen Christ in Christchurch’s Cathedral Square (now in storage), Mountain Fountain, in the forecourt of Auckland’s Cathedral of the Holy Trinity and The World Grasped in Newmarket.

Terry Stringer. Being in Time 2021 AP. Courtesy of Milford Galleries. Photo Glenn Frei: Being in Time, 2021. Bronze, 220cm. Courtesy Milford Galleries, Dunedin and Queenstown, photograph by Glenn Frei

Stringer says of his approach to sculpture making, “For me, it has been a lifetime of pursuing one idea. I have to say that I am making the same sculpture over and over, and that it changes just a little each time, each piece of it being a new puzzle to solve. In the making of a work two contradictory ideas are clashed together — perhaps one subject transforms into another as the work is turned, or it might be that a figure that has been distorted for formal reasons needs to be brought to life.”

With many of the artists’ works he provides the viewer with multiple viewpoints, as Peter Simpson notes in his essay “The Intercut Image”. One of these sculptures “Gather ye Rosebuds” takes its title from the Robert Herrick poem and the work’s multiple images reference images from the poem – a young girls face, a blooming rose and a reaching hand.

The intercut images are not just a way of rewarding the viewer with changing perspectives we also see the artist exploring the nature of three-dimensional art.

Terry Stringer. Temple of Flora, 2004. Bronze, 254cm. Gil Hanly

The book has over one hundreds photographs by Jane Ussher and Haru Sameshima which feature many of the artists’ works as well as his studio and residences. The images of his studio are particularly revealing, Ussher has captured the artist at work in his current cavernous studio in Couldry St in Mt Eden as well as at the foundry where his works are made.

Zealandia, Mahurangi, by JASMAX Architects, 1998–2000. Simon Devitt

The photographs provide a visual record of the artist which sees the artist in the various stages of producing his work, revealing the almost magical steps in the creation of the artworks.

There is also a photographic essay on the evolution of a sculpture he was making of the painter Jacqueline Fahey. From initial sketches of the artist through the various stages of making the original clay figure, going to the foundry and the finishing processes.

He says of the process ‘Bronze sculpture-making has many stages. This sequence of images showing the evolution of a head of the painter Jacqueline Fahey starts with a drawing and then the clay work. From there it is plaster-moulded in my studio and wax is poured into it before it goes to the foundry. There it is prepared, re-moulded and baked out to create a ceramic shell for the bronze to be poured into. In this manufacturing process the artist starts the sequence and then decides the final presentation. Bronze-making is a story of life, death and rebirth over several episodes, until the work is finally realised.’

Of the photography by Jane Ussher several of which show Stringer in his studio he says “They have the atmosphere of old master paintings. And I had huge fun collaborating with Jane in staging still life groups that referenced various sources of inspiration.”

Terry Stringer Image Jane Ussher

Linda Tyler says of his work “His ideas for sculpture are typically quirky and engaging as well as beautifully executed, and while his works belong to different series, there are certain constants. For example, he communicates his sense of fun by encouraging viewers to move around each sculpture and make (sometimes startling) discoveries for themselves. I think that this derives from his love for Victorian ‘optical amusements’ such as folded pictures and puzzles where you see one image when you look in a certain direction, and something different when you look back the other way.”

Throughout his practice he has produced a number of figurative works which celebrate New Zealand artists with works depicting Charles Rose, Frank Sargeson, Frances Hodgkins, Kiri te Kanawa and Jacqueline Fahey.

Along with Tyler’s writings there are five essays by gallery directors, arts writers and university teachers – Andrew Douglas, Peter Simpson, Mark Stocker, Mark Hutchins-Pond and Robin Woodward. These writers investigate particular areas of nth artists work — his purpose-built residences / studios, the intercut images, the medals and maquettes and assemblages.

Stringer was awarded a Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council Scholarship four times – 1977, 1981, 1982 and 1986.  His contribution to New Zealand art was acknowledged in 2003, when he was the recipient of the country’s national honour, the ONZM (Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit).

Throughout his career Terry Stringer has exhibited extensively, with solo shows in Auckland, Sydney, Los Angeles and London. He is represented in major public collections, including the Auckland and Christchurch Art Galleries, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa and the Alexander Turnbull Library.  

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The NZSO’s Rhythm & Dance: infectious dance tunes of the Twentieth Century

Reviewed by John Daly-Peoples

Gemma New

New Zealand Symphony Orchestra

Rhythm & Dance

Auckland Town Hall

September 5

Reviewed by John Daly-Peoples

The four works on the NZSO’s Rhythm & Dance programme were infused with dance music of the twentieth century, all linked to the music of the Jazz Era with dance tunes which were immediately recognizable with infective portraits of places and events.  

Ten years ago the Auckland Arts Festival presented a concert version of John Adam’s Nixon in China one of the great operatic works of the late twentieth century recounting the visit of President Nixon to the Republic of China in 1972 and his meeting with Mao Zedong.

The opera has several dance-like tunes and “The Chairman Dances” is an interlude with no singing that has been described by Adams as an “outtake” from the opera depicting Madame Mao gate-crashing a presidential banquet and performing a dance.

The percussion and woodwinds opened “The Chairman Dances” sequence before slowly building Adam’s minimalism sounds which featured a mixture of delicacy and robust sections.

The music relies on a clever mixture of percussion, bassoon, viola, along with an insistent, foxtrot rhythm with some bell–like sounds introduced Madame Mao along with music that referenced 1930s Chinese film music.

The work finished with a typical Adams percussion combination of piano, wood block and snare drum.

Conductor Gemma New responded to the music with her own flowing and floating gestures, notably in the animated fox trot sequence and the bell liken sounds which referenced Madame Mao’s early career as a film actress.

Patrick Barry

Copland’s “Clarinet Concerto” saw soloist Patrick Barry navigating the technical capabilities of the clarinet with a marvellous dexterity. After a soulful, filmic opening. his instrument soured above the orchestra, its bright sound weaving through the sounds of the orchestra.

There were sections where the clarinet captured the vast, open spirit of the American West and others where jazz was more dominant. Then there were passages when the orchestra seemed to be replicating the sounds of the clarinet and some boisterous sequences where the piano provided some gritty syncopation.

The orchestra and clarinet hurtled towards the finale with a fast and jazzy sounds, blending popular rhythms along with a reference to George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue.

Gabriela Ortiz ‘s “Anropolis” is a portrait of Mexico City, describing the sounds and energy of the dance halls and clubs of the city. Central to the performance was the wide range of percussion instruments which delivered an edgy, constantly evolving percussion background.

From the massive opening drum and brass displays the work moved to a high energy soundscape punctuated by flute and brass where waves of sounds were constantly interrupted by the drum soloist. The work transitioned through different musical styles, including traditional Mexican sounds, mambo, and experimental punk with the musicians briefly shouting out in unison in a nod to dance hall routines.

This was high velocity music with some hectic, playful sequences which the orchestra players and conductor appeared to relish.

The last work on the programme was the “Symphonic Dances from West Side Story” by American conductor and composer Leonard Bernstein. Here, we get the ten-movement suite of orchestral music from West Side Story, with its recognizable tunes, familiar Latin rhythms and elements of jazz.

From the rhythmic finger snapping used by the Jets and the Sharks during the opening instrumental sequences through the jazzy dance sequences and the romantic interludes the music captured the spirit of New York.

The music has its emotional centre in the wholesomeness of Tony and Maria’s relationship conveyed by “Somewhere”, but it was shattered by the dark hatred of their environment and the gangs conveyed by the gangland themes.

Throughout the work Bernstein cleverly changes the pace of the music the high energy and jazzy sequences contrasting with the romantic scenes of the two lovers.

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Reviews, News and Commentary

Michael Dell’s enigmatic landscapes at Föenander Gallery

Reviewed by John Daly-Peoples

Michael Dell. Landscape at Moutere

Michael Dell. Every Time the Sun Comes Up

Föenander Gallery

Until September 15

Reviewed by John Daly-Peoples

Michael Dells paintings hover between realism and abstraction, between the familiar and the obscure. Viewed as realist depictions the paintings have a mundane subject matter with view of trees, roads and distant hills but Dell gives them a mysterious quality with a misty perspective while the occasional road markings provide an enigmatic narrative.

When viewed as abstractions the artist highlights the ambiguity of the works by including two abstract works, Small Blue Field ($3200) and Small Purple Field ($3200). Here the ambiguity is accentuated by the titles of the works with the artists referencing both the aesthetic notion of ‘Colour Field’ as well as the landscape idea of the field in nature. Small Blue Field like looking into a darkened space or a dense nighttime scene while Light Grey / Blue Field is like looking at the sky or a misty scene

With largest of the works in the exhibition Landscape at Moutere ($26,500) the artist has managed to produce a work in which abstraction and realism almost coincide, the bands of road, field, trees, hills and sky seen as bands of abstract colour.

Michael Dell, Small Blue Field

A couple of works in the exhibition feature road markings leading the eye towards the distant bunching of trees, the only man-made intrusions. In Roadside Landscape 2 ($14,000) the median line curves to the right while Roadside Landscape   1 (($14,000) and Roadside Landscape   3 ($14,000) the median line directs the eye to the background trees.

Michael Dell. Roadside Landscape 3

With other landscapes such as Roadside Landscape 1 ($14,000) the sense of depth is created with some hazy tree branches in the foreground. Dell employs several of the traditional techniques used by landscape painters to give a sense of depth. In some of the works, bands of light cross the roadway creating a sense of depth while in other works it is the colour transition across open ground which creates the depth.

Adding to the Realism / Abstraction ambiguity Dell has employed a technique that suggests that paint has been wiped from the surface of the paintings or that a film has been applied to the surface. This denial of the authenticity of the painted surface heightens the ambiguity of his paintings.

Dell’s paintings explore the nature of light the way they define objects, create space and mood. With works like Velvet Morning ($18,000) the artist seems to have captured both the intense areas of light as well as the dense concentrations of darkness and shadow.

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An Enemy of the People: Ibsen’s drama set in rural New Zealand

Reviewed by John Daly-Peoples

Peter Stockmann (Sam Bunkall), Thomas Stockmaan !Fraser Hofmann. and Katherine !Grace Cullen) Image: Lucie Everett-Brown

An Enemy of the People

By Henrik Ibsen

Flyleaf Theatre Production

Q Theatre

Until 22nd August

Reviewed by John Daly-Peoples

In this new version of Ibsen’s “An Enemy of the People” adapted by Aaron Richardson, Dr Thomas Stockmann (Fraser Hoffman) has discovered that the local spa, Te Wai Puia is poisoned from rural runoff and industry. He attempts to inform the local residents and civic leaders through the local newspaper and its sympathetic editor.

Initially he has some support but then there are attempts to cover it up, and the local people turn against him. However, Stockmann still pursues the truth which leads to him being discredited, losing his job and wife. He is also faced with an interfamily drama as his brother Peter (Sam Bunkall) who is also the mayor is opposed to his comments and opinions.

This modern reimagining relocates the story from nineteenth-century Norway to present-day Aotearoa and our own water crisis. This emphasis on water, the commercial and rural use as well as the concern for safe drinking water becomes a real issue. This is emphasised by the large water pipes surrounding the roof of the stage with water dripping into buckets and a small flood in the final act.

As the sole beacon of truth Fraser Hoffman gives a great performance with speeches which are filled with crusading zeal and inspirational lines – “You can’t ignore the truth” and “the public has to hear the truth even if they don’t believe it”.

While he is the hero of the play, he ultimately becomes the lone voice crying in the wilderness. His standing for truth and his zeal is not sufficient to convince everybody, so even his wife Katherine (Grace Cullen) who gives a fine performance as the conflicted wife is forced to leave him.

There is also a well-judged performance from Sam Bunkall who plays Peter Stockmann the brother of Dr Stockmann. Sam Bunkall and Hoffman complement each other wonderfully as they argue on what is best for the town and their onstage physical fight was wonderfully orchestrated.

Joseph Wycoff as Hobson the editor of the local newspaper gave a polished performance as did Matt Chamberlain as Martin whose Everyman approach to was convincing.

Director Grace Augustine has created nuanced production where the characters take on the subtly of real-life politicians as they take up their positions in their investigations of the truth / facts / opinions. Even the audience is left with conflicting views on who is best at protecting the town and the environment.

The minimal set (also Aaron Richardson) works well especially the final scene where the audience becomes the onlookers at a Town Hall meeting, and we feel we are part of the cast.

The ambient sound designed by Laika Rountree initially seems to add to the plays emotional impact but used throughout becomes something of an irritation, detracting from the emotional power of the play.