Notes on a friendship
Notes on a friendship
We seldom write letters these days, but 50 years ago it was usual, if not common, to carry on a correspondence by letter, as we might by text or email now. The difference, of course, is that...
Charmian Smith
Dupes galore in Fortune's French farce
Dupes galore in Fortune's French farce
Theatrical farce is fast, full of wordplay and absurd situations, according to Amanda Rees, who is directing Ding Dong, a French farce which opens at the Fortune Theatre tomorrow.
An inkling about type
An inkling about type
There's something romantic about setting type by hand and printing beautiful books on a letterpress the way they did 100 or even 500 years ago, so it's no wonder Caren Florance fell in love with it...
Putting net losses on the scales
Putting net losses on the scales
Charmian Smith reviews Four Fish: The story of fishing and what's left to eat.
Colour of music
Colour of music
Like many artists, composer Anthony Ritchie is driven by a great need to create. "It's hard to put any other way. I start to get frustrated if I don't have some creative outlets," he...
Take two composers
Take two composers
Charmian Smith talks to Douglas Beilman of the New Zealand String Quartet.
Deadpan comedy resurrects dead Greeks
Deadpan comedy resurrects dead Greeks
Biting satire and vivacious comedy have been elements of theatre for more than 2500 years. Charmian Smith talks to Harry Love about his new comedy in an old form.
Ideas at the heart of children's writing
Ideas at the heart of children's writing
Karen Trebilcock wants to take her readers for an exciting ride. Charmian Smith talks to this year's children's writer in residence at the college of education.
Innermost secrets
Innermost secrets
A new exhibition at the Dunedin Public Art Gallery reveals some of our innermost secrets. Charmian Smith talks to Dr Paul Trotman about "Still Life: The Art of Anatomy".
Steps into the dark
Steps into the dark
Suzanne Cowan, has a strong personal and professional interest in the meanings our society gives to disability, as well as in dance. In Dunedin as Caroline Plummer dance fellow at the...
The science of sin
The science of sin
The old notion of the seven deadly sins may seem outdated, but Chris Krishna Pillay makes a comic cabaret show out of exploring some of the science associated with them in Dante's Laboratory - The...
Hop you enjoy the show
Hop you enjoy the show
Holding the attention of a small child for 50 minutes takes a great deal of skill but it's a challenge Sarah Somerville loves. "As a performer you know the minute you stop connecting with...
Bathing the solstice in light
Bathing the solstice in light
The magic of lanterns in the darkness, musicians, dancers and stiltwalkers all in colourful costumes have entranced spectators at the Midwinter Carnival for more than a decade. • Shedding a...
Highlights of the Midwinter Carnival
Highlights of the Midwinter Carnival
It's not easy getting on to your stilts.
Midwinter cheer
Midwinter cheer
The medieval period in Europe is an endlessly rich source of inspiration, and it's nourishing to celebrate the cold midwinter with music and dance, says Jonathan Cweorth, of the Dunedin Medieval and Renaissance Society.
Shedding a little light
Shedding a little light
On the top floor of a large old warehouse in Vogel St, Katrina Thomson and Karan Snow are making huge lanterns for the midwinter festival.
Bless this house that was a church
Bless this house that was a church
Ryan Whiston's first reaction when his wife suggested they buy the old church in Hargest Cres, St Clair, was "No way."
Choir massing for 'Requiem'
Choir massing for 'Requiem'
Faure's Requiem is a favourite choral work of the City of Dunedin Choir, which has performed it six times between 1972 and 1999. It is is about to sing it again in a concert, "Fauré and...
Intense tracing of ancestor's secret family
Intense tracing of ancestor's secret family
Charmian Smith reviews The Mango Orchard.
Sculpture of the mind
Sculpture of the mind
Undercurrents in Alicia Frankovich's figurative sculpture lift the work into flight. Charmian Smith talks to the visiting international artist about her Dunedin Public Art Gallery exhibition.