From classic movie tracks played by symphony orchestras to puppetry and British comedians — Otago is attracting a range of national and international arts and entertainment shows this year.
The city’s venue operators are optimistic about the year ahead but also wary the next challenge is on the way if the predictions about inflation and recession come true.
Dunedin Venues Ltd chief executive Terry Davies says there is no doubt the sector is starting to recover from Covid impacts and believes the city has a strong few years ahead of it but warns inflation could put a "spanner in the works".
"There is the potential effect on discretionary spending and with a lot of events people could become more selective about what they go to see and do."
Just how much of an impact it could have on the arts and entertainment sector depends on how high the interest rates go, he says. It means organisations need to be selective about what they bring to town and make sure the pricing is right.
"It has to be affordable."
Despite this, Davies is confident that once the first half of the year is over, things will start to bounce back by the end of the year.
"The northern hemisphere has shown us people want to get together, so I’m optimistic."
The negative feedback from those decisions has led CNZ chief executive Stephen Wainwright to announce it is going to the arts community to seek input on designing a new funding model.
One positive for this year is the return of international acts to New Zealand shores which has led to a line-up of British comedians, shows and bands starting to book dates.
Regent Theatre director Sarah Anderson is "optimistically excited" about the coming year as there is a lot booked — a mixture of pencilled in dates and rescheduled tours among others that have not yet been announced — although that has happened in previous years too, then Covid struck again.
"So fingers crossed. It’s fair to say that having Marlon Williams back in the house to start the year is going to be fantastic beginning. We are really looking forward to Musical Theatre Dunedin’s season of Jersey Boys after they had to cancel the entire production of We Will Rock You [last year]."
Showing that optimism they have a new Studio Sessions programme for the Regent’s Clarkson Studio, a flexible performance space they started using just as Covid hit.
This year the space has attracted music and theatre shows organised by Arts on Tour including Hannah, a Jennifer Ward-Lealand directed one-woman show featuring Cassandra Woodhouse, puppetry, song and storytelling show Boy with Wings, and Penny Ashton’s Austen Found alongside the Nikau Harp Trio, Jackie Clarke’s show Prima Diva and folk-pop duo Looking for Alaska.
Those shows will also be travelling to venues in Invercargill, Stewart Island, Waikaia, Queenstown, Cromwell, Alexandra, Roxburgh and Hawea.
Arts on Tour artistic director Steve Thomas says while they were dropped from the three-yearly funding, they have received funding from CNZ grants last month and support from southern trusts to put on those shows.
It is also still fighting for the reinstatement of its funding with a 3000-signature petition to go to minister Carmel Sepuloni.
Festivals
After cuts to its funding the Dunedin Fringe Festival is determined to go on in March from the 16th to the 26th. With a $150,000 hole in its budget a Boosted fundraising campaign was successful in raising around $20,000 (above its original goal of $12,000) to go towards artist grants and contract staff who support artists in their performances.
"It's a tough time of year to be raising money, but we feel passionately that we had to try to get this support in place for Fringe artists — the next generation of creative talent in Aotearoa," Fringe acting co-director Ruth Harvey says.
The festival was successful in its second attempt at applying for funding from Creative New Zealand receiving $65,000 towards the grants and support last month.
Many Dunedin theatre companies and Opera Otago are planning productions for the festival but cannot provide details until the Fringe programme is released in mid-February.
When the Fringe Festival ends The Festival of Colour Arts Festival in Wanaka returns ( March 26-April 2).
Artistic director Sophie Kelly says after a fractured few years it is now time to celebrate and the programme will be released at the end of January.
"To celebrate being able to welcome back international artists after a long absence; to celebrate the ever evolving and constantly exciting New Zealand arts scene and, above all, to celebrate and showcase Wanaka and the wide Upper Clutha region."
Director Charlie Unwin says alongside familiar names and faces are some "superb and very exciting artists" who may not be known to festival goers. The New Zealand Young Writers Festival is planned for late September and the Dunedin Writers and Readers Festival in mid-October. Its programme will not be confirmed until September.
Dunedin’s top fashion event iD is back at the Dunedin Railway Station this year. Running from March 31 to April1, it will feature two runway shows including the Emerging Designer Awards at the railway station and other related events around the city.
Pop music and laughter
With the borders now open, international acts from comedians to musicians are filling up the calendar including the Red Hot Chilli Peppers in January, The Proclaimers in March and Rod Stewart in April.
The tribute shows are also on the road again with "Leaving Jackson", the Johnny Cash and June Carter show in March, Queen, "It’s a kind of Magic" in October and Neil Diamond tribute "The Sweet Caroline Tour" in November.
If all the talk about recessions is starting to depress you, there are plenty of comedians visiting the city to cheer you up. In March alone British comedians Jimmy Carr and Sarah Millican and Scotland’s Danny Bhoy are coming to the town hall while American comedian Strassman is at the Regent and New Zealand comedian Ray O’Leary is performing at the New Athenaeum.
From then on there is a steady stream of Kiwi comedians coming including Chris Parker, Guy Montgomery as well as Ireland’s Dylan Moran in May.
Six60’s coming back with its "Saturdays" show in March and Australiasia’s Ten Tenors are performing in April as is Anthonie Tonnon with his "Leave Love Out of This" tour.
Classical music
Dunedin Symphony Orchestra’s usual concert and matinee series will continue and with borders now open, the orchestra is looking forward to working with artists from Australia and overseas including James Judd and Umberto Clerici, as well as leading New Zealand artists.
Marketing manager Pieter du Plessis says a highlight will be a concert in late July at King’s and Queen’s to celebrate Matariki — featuring a mix of music for orchestra and taonga puoro, followed by Mozart’s Jupiter symphony which has been described as "a masterwork of unrestrained joy and one of the greatest in the symphonic repertoire".
"Something completely different will be a concert titled All You Need Is Love which features 28 of The Beatles’ greatest hits. These will be performed by four singers, a backing band as well as the DSO."
DSO’s plans also include two concerts with City Choir Dunedin, as well as accompanying three aspiring soloists in the second Dunedin Concerto Competition.
Full details of its season will be released in late February.
City Choir’s publicity officer Leta Labuschagne says the concert season is still in the planning stage but there is an "exciting choral year ahead" with three performances confirmed.
They include an Easter celebration concert with the DSO at Knox Church conducted by David Burchall and Christmas celebration with Handel’s Messiah, again with the DSO.
The choir is also travelling to Christchurch to join Christchurch City Choir and the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra in a performance of Brahms’ Deutsches Requiem and will also join the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra in its performance of Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloe, Suite No 2.
"City Choir has not performed with the NZSO for a number of years now so this is especially exciting for us."
The NZSO has announced it is happy to be bringing international artists to New Zealand to complement top local talent such as Anne-Sophie Mutter, Andre de Ridder, Giancarlo Guerrero and Sir Donald Runnicles but none of the internationals are appearing in Dunedin.
Instead Dunedin will get a concert in March, "Mozart & Salieri", featuring NZSO concertmaster Vesa-Matti Leppanen and in November a weekend of music including "Poem of Ecstasy" with conductor Gemma New and soprano Madeleine Pierard featuring Dunedin composer Ken Young’s Dance.
The next night is "Benjamin on Britten" with New Zealand-born violinist Benjamin Morrison on violin performing the world premiere of David Mason’s NZSO commission.
Chamber Music New Zealand is bringing six performances to Dunedin next year including "Voices at the End" featuring pianist Michael Houstoun playing music from composer John Psathas.
Other highlights include the 2022 Taite Music Prize finalist French for Rabbits who will perform their psych-folk music with a string quartet, AWE’s Horomona Horo and Jeremy Mayall who combine electronic sounds with taonga puoro and Hine Hoia, a re-imagining of The Soldiers Tale by writer and director Juanita Hepi and Cirko Kali’s Danny Lee Syme reunited with composer Hamish Oliver.
After a four-year hiatus due to the pandemic Michael Hill International Violin Competition returns in June with 16 of the best young violinists from around the world battling it out in Queenstown and then Auckland for three spots in the grand final concert with the Auckland Philharmonic Orchestra on June 10.
Ballet
The Royal New Zealand Ballet returns to Dunedin this year with two performances from three programmed for its 70th anniversary season — its first full season in three years.
Having been hit hard late last year with Covid affecting its dancers causing its Venus Rising shows to be cancelled in Christchurch and Auckland, it is hoping for a better start to 2023.
It is bringing Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet to Dunedin in May. With sets and costumes by Academy Award-winning James Acheson (The Last Emperor, Dangerous Liaisons), and new choreography by Andrea Schermoly (Stand to Reason, Within Without) Romeo and Juliet was first seen onstage in 2017.
Artistic director Patricia Barker says "The music is thrilling, the story is timeless. Andrea Schermoly is creating new choreography that will revive the classic story with even more passion, drama, hope and despair."
It is also bringing back Loughlan Prior and Claire Cowan’s Hansel & Gretel in November following its premiere in 2019.
Theatre
Dunedin theatre company Prospect Park Productions’ H-J Kilkelly says they will continue to focus on development work.
"A conscious decision by us to focus limited resources on uplifting our practitioners and processes, while the sector awaits urgent and necessary infrastructure improvements."
Otepoti Theatre Lab is in its fifth year of developing new theatre works from local voices. The Re:In:Act pilot with Toitu Otago Settlers Museum was successful so it is being expanded and it will be commissioning four more performative responses.
A follow-up to its podcast Play:Notes where where dramaturg Emily Duncan and Allison Horsley give need-to-know notes on plays that influenced how many of us watch and think about theatre is planned.
"We’re especially excited for new episodes coming up, focusing on the playwrights with a special connection to Otepoti."
The Globe’s first major production of 2023 will be a continuation and evolution of the "Emerging Talent" season it held last year which they have called "Talented Kiwis". It will be a compilation of four plays of varying lengths, each night, in March directed by Simon Henderson, Lorraine Johnston, Jess Keogh, and Daniel McClymont.
Thomas Makinson will direct Shakespeare’s As You Like It in May and continuing that theme it will run four fortnightly readings of some not-so-oft-played Shakespeare plays, curated by As You Like It assistant director, Penelope Hare.
The Globe’s traditional Toy Box winter show will be held in July and a one night screening of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and Shock Treatment in October.
In December the pantomime will be Treasure Island.
