As the Dunedin Arts Festival drew to a close on Sunday, The Star reporters Brenda Harwood and Sam Henderson enjoyed an extraordinary range of events that spanned music, theatre and dance. Here are some of the highlights from the festival.
Company
A man alone in the dark imagines he is not a man alone in the dark. For company.
This simple premise is at the heart of Samuel Beckett’s extraordinary novella, Company, given life on stage at Allen Hall, on April 2, by Dunedin actor Simon O’Connor in a tour-de-force performance.
Produced by afterburner and directed by Richard Huber and Stuart Young, Company was enhanced by subtle lighting design by Martyn Roberts and an eerie, shifting soundscape by Kerian Varaine.
The result was intriguing, strange and, given the twists and turns of Beckett’s writing, an extraordinary feat of memory for O’Connor.
An Evening Without Kate Bush
A large audience fell under the spell of British musical icon Kate Bush last week, in the hands of UK singer-performer Sarah-Louise Young — a funny and talented life-long "fan of the Bush".
In her show at the Mayfair Theatre on Thursday, Young hilariously paid tribute to Bush’s life and music, including the artist’s famously eccentric dance moves, showcasing her own impressive talents as a dancer and singer.
Utterly charmed and thoroughly entertained, with mood boosted by a fun and fabulous evening of music and comedy, the large audience went home feeling that An Evening Without Kate Bush was a great antidote to the ills of the world.
Suitcase Show
Trick of the Light’s Suitcase Show on Friday delivered a whole world of adventure and exploration inside an ordinary-looking pile of cases.
An eccentric man arrives at border control and, as a bored security guard looks on, begins to open suitcases to reveal surprising stories.
Tiny worlds are uncovered through a range of inventive approaches, from simple light play to moving miniatures.
Suitcase Show is a whimsical and wondrous example of how creativity combined with clever staging can create a cracking experience that is dark yet delightful.
A packed audience at Allan Hall Theatre responded enthusiastically to an absolutely charming and comic show that had a satisfying twist to the end.
The Anderson Localisation
This fun and thought-provoking event based at the unique environment of No Name Alley, on Saturday, was a fusion of science and theatre.
Listening to audio narration and interacting with a cast of curious characters, audience members were able to enjoy an absorbing afternoon adventure.
An amusing outdoor exploration of science and storytelling while musing on the nature of time and space.
Upu
The chilling aftermath of colonisation, the destruction of tradition and the dark shadow of racism were some of the subjects explored during a night of poetry and performance on Saturday.
The show Upu, at the Mayfair Theatre, was a collection of about 30 poems from Pacific Island writers.
The sea of stories revealed vivid experiences of loves, lives and loss of Pacific peoples.
Mansfield Park
NZ Opera’s production of Mansfield Park on Sunday was a delightful romp, with 10 superb singers performing a modern reimagining of Jane Austen’s 1814 satire of society manners and romantic rivalries.
Directed by Rebecca Meltzer, the excellent ensemble comprised soprano Michaela Cadwgan, baritone Robert Tucker, contralto Kristin Darragh, soprano Sarah Mileham, mezzo soprano Cecilia Zhang, bass-baritone Joel Amosa, mezzo soprano Andrea Creighton, soprano Joanna Foote, tenor Taylor Wallbank and tenor Andrew Grenon.
All of the cast members sang powerfully and beautifully, while also making the most of the humour and passion of the piece. They also combined for several ensemble pieces, weaving their voices together in glorious harmonies.
Accompanying from the wings on piano, Soomin Kim and David Kelly anchored the music throughout, providing sterling support.
All in all, NZ Opera’s production of Mansfield Park was an entertaining and splendidly sung take on a Regency classic.
