Stories

Rising star Wiri Donna is as spiky as her mānuka namesake, with plenty she wants to say. Behind the on-stage alter ego is Wellington artist Bianca Bailey, whom we chatted to ahead of her nationwide tour, which kicks off in Christchurch. Explain to us the difference between Wiri Donna and Bianca Bailey? Hello! Bianca here, just your average music and creative arts enthusiast. I love making music, programming, producing events and funnily enough football! Wiri Donna on the other hand is my creative outlet, named after my time working in a plant centre – Wiri Donna is the botanical name for a Red Mānuka. I always believed this project for me was an opportunity for growth and play, a place for me to learn new things and discover new sounds, and work with some wonderful people along the way.  Which one will we see on stage in Christchurch? A little bit...

Ladi6 brings the love back to Christchurch in November when she kicks off a long-awaited tour and drops her first new music in over five years. She tells Cityscape about the importance of having a good team behind her, especially her ‘fairy godmother’ stylists, and following in her family’s footsteps in a counselling career. We love the new single, ‘Alofa’, your first new release since 2017. Does it feel good to have new music out and a tour coming up? Yes it does. It feels good but I’m also right in the middle of everything at the moment so I don’t really know how I feel. I was excited when we announced it but now I have this massive to-do list and right now I’m in the middle of arranging the trailer for the tour van and all those things. Are you looking forward to trying the song out in front...

Movies to catch, books to read, television to bingewatch, music to dance to and podcasts to fill your spare time. Movies Lee Kate Winslet stars in this biopic about photographer Elizabeth ‘Lee’ Miller, who found fame as a war correspondent for ‘Vogue’ magazine during World War 2. Some of her images, including from the liberation of Paris and of the Buchenwald and Dachau concentration camps, are rightly considered some of the war’s most iconic. There’s plenty of material from a life of light and shade, offering Kate Winslet her meatiest role since her 2015 gem ‘The Dressmaker’. Never Look Away Keeping with the theme of brave women, this film tells the story of pioneering Kiwi camerawoman Margaret Moth. Directed by Xena herself, Lucy Lawless, it’s a suitably unflinching look at the life of a remarkable woman who stared down death many times in her career only to die aged 59 of...

Lineups are dropping and tickets are selling for this summer’s bounty of music, food and drink festivals. There are some comings and goings from the fare of the last few summers, with Splore’s three-day festival taking a break until 2026 and the touring Summer’s Day Live giving way to the new Timeless Summer Tour, which has Christchurch as a destination. No official announcement yet about whether Bay Dreams returns for 2025. We will keep updating this as info and lineups drop. For now though, time to start your festival planning. And remember the doctor’s advice for any festival – be silly but don’t be stupid! NY 24/25  Rock the Bowl Surf meets rock at the beautiful Bowl of Brooklands in New Plymouth. Acts announced include: Sublime with Rome, Pendulum DJ set, Ladyhawke, Elemeno P. New Plymouth, 29 Dec, trademarklive.co.nz Rhythm & Alps Bring in 2025 with 10,000 of your closest friends...

Comedy legend Eric Idle’s career is so much more than just Monty Python. There’s his Tony-winning musical ‘Spamalot’, his Beatles parody series ‘The Rutles’, and of course, the world’s No. 1 funeral song. Eric chats to Cityscape ahead of his Christchurch performance in October. There’s a legion of Monty Python fans here very eager to see you. Have you been to Christchurch before? I don’t think I have and I’m very much looking forward to it. Of course I watch it on cricket and I note that you are recovering from the earthquakes. It’s always fun to be on the road, to see all the places you haven’t seen and I like to do that.  What can we expect? I like to make a show that has a through-line, it isn’t just a series of jokes. I like to have it be about something. And I like to be funny about...

Jackie Clarke will join fellow Lady Killers Tina Cross and Suzanne Lynch in a tribute to the powerhouse divas of modern music, including Dolly Parton, Beyoncé, Aretha Franklin, Bette Midler, Whitney Houston and Tina Turner. So whose big shoes is she stepping into? This show will be something of a reunion. Not so much a reunion, more of a ‘back by popular demand’ situation. We were asked to curate a DIVA concert at Baycourt Theatre in Tauranga in May, and one show turned into two sold-out shows and we realised people are ready for an all-out celebration of the women who rock our world. So now we’re taking the show on the road. We haven’t done many public shows in recent times due to solo projects so yeah, I guess the lure of celebrating divas is bringing us together for a decent chunk of quality time. Songs by Dolly Parton, Beyoncé...

From TV shows ‘Little Britain’ and ‘Come Fly With Me’ to children’s books ‘The Boy In The Dress’ and ‘The World’s Worst Pets’, beloved UK comedian and author David Walliams has legions of fans in every age group. He’s now big with the grannies, he’s told. We got to talk to David ahead of two shows in Christchurch in October. There’s a night show for the grown-ups and for his book fans, a matinee performance in which David shares his inspirations and acts out some extracts. What can the Christchurch audience expect from your show? Well, they can expect a hugely entertaining evening. We have been working on the show for quite a long time now trying to make it as funny as it can be. There are some surprise ‘Little Britain’ characters. There are lots of very funny stories that I have never ever told before. There is sharing a...

Spirit nerds – this one’s for you. A chance to sample a rum so rare there are only 23 bottles in all of Aotearoa and 1500 in the world. This is the rum that launched the Mai Tai, and at Mr Brightside from now till it runs out, you can have a classic Mai Tai made with the OG rum. Appleton Estate, a pioneer of Jamaica’s rum craft, has recreated its J. Wray & Nephew 17-Year-Old, which was last produced in 1981 and is famed for its starring role in the original Mai Tai. Before the umbrellas and sugary syrups took over, the Mai Tai was quite a simple drink. Victor J. Bergeron – better known as Trader Vic – takes credit for its creation, in 1944. His intent was to showcase the flavours of the J. Wray & Nephew 17-Year-Old. He did this with just a touch of lime, orgeat,...

Reggae giants UB40 bring a bagga riddim back to Ōtautahi in October. We talk to ‘OG’ Jimmy Brown and new kid Matt Doyle about the band’s new album, falling in love with New Zealand, and the essence of reggae. What can the audience expect on this visit? Jimmy Obviously we’re going to be doing the hits - ‘Red Red Wine’, ‘So Here I Am’ and so on – and some of our old stuff as well, maybe ‘One in 10’ and ‘Tyler’ from the first album but also some new stuff, just like there is on the new album, UB45, a combination of old and new. Matt We’ll definitely be throwing a couple of the new tunes in there. We wouldn’t want to oversaturate it with new material because we want people to come and hear the tunes they have been listening to all their lives. But as a band you’ve...

How many bands do you know do live drum and bass? Not many. If any. Except for Shapeshifter, the Christchurch band that launched its own genre in 1999 with a string of gigs that those lucky enough to see still rave about. Now, 25 years later, the boys are taking a moment to celebrate everything that has happened since – Glastonbury, platinum records, a worldwide army of fans – with a nationwide tour in June and a reissue of their whole catalogue on vinyl. In Christchurch, the band will return to the Town Hall, venue for one of their legendary gigs, a performance in 2006 with the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra that was released the following year as Shapeshifter Live. After 25 years of gigs, there must be some favourites. We asked Sam, Nick and P Digsss to look back over the years and come up with their picks. Sam Trevethick: The...

From singing pop to stomping her boots alongside Kaylee Bell, Steffany Beck’s musical journey finally clicked when she found her real voice had a country twang. Now she’s bringing the country to town. So, Steffany, you’re heading out on your own national tour – how cool is that? It is so unbelievably cool. I've got the best band and I'm going on tour with my bestie, Miranda Easten, who is so incredible. I can't wait to hit the road and play around the North and South Island. How was it looking out on that crowd at the Wine and Food Festival? There’s nothing quite like it, looking out into the faces of those watching you, singing along with you and who want to escape in the music with you. It’s such a cool connection and I absolutely love performing live to create that moment of connection. And it was so amazing...

We chat with Mark Williams about his nearly two decades as frontman of the legendary Kiwi band Dragon. You’ve been part of Dragon for 18 years now – you must be enjoying it? Yep definitely part of my DNA now. You have a hectic touring schedule – how do you cope? We have a nanny. He looks after us. Keeps us clothed and fed. The hotels must be better these days though, eh? It beats the old camping grounds... I kid you not, some high profile bands still do it! I’ve been to some of your Christchurch gigs and been part of some great sing-alongs – that must feel special? It's amazing how everyone knows instinctively what to do. So who’s better – a Kiwi or Aussie audience?  There's a little bit of kiwi in the aussie and vice-versa How has it been stepping into such big shoes as Dragon’s singer?...

Two New Zealand buildings feature in a new book by taste-making publishers Gestalten. Called Prefab and Modular, the lavishly illustrated large-format book explores the possibilities of prefabricated and modular construction and looks at how these technologies have been used. The Studio House, designed by Nelson’s William Samuels Architects, is a compact (42sqm), relocatable single-bedroom home similar in nature to a studio apartment. Interconnected modules that can each fit on a trailer can be removed from their foundations and relocated one by one. If required, more modules can be added later for extra bedrooms, workspaces or other areas. Function comes first for the Te Pae North Piha Surf Life-saving Tower but the result is a building of raw beauty that melds into its rugged environment. The brief to Auckland’s Crosson Architects was for a robust, low-maintenance building that would withstand the severe North Piha coastal environment while accommodating four lifeguards and giving...

Buying and renovating a house of architectural or historic merit can be pretty scary as you balance the different spaces we live in these days with the need to preserve the features that make the house significant in the first place. One of the residential properties in the Open Christchurch programme is an excellent example of getting both right. The Lucking House was designed by renowned Christchurch architect George Lucking in 1951 as a family home and home office. It was built as a modest three-bedroom rectangle but George Lucking designed in future additions, some of which were done in 1967, including a new main bedroom and a garage and entry. In 2020, new owners enlisted Tobin Smith of Common Architecture to update and enlarge the house for modern living. For Tobin, the challenge was to give his clients the modern, open-plan spaces they wanted for their growing family while at...

Open Christchurch, the city’s annual festival of architectural excellence, has 50 buildings on this year’s programme. An exhibition at Christchurch Art Gallery complements the festival’s focus. Calling all design geeks, you have two opportunities coming up to reflect on the built environment – the urban, suburban and rural architecture, both grand and mundane, that forms the physical backdrop to our daily lives. The first is Open Christchurch, the city’s annual festival of architectural excellence in which buildings city-wide open their doors to the public. This year’s programme lists 50 buildings you can visit over the weekend of 3 – 5 May. All tours are free but some require a booking due to limited numbers. Highlights for many will be opportunities to tour the site of the new Court Theatre building, on the corner of Colombo and Gloucester streets, and to get behind the security fence at Christ Church Cathedral. A theme...

He’s got a lot on his plate, what with the whole 10 albums in 10 genres in 10 years thing, but Troy Kingi leapt at the chance to be part of the Bill Withers Social Club project and pay tribute to a songwriting hero. What drew you to this salute to Bill Withers? I've been a big fan of his for a while now. I think after my third album, when I was starting to get into a bit of a creative block, I started getting deep into Bill Withers and then realised his story. He started in his 30s and the amount of bangers that he churned out, it just got me off my ass and got me working again. Just an inspiring guy and I love that he started later in his life. How did this show come about? Iraia Whakamoe, the man who’s behind the show, basically just...

We all love a good yarn about the little guy triumphing against the odds. If the little guy wears stilettos, even better. Surely that’s why the world loves Kinky Boots, Harvey Fierstein and Cyndi Lauper’s musical about a struggling shoe company and a drag artist in need of sturdy show shoes. In Showbiz Christchurch’s production of the musical, the stilettos are worn by Euan Fistrovic Doidge, aka Lola, to divine effect. showbiz.org.nz

If you were one of the many to be wowed by Kaylee Bell’s boot-stomping gig as part of last summer’s South Island Wine and Food Festival, you may remember somebody else on that stage – Christchurch country singer Steffany Beck. That spot and a host of others last year, including a gig with Jason Kerrison of Opshop, have propelled her career to the point where she is releasing an EP, Pillars, recorded at The Sitting Room in Lyttelton, and going on a national tour, with a gig in Christchurch in July. facebook.com/steffanybeckmusic