Stories

It’s been two years in the making, and on October 18, Ballantynes will reopen its Lichfield Street entrance. Cityscapers heading down to explore the new homewares department will be stoked to see exclusive concept stores Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids and West Elm also calling the department store home. The Florist at Ballantynes will have you sorted for whatever occasion life throws at you, while the sweet offerings at the swanky new Chocolate Library are a great excuse to treat your favourite person – as well as yourself! Ballantynes’ lux Lichfield Street offering is rounded out by Kin, an elegant new café and wine bar. Each item on the expertly crafted menu has a wine match to boot, all of which can be purchased from the store on your way out (assuming you’re within their opening hours!). The café’s deli is also serving up a selection of take-home meals to free...

Tim Rookes, managing director of CBRE, tells Cityscape how returning to the central city has given his team’s energy levels a real boost. How did you approach moving from out of town back to the central city? We moved back in mid-August. It was always the master plan to move back but location and profile were key. What process did you follow? There were limited locations to fit the bill that aligned with our lease expiry. Tim Glasson spoke to us about his planned building on the former Stewart Dawsons corner – fantastic location, great aspect down Cashel and High with great presence and signage available. The floor plates were irregular but we saw an opportunity for a focused working floor and a dedicated client suite on the top floor with a balcony and unimpeded views to the Port Hills and evening sun. Perfect. What factors were important for you in...

What’s a city without people? It’s empty, like Christchurch after the quakes. All that is changing as businesses and their teams head back inside the Four Avenues and bring life to lunchtime streets. First up, let’s celebrate how far we’ve come. It’s six years since the last central-city cordon came down in June 2013 and since then growth has been phenomenal. Hundreds of office staff from the BNZ Centre and ANZ Centre bring life to the surrounding streets every lunchtime. Thousands of public servants log on and off every workday in the Justice and Emergency Services or Health precincts. And all those shiny new office blocks between the Avon River and Hagley Park are now filled with lawyers and accountants. That’s a lot of people who need to meet, eat and stay caffeinated. There are now 40,000 people working inside the Four Avenues during the week, more than 16,000 of whom...

Comedian Dylan Moran has moved on from Black Books to riffing on ‘everything’ in his new show, Dr Cosmos. He tells Cityscape he’s planning some sightseeing when he hits town in October. You’ve become a regular visitor to New Zealand over the years – what keeps bringing you back? You don’t think about it when you first start out, you know, you just go somewhere. I’ve been bouncing up and down the road now for a while, one way or another, without much of a plan. It’s a funny thing – some places and some countries you go to and you get them straight away and then there’s other ones where you go back and they’re very elusive. New Zealand’s one of the most enigmatic places there is, actually. Are we a bit hard to work out? Yes, I think so. You’re not like anywhere else. You have echoes of lots...

October is all about the bike. It’s the month we take to the streets to celebrate the city’s annual festival of cycling. Those of us who love a challenge will lap up the destinations on this year’s Biketober Passport Challenge, which encourages people to cycle to more than 40 destinations across the city, using a unique code to check in at each location. Destinations for the challenge (Oct 1 - 25) can be viewed on Biketober’s website. Share in the spirit of the event on social media, where riders are encouraged to post about their adventures using the hashtag #biketoberchchpassport. Believe us when we say it’s some of the best fun you’ll have on a bike! A score of epic events will run alongside the Biketober Passport Challenge, allowing people to pick and choose the times and places that suit them. Of course, this is on top of the cycling action...

If you’re looking for a laugh, you’re in the right place. Cityscape has the inside scoop on the booming local comedy scene and we’re dishing it out for you. After dark, the streets of Christchurch come alive as venues across the city fill with laughter and show how our local comedy scene is a hotbed of talent. With one of the biggest comedy scenes in New Zealand per capita, we Cityscapers are spoilt for choice and are able to get our comedy fix seven nights a week. If you’re new to the scene, here’s where you’ll find the funnies. The art of improv is always entertaining. If you love watching performers think on their feet as they come up with all kinds of wacky scenarios, Scared Scriptless is a must-see. It has run continuously for the past 28 years and is sure to have you in stitches. The show goes down...

Christchurch has launched some hilarious Kiwi comics, including the sharp-witted and oh-so-entertaining Eli Matthewson. You may know Eli Matthewson from 7 Days, Short Poppies, AotearoHA: Rising Stars or any one of his many stand-up shows, but what you may not know about Eli is that he got his start in the 03. We caught up with him while he was living his best life in Scotland and taking on Edinburgh Festival Fringe. How did Christchurch help you get your start? I first got into comedy by doing the High School Theatresports competition – I was obsessed! My team would practise way too much and we went to watch Scared Scriptless almost every week, and were constantly in awe of the legends of the Court Jesters that performed there. I was lucky enough – or maybe just persistent enough with my emails – to get a place in their company in my...

Jonty Bennett is fresh on the scene. He made his comedy debut in 2017 when he was runner-up for the Best Newcomer award and won Spirit of the Festival at the Comedy Carnival. Since then he has produced his own show, taken it down to Dunedin and found his feet in the world of dry, cynical humour. How did you stumble into comedy? I've been comedy-adjacent for a long time, with some friends involved in the scene egging me on to give it a crack. I eventually entered the inaugural Fresh Comedy Competition in 2017, where I forgot my closing bit and was hooked immediately. What’s your day job and how does that fit in with your comedy? I currently work in retail, which has offered some flexibility when it comes to performing out of town. It can be a good source of material in some ways. What words of advice...

Witty queen Georgie Sivier runs The PlaySpace Theatre Company, which focuses on making accessible, innovative and honest theatre. She’s started dabbling in the world of drag artistry, and her alter ego, Tony Chestnut, will have you chuckling along with his scandalous and sexy performances. How did you stumble into comedy? I studied at the New Zealand College of Performing Arts in Wellington and after I finished I worked on a pilot TV show. While I was working on that I was dared to try stand-up. What’s your day job and how does that fit in with your comedy? Comedy is actually my day job. I’m very lucky I run a theatre company called The PlaySpace Theatre Company. What words of advice do you have for aspiring comics out there? Your audience is so important – it doesn’t matter how funny you think your joke is, listen to the audience, they’ll tell...

MC extraordinaire and funny guy Snap (aka Grandpa Figs) spends his time doing stand-up, managing comedians, organising tours and orchestrating the Comedy Carnival for its fourth year. His life is comedy and he’s passionate about retaining talent in Christchurch, not just incubating it. How did you stumble into comedy? When I was about 16, a promoter told me I was witty and should try comedy, so I waited almost 10 years till I had built up enough confidence hosting radio, and then a friend said we should both sign up. I did, she didn’t, and three months later I was touring the country. What’s your day job and how does that fit in with your comedy? My day job is running lots of shows around Christchurch, managing comedians, organising tours and orchestrating the GoMedia Comedy Carnival through my company, Grandpa Figs. My life is comedy. I seriously need a hobby. What...

Funny English chap Simon Kingsley-Holmes made the move from Dunedin to Christchurch this year, in pursuit of fresh opportunities in the abundant Garden City. His deadpan, observational humour and quick-wittedness will have you laughing for days. How did you stumble into comedy? I was doing very poorly in film and television and had screwed my life up on quite a big scale. I was stuck on the other side of the world – poor, fat and lonely, and emotionally and creatively unfulfilled. I was creating short films that were inching towards some sort of personal artistic goal and picking up any filming jobs I could whilst working at some godforsaken social club full of old bigots. After three years of doing the same one-day live filming gig for a yacht race, I said I wanted to be paid and this very well-off man begrudgingly gave me £40 for a 17-hour day....

Bec Sandys likes the darker side of comedy and will have you laughing with her zany humour. She recently opened for Urzila Carlson at the Christchurch Town Hall, and in 2017 she started her own production company, Pop Up Comedy. How did you stumble into comedy? I was filming a movie in Wellington back in 2016 that was based in a comedy club – it was a natural progression from there. What’s your day job and how does that fit in with your comedy? I wear many hats – I don’t have a day job but have lots of things going on. I am on the hunt for a job though, so if anyone’s looking for a content creator/events manager that can work from home or from anywhere in NZ – call me! What words of advice do you have for aspiring comics out there? Just do it. Write, watch, experience...

Check out Action Bicycle Club’s funky Walker Street digs for all things bikes and their specialty, e-bikes. Action have been making cycling fresh, modern and exciting for the past three years and owner Ken has been working in the bike business for more than 18 – he has pedal-pushed his way around the world and wants to influence everyone to give cycling a go. Action have more gear than you could ever imagine – they curate an international collection of parts and accessories, so you’ll always roll away looking stylish. If you’re looking for a healthier and fun alternative to driving then look no further, there are daily rides, electric bikes and adventure bikes for those adrenalin junkies out there – for sale or hire. If you’re thinking about an e-bike, it’s definitely worth trying before you buy to find the perfect fit, and the good folks at Action can help...

The Cityscape team test the O Cosmedics Dermal Planning Peel and come away convinced of the benefits of personalised advanced skin treatments. If you’d uttered the words ‘chemical peel’ to me last week, my mind would’ve run to the episode of Sex and the City where Samantha emerges from the spa post-peel looking like she’s suffered serious burns. Much to my delight, the (exaggerated-for-TV) horrors of the 90s couldn’t be further from the blissful peels on offer in 2019. After arriving at Nicola Quinn Beauty & Day Spa’s luxurious Merivale premises I was asked about the state of my skin by knowledgeable skin specialist Bernice. The fact that my skin is extremely eczema-prone means the O Cosmedics Pomegranate Enzyme Peel is going to be the one for me. While I’m left to slip under the divine covers of the heated massage table I stop and take stock of everything around me....

September’s going to be a funny month. Comedy both international and local is on the cards, with the Comedy Carnival in town as well as Irish comedian Dara Ó Briain and a showcase of comics at Lincoln to end the month. There’s plenty of style on show as well, with Ballantynes Fashion Week. Christchurch turns it on for music fans again, with Jimmy Barnes, Stan Walker, Zed and Joe Bonamassa among the highlights. And in case you missed it, there’s some rugby on this month as well. Go the ABs! COMEDY CARNIVAL, LAUGH AT THE INTERNATIONAL COMEDY NIGHT Two festivals guarantee to bring the laughs this month. The Comedy Carnival runs at various venues around the city until September 21, with some of the best local and international acts performing in more than 35 shows. And at the Lincoln Event Centre on September 28 you can catch funny man Dai Henwood...

WATCHING Downton Abbey Four years after the series called it quits, the highly anticipated Downton Abbey film is finally here. The film picks up in 1927, when the Crawley family find out King George V and Queen Mary are coming to visit. The occasion is so great that beloved former head butler Carson comes out of retirement to chip in. Most of the cast are reprising their roles, including Hugh Bonneville, Maggie Smith and Michelle Dockery. Catch the regal drama in cinemas from September 12. Hustlers What do Jennifer Lopez, Constance Wu, Lizzo and Lili Reinhart all have in common? They star in knockout crime-comedy Hustlers. The film follows a group of former strip club employees as they get revenge on the Wall Street men who did them wrong. Hustlers delivers on laughs and drama and feeds into pop culture’s current obsession with scam artists. Oh, and it’s based on a...

Rugby World Cup fever is sweeping the nation as we get into the 2019 tournament. Here’s what you need to know to survive the full-noise six weeks of sport. The mighty All Blacks are gunning for a three-peat at this year’s Rugby World Cup (RWC). They won the Webb Ellis Cup in 2011 (on home soil no less!), they took it home from England four years later, and now we’re crossing our fingers that they’ll bring it home from Japan.  The opening ceremony and match for the RWC kicks off at 10:45pm on September 20 (NZ time) at Tokyo Stadium – the same venue Japan hosted the All Blacks in last year. From there, the six-week tournament will see the All Blacks touch down in Yokohama, Oita City, Tokyo and Toyota – and that’s just for the pool games!  There are various ways to watch the games. A selection of free...

As businesses and their teams head back to the inner city and into the flash new office spaces being built for them, it’s good to know someone’s thinking about where the children can go. When developer Richard Peebles bought the old Family Courts building on Armagh Street in 2018, he already had in mind that an inner-city childcare facility would be a great future for the building. You can see the attraction – the Gothic architecture evokes images of castles, princes, princesses and magical goings-on; there’s a view over the River Avon; and in the grounds there are 100-year-old horse chestnut trees to play under. The idea led to the Peebles Group and childcare operator Millie’s House working together to transform the building into an early learning centre that meetsall Ministry of Education and health and safety requirements. Millie’s House Early Learning Centre was born and is now open.  It’s a...