Stories

In the Open Christchurch programme, a celebration of the city’s exceptional works of architecture, 52 buildings put out the welcome mat to the public. This year the event coincides with a major survey of the city’s post-quake rebuild. It’s a mixed review. Of the 52 buildings in May’s Open Christchurch programme, there are grand reminders of Victorian splendour, looming modernist structures and such post-quake confections as Tūranga and Te Aratai College. For Dr Jessica Halliday, though, it’s the modest Dorset Street Flats that capture best the intent of the programme, which is to prompt a conversation about what good design is and why it is important. In doing so, we can learn from the past about how we can build for the future. The Dorset Street Flats are an excellent example. Designed in 1966 by a then young Miles Warren, the dwellings solved the problem he had at the time of...

Muso and food entrepreneur Flip Grater is on a mission to popularise plant-based goodies so you can have your pleasures without having to compromise your principles. She calls it ethical hedonism. You probably first popped up on many people's radar as a musician. Tell us about that part of your life? Yeah I worked in the music industry for many years, touring and recording. It was a great lifestyle and creative outlet. But after my daughter Anais was born I just felt like I needed to do more for the planet than singing sad songs!  Do you still find time for performing? I haven't played in public for a while but Anais and I play and sing around the house and I still love making music. I will always write and play because it's who I am. I'm just not doing it professionally at this moment in time.  How did you get...

Now that progress on the new Court Theatre site is clear for all to see, attention is swinging to the last big fundraising push. About $10.8 million of The Court Theatre’s $12 million fundraising target is now secure. To close the gap, The Court is asking supporters to ‘Take YOUR Seat’ in the new main auditorium, a 375-seat playhouse theatre at the heart of the new three-storey building, which will also have a 130-seat theatre, an education studio and several multipurpose spaces. In return for a donation of $1500 (per seat, tax-deductible), a personalised bespoke plaque with your inscription will be affixed to your Court Theatre seats for 10 years. This can by family name, in memorial of someone special or pseudonym – whatever appeals. The TAKE YOUR SEAT campaign will be launched at a function at Tūranga, overlooking the new theatre build, on Friday 28 April. If all 375 seats...

After slaying them at Electric Avenue, Auckland-based psych indie dance duo DUAL have a second EP out and now have Australia in their sights. Cityscape talks dreams and reality with Maurice Miller and Jamie Pyne. Let’s start with your name. DUAL suggests two elements combining to become something even greater. Jamie: Spot on. The name reflects the yin and yang of musical tastes and influences that we both have. When we are writing songs, we bring ideas along and work on them together. You know when it’s working. It’s always about the song. When you start writing a song, it already knows what it wants to be. Is that process a reflection of your long-time relationship? Maurice: That’s a big part of it. We’ve written a lot of songs so you get to know when you’re not feeling it and it’s time to move on. Jamie: It’s about finding the spark...

Feel in need of a spiritual recharge? Get along to the Body Mind Spirit Holistic Health Expo this weekend at Pioneer Stadium and you will find myriad ways and means of doing just that. The extensive array of exhibitors and workshops covers everything from exercise and fitness to clairvoyants, mediums and healing. Whether you’re seeking info, inspo, inner peace, mental stimulation or you’re just curious about what’s out there, the Body Mind Spirit Holistic Health Expo invites you to revitalise your body, stimulate your mind and pamper your soul. Sunjar, the driving force behind the expo, hopes it will inspire people to make positive, healthy and holistic changes in their lives. “Your health is your greatest asset,” he says. “We are responsible for our health and wellbeing as we head into the future. Open their minds and open their hearts to new holistic possibilities to enjoy life. Everything is evolving and change...

Time to ditch the jandals and get your feet into some walking shoes again – it’s the return of the Walking Festival! Coordinated by the Christchurch City Council in partnership with 30 host groups, the festival offers over 55 walks across Ōtautahi, Selwyn and Waimakariri from Saturday 8 April to Sunday 23 April. Want to explore our emerging cityscape? The Urban Play Walk is for you. New Brighton’s dunescapes more to your liking? Love Your Dunes is the one for you. There’s a walk celebrating Christchurch’s links with Antarctica, walks specially designed for kids and family groups, hard hikes, easy strolls and foraging wanders. Fur babies get to join in the fun on a dogs’ day out in the Red Zone. So whether you’re a fan of local history, of getting out into nature, socialising or pushing yourself to get that awesome view, there’s something for all ages and abilities. Walking...

Nic ‘Sailor Girl’ Douglass has over 60,000 followers on social media of her postings as a world champion sailor and inveterate adventurer. Today’s mission? Shepherding local media around the SailGP base in Lyttelton. In truth, Cityscape is more interested in the party on land than the racing on the water. “Have you had a chance to check out the city’s hospo offerings yet,” we ask. “No,” Nic says with an ‘I wish’ look. “My life is runways, freeways and slipways at the moment.” Looking around, it’s easy to see why. The SailGP circus doesn’t just arrive somewhere, it invades. In the nicest possible way, of course. From the last stop, in Sydney a month ago, 84 containers of boats, gear, sophisticated computer wizardry, even whole buildings, were shipped to Lyttelton, assembled and made ready for the heaving mass of punters that poured into the former gravel pit at Naval Point for...

The city’s theatre lovers finally have something to look at on the site of The Court Theatre’s new home in central Christchurch. The first concrete has been poured on the Colombo and Gloucester streets site and progress will be swift once the precast concrete panels, steel and large timber elements are in place. Work on the superstructure will progress in phases. The roof will then be installed and once the building is enclosed, fit-out works can start. Once complete, the three-storey building will include a 375-seat playhouse theatre, a 130-seat theatre, an education studio and several multipurpose spaces. The intent is to provide a full range of theatre experiences for all ages of audiences from all parts of the community. The project is part of the wider Performing Arts Precinct. The Christchurch City Council has committed $46 million towards the development of this. The Court is also fundraising $12 million towards...

The city’s dogs will be busting out their best manu and making a splash when this year’s Pooch Pool Parties come to Waltham and Templeton summer swimming pools on the first weekend in April. The events precede the pools’ winter shutdown and have proved a huge success, with more than 400 dogs taking the plunge in 2021. Extra sessions this year mean room for even more. Waltham Pool goes to the dogs first, on Saturday 1 April, with two morning sessions and two afternoon sessions, split by size. Small dogs (up to 46cm tall) are invited from 9am – 10.30am, followed by medium dogs (46 – 64cm) from 11am – 12.30pm and large dogs (over 64cm) from 1pm – 2.30pm. The day ends with an open session with no size limit between 3pm and 4.30pm. Templeton Pool hosts an open session for all dog sizes from 10am to noon on Sunday...

Audiences can feast on a smorgasbord of culinary talent when The Food Show returns to Christchurch Arena on Friday, 31 March. Australia’s favourite home cook, Julie Goodwin, our own Annabelle White, New Zealand MasterChef winner Sam Low, chef and restaurateur Sid Sahrawat and MasterChef judge and chef Vaughan Maybee will be rocking it live in the NEFF Cooking Theatre on the opening day and over the weekend. For the gardeners among you, chef Bri DiMattina will join the action in the kitchen. Bri harvests and cooks from her homegrown “food forest”. Julie Goodwin became a household name when she was crowned Australia’s first MasterChef. Then, when her first cookbook, Our Family Table, was published, she became one of Australia's best-selling authors. Now, several successful books and many, many appearances later, Julie is coming to New Zealand to share her family-focused recipes with Food Show audiences. Thousands are expected at the celebration,...

Come on, Christchurch, it’s our turn! Last Sunday, a rainbow-hued crowd of 50,000 people made their way across the Sydney Harbour Bridge in a Pride march that marked the 45th anniversary of Sydney’s Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. This Friday you can add your colours to Christchurch Pride’s Walk for Support, which will gather on Cashel Street outside Ballantynes at 5pm and head towards the Bridge of Remembrance, where this year’s Pride festivities will kick off with shows and performances. The walk is a celebration of inclusivity, visibility, representation and the togetherness of the diverse groups that make up the community that is gay Christchurch. Expect to see some colourfully clad skaters weaving through the crowd. Pride Skate begins at Hagley Netball Courts at 5pm before snaking up to Cashel Street to meet the Pride Walk. The night is then young. The week-long Pride programme kicks on to Riverside Market, which...

With its key themes of teen sex and suicide, it would be hard to get this one past the censors these days. But our star-crossed lovers will not be denied – Shakespeare's great tragedy returns to Christchurch in May with the Royal New Zealand Ballet's passionate re-telling of Romeo and Juliet. The ballet was first seen onstage in 2017, when the mesmerising choreography by Andrea Schermoly (Stand to Reason, Within Without) and the sets and costumes by Academy Award-winning designer James Acheson (The Last Emperor, Dangerous Liaisons) wowed audiences at every stop. We know the story. Set amid the splendour and seduction of Renaissance Verona, two families are at war. Our lovers reach across the battle lines, with tragic results. This production captures the colour and vitality of the marketplace in which bawdy laughter turns to horror in the blink of an eye, the grandeur of the Capulet palazzo in which...

The cans are empty, the paint dry and the doors open on SHIFT: Urban Art Takeover at Canterbury Museum. Local and international street artists have taken over the empty museum buildings and turned them into five floors of dazzling images and dayglo eye candy. Huge murals jostle for space with traditional graffiti on the walls, while sculptures have sprouted from the floor and whole spaces – both the galleries you’re familiar with and the storerooms and offices you’ve never seen – have been swallowed by immersive installations. International artists include Aches (Dublin, Ireland), SHOK-1 (London, United Kingdom) and ROA (Ghent, Belgium). Kiwi-born creatives Captain Kris (London, UK), Askew One (Oregon, USA) and Ling (Melbourne, Australia) are also in SHIFT’s list of international talent. The all-star line-up continues with artists from around Aotearoa including Benjamin Work, Flox and Sweats, Charles and Janine Williams, Ross Liew, Haser, Tawck, Chimp, Milarky, Berst, Component and...

Perennial hit-maker and former Police frontman Sting will bring his My Songs tour to Christchurch Arena in March and it is going to be a banger! The tour has garnered rave reviews since the first gig, in Paris in May 2019. After a series of postponements and rescheduling prompted by COVID-19, the world tour got back on track last year and headed Down Under in February. Now it is Christchurch’s turn. It’s a family affair for Gordon ‘Sting’ Sumner as well, with his son, Joe Sumner, the opening act and also joining his father for a duet on ‘King of Pain’. The set list is a generous mix of Police classics such as ‘Roxanne’ and ‘Message in a Bottle’ alongside songs as recent as 2021’s ‘If It’s Love’ from the album The Bridge. sting.com

The delays and cancellations are over. Broods, AKA Nelson siblings Georgia and Caleb Nott, sweep into town on 22 April for a gig long in the waiting, thanks to you know what. The gig, at Ngaio Marsh Theatre, is part of a tour in support of their February 2022 album Space Island, considered by some critics as that year’s #1 break-up album. While the mood may be sombre, the beats aren’t, with indie-pop dance bangers ‘Piece Of My Mind’ and ‘Keep’ bringing some light to the dark. Having worked with everyone from Taylor Swift to Sam Smith and wowed crowds at Lollapalooza and Coachella, the duo are now based in Los Angeles. Both are stoked, though, to be coming home and bringing their show with them. “We’ve missed you and we can’t bloody wait to hang and sway and sing and dance,” they have told fans. broodsmusic.com

They’re tough down in Dunners. Despite funding cuts and COVID, the Fringe Festival show must go on. The annual festival is open to anyone, any form of creative expression and any level of experience. This year’s programme features stand-up comedy, theatre, live music and interactive installations. The internationals are back, with artists from Scotland, Switzerland, Canada and Australia joining Aotearoa’s zaniest in presenting over 60 events from 16 – 26 March. Events take place in everything from theatres to bars, museums to churches, cycleways to shop windows across Dunedin and its suburbs. Launched in 2000, the festival has been embraced by locals and visitors alike. Over 27,000 people attended events in 2021. Last year the festival went ahead, although with cancellations due to pandemic restrictions. The viability of the 2023 festival was threatened by a funding cut that left a $150,000 hole in the budget, including money to pay the artists....

The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra’s first concert in Ōtautahi Christchurch in 2023, Brandenburg, features four works by Baroque music giants Johann Sebastian Bach, George Frideric Handel and Georg Philipp Telemann. Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 continues to mesmerise listeners for its timeless beauty and boldness. A highlight of the piece will be its soloist, NZSO Section Principal Flute Bridget Douglas, who will accompany the Orchestra at The Piano on 14 March. “I've been enamoured with Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 ever since I was introduced to it at high school,” says Bridget. “It’s beautifully intimate chamber music at its absolute best.” Telemann’s Viola Concerto is one of his most famous compositions and one of the first known concertos written specifically for viola. NZSO Associate Principal Alexander McFarlane will be the soloist for this ground-breaking work. Brandenburg also features another superb Telemann orchestral work, his Overture Suite La Changeante, and Handel’s Concerto Grosso...

SailGP is coming to Lyttelton Harbour in March, the first time these insanely fast catamarans have raced in New Zealand, and everything is pointing to thrills and spills on the water and party time on the hard. It’s Season 3 of the event. Already racing has been held in eight centres, from Bermuda in May last year to Singapore in January. The New Zealand team, skippered by Peter Burling, came out on top in that event, cementing their position as the main threat to Tom Slingsby’s charge for a third straight season title for Australia. Lyttelton’s former reputation as a partying port town will no doubt get a new lease on life during the event. And what can’t fit into Lyttelton will spill over to Christchurch, so expect the bars to be pumping! SailGP has been likened to Formula 1 on water. Nine teams compete in short, sharp fleet races close...