Stories

We round up great films, reads, shows to bingewatch, new albums to treat your ears to and a couple of decent podcasts to enlighten. Watching Film picks thanks to Lumière Cinemas' Nick Paris. Misbehaviour Well-behaved women rarely make history, and in London 1970, Sally Alexander (Keira Knightley) is on the brink of misbehaving her way right into notoriety. Fed up with the constant disadvantages that come with being a woman, and sent into particular fury by the upcoming Miss World pageant, Sally and her friends in the newly-formed women’s liberation movement hatch a plan to disrupt the pageant and finally shake the world awake. A brilliant and witty true story. The Dry Based on the bestselling novel by Australian author Jane Harper, The Dry follows Federal Agent Aaron Falk (Eric Bana), who arrives in his hometown for the first time in decades to attend the funeral of his best friend, Luke....

You can achieve your own Riverside/Mondrian-style mural at home with a bit of masking tape, careful planning, and some bright Resene colours. Colour blocking is a great way to liven up a feature wall in your home. We’re loving the ‘randomly placed blocks’ look reminiscent of the great works of Dutch painter Piet Mondrian – and of Dcypher’s new Riverside Market Resilient mural. To achieve this look, choose primary colours like Resene Aviator, Resene Dynamite and Resene Galliano, separated by lines in a dark shade like Resene Blackjack. Pair with a neutral backdrop so that it’s the block of colour that shines. The key is to give each colour enough room to breathe rather than filling the whole space with shapes. resene.co.nz

Whether you’re going in for a coffee fix, a cheeky brewsky, an afternoon glass of Waipara’s finest wine, a sundowner gin, or a healthy dose of kombucha, we’ve got such a sweet selection of Canterbury beverages available there’s no excuse not to #drinklocal. Coffee The Coffee Monster Cold Brew is brewed in the CBD using two types of the finest single origin coffee beans. A dark and rich coffee, the double 48-hour batch brewing brings out a chocolate profile with hints of earthy flavours and a sweet, clear finish. Perfect for cocktails, black over ice, or with your choice of milk. The Coffee Monster is the passion project of local caffiend Chris Meyer whose mission is to supply establishments and good humans with a local product that exceeds expectations. thecoffeemonster.co.nz Epiphany by Prima Roastery is an ethical and tasty coffee roasted in Sydenham. The roast came about when Good Habit and...

Spanning almost three decades, The Wrightmann Collection comprises nearly 1000 works of art and objects by Aotearoa New Zealand artists, signifying an ‘alignment of the stars’ for Selene Manning and Anthony Wright. Many items in the collection, displayed in the recently completed Wrightmann House, represent a cross section of contemporary Canterbury art and its art history with works by recent graduates and emerging artists in conversation with senior artists’ work. Recently opened for the first time to the public for a one-night only arts event, a fundraiser to support SCAPE Public Art, The Wrightmann Collection also reveals the untold story of Christchurch’s many ‘pop up’ galleries and artists’ spaces that flourished in the immediate post-quake period. 2011 From 22 February 2011, Manning and Wright prioritised the work of local graduate and postgraduate students. Wright notes that the earthquake changed everything. This included the city’s galleries, which were decimated. Galleries that opened...

Punchy, modern mixtures, traditional Italian flavours, and eclectic and subtle new creations – we’re slicing up Christchurch’s irresistible pizza scene. 1 - Spice up your Slice Bottle + Stone This new wee hole in the wall serves up unique al taglio-style pizza - the rectangular kind, with some toppings cooked on, the others laid on fresh. Tuck into a delicious slice and grab a bevvy from the on-site bottle shop (Bottle + Stone makes a pretty good margarita). Ingredients: Spicy salami, Italian sausage, mozzarella, red onion and confit garlic. bottleandstone.co.nz 2 - Pizza Salsiccia Francesca’s Italian Kitchen Francesca’s Italian Kitchen uses local, seasonal produce to make to-die-for woodfired pizzas, as well as a tempting menu of Italian classics that might have you deviating from the pizza menu – maybe. Salsiccia is Italian pork sausage, and this is a homemade recipe inspired by classic northern Italian flavours. Ingredients: Pork sausage, tomato base,...

Want to reminisce on those milk bar days, adult style? Boogie on down to Boo Radley’s and give yourself a major milk moustache with these drool-worthy grown-up shakes. Gingerbread Man – Frangelico, Licor 43, gingerbread syrup and vanilla ice cream, topped with gingernut crumb, chocolate syrup and whipped cream. Roger Rabbit – Cointreau, crème de cacao and vanilla ice cream topped with chocolate syrup, chocolate pearls and whipped cream. Caramel Maker – Maker’s Mark bourbon with salted caramel and vanilla ice cream, topped with caramel popcorn and whipped cream. Boo Radley's is an award-winning southern-USA-styled bar in Victoria Street where you'll find blues, live music, delicious sharing plates and – of course – an excellent selection of drinks. booradleys.co.nz

Witty, naughty and razor-sharp, Jarred Fell is coming to Christchurch to premiere his new show, Again. He talks street magic and sleight of hand with Cityscape. How did you get into magic? I was 11 years old in Las Vegas, with my parents of course! We saw a magician foot a dollar bill in a magic shop in The STRAT Hotel and I was hooked from then, making my parents take me to David Copperfield and buying every magic book under the sun. My first lesson in magic was from a cross-dresser in Charing Cross station at one of the oldest magic shops in London. Tricks or illusions? Oooh, I’m more of a trick kinda guy. This show will be tricks, but mainly tricks of the mind. I love to watch illusions but I believe, with magic, you should be able to pick up anything around you and perform an impossible...

Anthony Wright and his partner Selene Manning recently completed the stunning home-cum-art collection Wrightmann House. All the interior walls of this architectural marvel are covered in art, and the overwhelming sense of being surrounded by beauty and confronting works resolves into a wondrous experience of spotting new details and hidden surprises every time you look. Anthony wears a lot of hats in his occupational and personal life – perhaps the most visible of which is his role as director of Canterbury Museum, where he is overseeing plans for an extensive modernisation of the institution. Anthony takes a moment with Cityscape to answer some questions on life, history, and art. Being director of Canterbury Museum was the dream job that brought me to Christchurch 24 years ago. As it turns out, my great, great grandfather came here in 1857 and is buried in Linwood cemetery. So there are some family links here...

Reggae summertime legends The Black Seeds are playing Christchurch into the new year at Hagley Park on December 31. Singer and percussionist Daniel Weetman tells Cityscape about life in a band that spans two decades and many, many members. Are you currently recording a new album? Yeah, we’ve been working on ideas separately because of Covid and being in different parts of the country. So we’ve come into the studio for the last couple of days and we’re making some progress. Has that been quite different to your normal musical creation process? It’s always been a little bit of working on your own demos and then bringing them to the band and doing that together, so it hasn’t been too different with Covid – I guess the period of time has just been longer with that separation. But there’s always a positive and we’ve had more time to write and come...

The depictions on Christchurch’s exterior walls are a massive part of the city’s post-quake identity. Cityscape talks to a few of the artists who have marked our streets and watched the city evolve. Christchurch’s rejuvenated inner city has become one of the world’s best canvases for street art. Pulling a positive out of the dramatic and earthquake-forced transformation of the city landscape, the resulting abundance of large-scale art has made Ōtautahi a gigantic outdoor gallery that’s crammed with photo ops. And it’s not just random tagging, either. The city’s transformation of blank walls into stunning works of art has featured a veritable roll call of world-renowned street artists alongside local legends and urban creatives from around Aotearoa. GEORGE SHAW George, originally from the UK and having come to Christchurch via Nelson, is one of the masterminds behind street art organiser and commissioner Oi YOU! How is the Christchurch art scene different...

Joel is a Christchurch graphic designer and urban artist with a proclivity for creating art around the themes of beauty and decay. What are the inspirations for your various art pieces featuring faces? My inspiration comes from everywhere. A lot of what I paint has been influenced from my past work in graphic design and commercial art. I fuse a lot of found photographic elements of texture, shapes, patterns from all things that I am interested in like architecture, design, typography, nature, sports and urban decay, usually collaged together around a human form that again is collaged together from a mixture of different sources. How did you get into creating street art? I was always into drawing as long as I can remember. The style and nature of my work now is stencil-based, so these techniques lend themselves well to going large. It just came out of wanting to challenge myself to paint larger and larger, really. What...

George, originally from the UK and having come to Christchurch via Nelson, is one of the masterminds behind street art organiser and commissioner Oi YOU! What has Oi YOU! been up to in the last few years? We organised Rise in 2014 and Spectrum in 2015 and 2016. They were absolutely huge festivals, we worked too hard and we burned out. We did some more stuff around the country including a smaller festival in Tauranga. A few years ago Christchurch Airport approached us to do several artworks over a few years. We also did the 3D-style mural in SALT District, the one that says ‘SALT Ōtautahi’. We’ve done some Antarctic-themed murals with the Antarctic Centre and a couple of works at Riverside Market. Ōtākaro Limited got one in the south frame on Durham and Mollett Street which talks to the development of graffiti into street art. It depicts trains in New...

Canterbury Museum’s doors first opened on October 1, 1870, and over the past 150 years its collection has swelled from 25,000 items to more than 2.3 million. To celebrate the anniversary, Canterbury Museum is releasing House of Treasures: 150 Objects from Canterbury Museum Ngā Taonga Tuku Iho, a book showcasing some of the museum’s most incredible artefacts. There are 69 items from the volume currently on display in the museum – 31 of which (including the thylacine and kākāpō below) are rarely-seen delicate treasures on display for a limited time. Here are five incredible taonga from House of Treasures, and their stories: 1 - Yellow kākāpō A rarely lovely bird Kākāpō are the world’s only living flightless parrots. Once common throughout New Zealand, they are now critically endangered and survive on just three small predator-free islands. Their plumage is predominantly green, mottled with yellow and brownish grey. One specimen held at...

Trot out your inner aristocrat with this unique opportunity to experience the exhilarating sport of polo right in the heart of the city. Hagley Park’s Old Boys rugby field will be transformed into a polo field for the day, featuring a faster paced, contemporary spin on traditional polo that will have you on the edge of your seat. As well as the polo, there will be live music, food, drink and fashion to enjoy on the day. You can even try a bit of polo yourself with the sideline hitting game, and stomp the divots just like in Pretty Woman. BYO Richard Gere. Hagley Park, Sat 20 Feburbanpolo.co.nz

Orchestral-spectacular Synthony is coming to Christchurch Arena. For a live music experience that gives you chills, gets you dancing and just plain blows your mind, don’t miss the unbeatable collaboration of the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra with DJs, vocalists and some incredible visuals set to some of the biggest dance hits of the last 30 years. This year’s Synthony event is promised to be the largest ever, with 90 minutes of high-octane orchestral spectacular bookended by DJ sets to keep the party going. Expect lasers, pyrotechnics, sizzling solos and the likes of Pink Floyd’s ‘Another Brick in the Wall’ and Darude’s ‘Sandstorm’ as you’ve never seen or heard them before. Christchurch Arena, Sat 20 Marpremier.ticketek.co.nz

Head to one of Bank Peninsula's best little towns for a day of A&P action. One of the most popular A&P shows in Canterbury, this annual event showcases the best of what local farmers, growers and producers have to offer, as well as livestock events such as the dog high jump, speed shearing and grand parade. With displays of vintage machinery, woodchopping competitions and stalls offering wares from flowers, art and crafts to baking, preserves, fruit and veg, the Little River A&P Show is a summer highlight for this charming district. Awa-iti Domain, Little River, Sat 23 Janlittlerivershow.org.nz

Wongi Wilson is a street artist with a reputation for high-quality, large-scale works in prominent positions around Christchurch. What motivates your DTR street art crew? Our motivations have changed over the years but for nearly 15 years we've pushed graffiti art productions. How is the art scene in Canterbury different now from ten years ago? The street art scene in Christchurch has become multifaceted. There are many offshoots of street art. It wasn't taken seriously as an art form ten years ago and now it is legitimate. How did you get into creating street art? It started as an interest in the sub-culture and trying to mimic what I'd seen in magazines, documentaries and movies. Along the way there were a few opportunities to develop, namely through Project Legit but besides that, it was self-motivation. READ MORE: Street art in Christchurch What was the first bit of street art you created? Was...

For everyone who’s ever sat bored through the sports or ancient history part of a pub quiz, Nomi Cohen is bringing us a thigh-slapping, head-scratching, sing-a-long musical quiz, What The Quiz is This?! What’s What The Quiz is This?! A live performance-style pub quiz. So instead of having general knowledge rounds or questions, we perform a medley of various songs and it’s the teams’ jobs to tell us what the name of the song is, who the artist is and – if it’s from a show – which show. There’s a whole bunch of rounds and categories, with a few extras on the side. How do you rate your singing ability? My mum says I’m pretty good! What’s your favourite song to sing at the top of your lungs in the car? ‘No Air’ by Jordin Sparks. I absolutely love it – it’s my absolute jam – and made better if...