The Spinoff’s top pick of events from around the motu. Here’s the best for the week April 16-23.
Welcome to The Spinoff event guide, your weekly, curated selection of gigs, events and exhibitions happening across Aotearoa. If you want to pitch your event for future guides then please use this handy form.
Paihia
Film: Whale Rider – under the stars
Paihia Village Green
6.3opm Sat, April 18
Free
Bring a picnic and settle in for an outdoor screening of the award-winning film adaptation of Witi Ihimaera’s classic novel.
Tāmaki Makaurau
Theatre: A View from the Bridge by Arthur Miller
Q Theatre
On until May 3: Tue–Fri 7pm; Sat 2pm & 7pm; Sun 4pm
$30–$80
“This is an exciting and polished production. This is brilliant theatre of an interntional standard that cannot fail to resonate with us all. I have never seen space so superbly crafted. As Stacey Lailua notes, it ‘showcases the depth possible for brown productions.’ It champions diversity, and the acting is beyond superb. You will be disappointed if you don’t go and see it. DON’T MISS IT.” – Glenda Pearce, Broadway Review.
Silo Theatre’s latest production directed by Anapela Polata’ivao – and Sophie Henderson’s first as artistic director – is receiving standing ovations and rave reviews. Don’t sleep on it.
Te Whanganui-a-Tara
Literature: Global Book Crawl
Various bookshop locations
April 20 – 26
Free
A bunch of bookstores in Wellington (and Auckland, Featherston, Canterbury too) are participating in the Global Book Crawl. The premise is that readers self-guide themselves around participating bookstores, getting involved with events put on for the occasion (Newtown’s Book Haven is throwing a reading party), and generally appreciating book-loving spaces and the people who run them and frequent them.
Ōtautahi
Theatre: Wahine Mātātoa: The (Mostly) True Story of Erihāpeti Pātahi by Cindy Driver
Court Theatre
On until May 9
$17–$59
“A hilariously daring journey through time, ancestry, and adventure, where dreams, decisions, and tupuna guide the way.
A comedy of consequences, Wahine Mātātoa: The (Mostly) True Story of Erihāpeti Pātahi tells the story of our wahine Kāi Tahu across time and space, where the protagonist, Elizabeth, navigates how to balance decisions that could potentially end her dreams of adventure. This all takes place as she visits the (mostly) true stories of her ancestor Erihāpeti Pātahi, a high-born, high-spirited wahine, a force as untameable as the sea.”
Wānaka
Literature: Queer Quarterly Reads
Wānaka Library
6.30pm Thurs, April 23
Free
“Queer Quarterly Reads is held four times a year at the Wānaka Library. Reading of the featured novel is recommended but not vital to enjoy the discussion as we will discuss and draw on the queer cannon as a whole. The event is designed for anyone, no matter your gender or sexuality.” The book for this week’s discussion is The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers.
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