The Spinoff’s top picks of events from around the motu.
The ball was wonderful, thanks for asking. It was so fun to get dressed up, and see friends dressed up. That, plus a workshop run by Steven Junil Park I attended recently and Emma Gleason’s wonderful Substack, Crust, has got me thinking a lot about what I wear. Recently my most coveted item of clothing is a pair of polar fleece pants and my style is best described as low-effort. How boring!!! As the ball reminded me, what you wear can alter and enhance the whole experience of an event, and make it more fun. That’s surely why so many kids’ birthday parties are dress-up. As adults we probably need to think beyond constant costumes, and certainly beyond the rules of formal wear, but still keep in mind the experience altering quality the clothes have, and use it for good.
Music: Princess Chelsea’s Midwinter Ball
Meow Nui, 92 Vivian Street, Te Aro, Wellington
7pm Saturday, July 26
$53
This is the kind of event you will remember on your death bed and it will bring a happy tear to your eye and a flutter to your heart. Life was sweet and good after all. For one night you can be a princess, or a squire, or anything you like. You will be amazed and delighted, and you will have some great photos to remember it all.
Love has been poured into absolutely every element of the ball. There’s a series of custom-made installations – Falkor the luckdragon as a couch, the sword in the stone, a turret and Artax in the quicksand, his reins poised for you to pull them – that serve as sets for photos and a couple of professional photographers are included. There’s an elaborate stage, one Tom Sainsbury as the host and live sword fighting. And of course, there’s the music. It will begin with the hero Luke Buda, then the supremely talented weirdos Grecco Romank and finally, Princess Chelsea and the Dream Warriors. Chelsea Nikkel always surprises me – just when I thought it was impossible for her to get better, she continues to level up. Chris Schulz has recently written about this phenomenon and touted her Aotearoa’s best live performer. After last Friday’s ball I have to agree, but it gets even better. She’s not alone on stage – there’s another seven musicians, the Dream Warriors, and every one of them is incredible too.
If that’s not enough to convince you to go, I have one more fact. This will be Princess Chelsea’s last live performance for the year, she told Schulz she needs her energy to write new songs. That means its the last show of a particular era. The next shows, who knows how many moons away, will have different songs, a different energy and possibly different Dream Warriors. You have to catch it while you can!
Whangārei
Theatre: The Guru of Chai
Forum North, 7 Rust Avenue, Whangārei
7pm Saturday, July 26
4pm Sunday, July 27
$30-$60
“The contradictions of modern India, with its iPhones and ancient gods, come alive in this much-loved play from one of New Zealand’s finest performers.”
Tāmaki Makaurau
Photography: World Press Photo Exhibition
131 Queen Street, Auckland
10:30am – 6pm daily until August 24
$15-$25
A showcase of the best and most important photojournalism and documentary photography from around the world.
Morrinsville
Exhibition: Where Colour Lives, Meg Gaddum
Morrinsville Gallery, 167 Thames Street, Morrinsville
10am – 3pm Tuesday – Friday, 11am – 3pm Weekends, until August 10
Free
Meg Gaddum’s paintings draw on a background of science, agriculture and landscape architecture with colour, line and geometry.
Hamilton
Music: In Her Arms
St Paul’s Collegiate, 77 Hukanui Road, Chartwell, Hamilton
2pm Sunday July 27
$10-$30
A choral tribute to mothers by a major choir in the Waikato Region, with over 60 voices.
Rotorua
Workshop: Op & Pop with Ellen Jones-Poole
Rotorua Arts Village, 1240 Hinemaru Street, Rotorua
1pm Saturday, July 26
$30
A fun, three-hour workshop where you will find hidden treasures at an op shop and transform them into something new in a rainbow-friendly space filled with creativity, good vibes, drinks and snacks.
New Plymouth
Theatre: Prima Facie
Wall Theatre, 11 Baring Terrace, Strandon, New Plymouth
7:30pm Friday & Saturday, July 25 & 26
4pm Sunday, July 27
$20-$40
“It’s sublime storytelling from a sublime storyteller, shaped by a theatre genius, and it’s for us.”
– Lexie Matheson ONZM
Motueka
Music: Fantastique, NZTrio
Chanel Arts Centre, 31 High Street, Motueka
3pm Saturday, July 26
Cash on the door
“A lavish tapestry of styles and emotions”.
Nelson
Walk: A Night in the Forest
Brook Waimarama Sanctuary, 600 Brook St, Nelson
6:15pm Wednesday – Friday
$20-$40
Enjoy a guided tour through the ngahere. You might see kiwi but no guarantees as they are very shy.
Ōtautahi
Theatre: Roger Hall’s End of Summer Time
The Court Theatre, 129 Gloucester Street, Christchurch
Wednesday – Saturday evenings, until August 16
$29-$49
Retired cow-cockie Dickie Hart tries valiantly to confront life in the great big, bad city, with Hall’s signature comedic touch.
Ōtepoti
Comedy: To the Moon!
Moons, 286 Princes Street, Dunedin
7pm Friday, July 25
$15
“The engines are untested, the jokes are unstable, and the landing? Completely improvised.”
Fundraiser: Regent Theatre Music Sale
Regent Theatre, 17 The Octagon, Dunedin
10am Saturday, July 26
Free entry
CDs, DVDs, cassettes, records, sheet music, books, instruments and memorabilia for sale!
Gore
Exhibition: Eastern Southland Embroiderers’ Guild Exhibition
Eastern Southland Gallery, 61 Irk Street, Gore
10am – 4.30pm Monday – Saturday, 1pm – 4pm Sunday until August 10
Free entry
More than 70 pieces in a wide variety of techniques, from biscornu and hardanger, to cross stitch and samplers.
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