It’s the penultimate day of New Performance Festival and Friday and Saturday nights look set to be epic!

Here’s the latest Fest-O-Vision masterpiece –an interview with the Binge Culture Ralph Upton and Isobel McKinnon about their show Wake Less.

If you feel like you’ve missed anything so far, check out our media page for all the news and reviews.

WHAT’S ON FRI & SAT

There are very few spots left for Call Cutta in a Box tonight and tomorrow, make sure you don’t miss out! Tickets are now only $20*. Sessions start at 4.15pm and go every half hour till 11.15pm. Book by calling 0800 BUY TICKETS.

Invisible Atom continues Fri/Sat 7.45pm

SHOWS STARTING TONIGHT

Show Pony 6.30pm Tickets from $20* Blog

A satirical look at the world of talk-show television and our obsession with celebrity.

Providence 7.45pm Tickets from $20* Blog

An undercover view into the lives of the homeless and the nonsensical prejudices that are assigned to them.

Wake Less 9pm Blog

Put reality out of your mind and watch Wellington’s finest mix deadpan humour and reckless improvisation. 

LATE NIGHT MUSIC at the FESTIVAL CLUB

The Festival Club is open from 5pm, and from 10.30pm there is live music.

Friday: Superstars of Westlynn

An ensemble of awesome musicians collected up by Wellington underground music legend and master saxophonist Jeff Henderson.

Saturday: Storehouse

‘foot-stomping singer/guitarist Tom Rodwell, and singer Coco Davis, plus a revolving cast of monster musician sidemen’

Watch interview with Louise Tu’u, writer and director of Providence

*Service fees apply

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WHAT'S ON TODAY

Call Cutta in a Box continues.

Vague Meditations and the Irresponsible Use of a Time Machine at 6.30pm
ONE SHOW ONLY
From the award winning Slightly Isolated Dog from Wellington.
Check out their blog before you attend – you can even post your own thoughts which they might incorporate into the show.

Invisible Atom at 7.45pm 

Be | Longing: A Verbatim Play 7.45pm 
FINAL performance
Pioneers of documentary theatre retell the stories of what it means to belong to New Zealand, using real life interviews.

Dance like a Butterfly Dream Boy 9pm (Tickets only $10*!) 
FINAL performance
A testosterone charged exploration of what it means to be a man in the 21st century.

Buy tickets for Thursday’s performances

Festival Club open from 5pm.
Watch a ping pong match / conversation between the ladies of Show Pony and Binge Culture Collective from Wellington.
Did we mention they serve Hallertau beer at the bar?

Watch last night’s Ping Pong match between the people behind Invisible Atom and Vague Meditations

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Jimmy Hopper headlined at Las Vegas’ iconic hotel and casino The Bellagio (you’ll know it from Oceans 11) for over four years. He was crowned ‘Entertainer of the Year’ by  Las Vegas Review-Journal. He’s written his own Broadway musical and as one critic said, “Hopper is Freddie Mercury meets Andréa Bocelli!”

Now Jimmy Hopper is in Auckland to treat Auckland to a taste of Vegas glitz this Friday night at Auckland Town Hall’s Concert Chamber and we have three double passes to give away! To be in to win, email media@the-edge.co.nz by midday on Friday 24 February with your contact details and one sentence telling us why you want the tickets.

Get a sneak preview on YouTube:

Jimmy Hopper

Friday 24 February

7:30pm

Auckland Town Hall

“…what is it about this guy that has the heavyweights of the entertainment industry bending over backwards to get him into their venues?  Well, it’s a pretty simple formula, actually—you take pure musical talent and you mix it with pure on-stage showmanship.”

R. Keith Rugg, Action Magazine

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Ping Pong Pit matches still to come – 5:30pm at the Festival Club.

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WHAT'S ON TODAY

Call Cutta in a Box continues.

“I came out of the room absolutely enthused with life, grinning ear to ear”. Theatre Scenes

Invisible Atom at 7.45pm

Reviews from Tuesday’s performance:

“This is a skilful and intelligent story told with wit, poise and clarity. It's an unpredictable journey into the conscience mind of a very modern Every Man... Black's performance carries a sense of grace and presence.” Theatreview

“Anthony Black, who plays Atom, delivers an engaging, humorous and poignant tale... The supporting characters, who Black introduces with razor sharp timing, are very funny and help move the story along.” Concrete Playground.

Watch the Fest-O-Vision interview here.

OPENING TONIGHT

Be | Longing: A Verbatim Play 7.45pm (2 shows only!)
Pioneers of documentary theatre retell the stories of what it means to belong to New Zealand, using real life interviews.

Dance like a Butterfly Dream Boy 9pm (Tickets only $10*!)
A testosterone charged exploration of what it means to be a man in the 21st century.

Here’s the Fest-O-Vision interview with Josh Rutter:

Buy tickets for Wednesday’s performances

PING PONG PIT

You can see Invisible Atom take on Slightly Isolated Dog both verbally and athletically at the Ping Pong Pit at 5:30pm tonight.

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Invisible Atom opened last night and Fest-O-Vision videographer José Barbosa spoke to writer and actor Anthony Black and lighting designer Christian Barry right after the show in the Festival Club.

Check out the review on Theatreview (Warning: references Whitney Houston).

If you’re keen to see a brilliant one man performance on a metre square stage, this is for you.

You can see Invisible Atom take on Slightly Isolated Dog both verbally and athletically at the Ping Pong Pit at 5:30pm tonight.

Our pre-festival blogger Chris Hooper tweeted: Theatre fans will love Call Cutta In A Box (life changing) & Invisible Atom (surprisingly cheerful existential storytelling). Go!

Will Taylor tweeted: Invisible Atom at #NPFest was AMAZING. Go see it, incredible one man performance!

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Last chance to see festival favourite 2 Dimensional Life of Her at 6.30pm. ‘a tasty and unusual theatrical morsel.’ - NZ Herald.

Call Cutta in a Box. All remaining tickets are only $20, make sure you don’t miss this unique experience.

Invisible Atom makes it’s Auckland debut at 7.45pm. All the way from Canada!

The Festival Club is open from 5pm.    

Find tickets for today’s performances here

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See the full gallery on Posterous

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 New Performance Festival officially got underway on Friday night and our Fest-O-Vision videographer José  Barbosa made this great clip. Note – it’s only one of 13 shows in the festival, and some have already been and gone! Check out the website to see the info on all the shows, the bands and the FESTIVAL CLUB!

Here’s José’s latest video about projection show 2 Dimensional Life of Her:

The APO's concert season begins this Thursday with the Gala Opening concert featuring Ukrainain pianist Alexander Gavrylyuk.

Direct from Las Vegas comes Jimmy Hopper, "the voice of symphonic pop" with two shows scheduled for the Concert Chamber on Thursday and Friday.

Saturday sees The King's Singers at Auckland Town Hall, featuring the first even non-British singer, NZ's own Chris Bruerton! Check out recent a blog by Chris written en route to Auckland.

And from the cool free events files, at High Noon on Saturday, Aotea Square becomes a skate park with the Billabong City Squared Skateboard Invitational. Watch the trailer: 

Coming soon and just on sale

 City and Colour - 29 April – pre-sale has just started! http://www.the-edge.co.nz/cityandcolour.aspx

Semi-Permanent 18 & 19 May http://www.the-edge.co.nz/semipermanent.aspx

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ON THIS WEEKEND

4.15pm (starts every half hour until late) daily Call Cutta in a Box $35* (Blog)

4pm and 6.30pm Sat/Sun 2 Dimensional Life of Her Tickets from $20* (Blog)

7.45pm Sat only Ghosting Part 2 - Cabaret Tickets from $20* (Blog)

7.45pm Sat only Thought/Action: The Death of Agency ONE SHOW ONLY! $10* (Blog)

9pm Sat only I Am a Wee Bit Stumped ONE SHOW ONLY! $10* (Blog)

*Service fees apply. ID required for Concession tickets

A workshop with Frank van de Ven and Peter Snow of Thought/Action: The Death of Agency begins Sat and Sun at 10am.

Ping Pong Pit at the Festival Club featuring Ghosting Part 2 - A Cabaret VS. Thought/Action: The Death of Agency

Late Night Music at the Festival Club from 10.30pm with BADD ENERGY. $5 on the door. (Blog)

New Performance Festival | 17-25 February 2012

www.npfestival.co.nz | Twitter: #npfest | Facebook

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We are super excited around here, because the New Performance Festival launches today!

ON TODAY

4.15pm (starts every half hour until late) Call Cutta in a Box $35*

6.30pm 2 Dimensional Life of Her Tickets from $20*

7.45pm Ghosting Part 2- Cabaret 2 shows only! Tickets from $20*

9.00pm The Risk of Listening with Tao Wells ONE SHOW ONLY! $10*

Get tickets here

The Festival Club opens at 5pm, and the first round of Ping Pong Pit begins at 5.30pm with Call Cutta in a Box VS. The Risk of Listening with Tao Wells.

José Barbosa and Fest-O-Vision will be broadcasting live from the Festival Club from 6pm. Check out the live stream online from 6pm.

Late Night Music starts around 10.30pm at the Festival Club with Orchestra of Spheres live.

MAKE SURE YOU CHECK OUT WHAT’S ON! Some shows are only here for one or two performances, and you might just kick yourself if you miss out on something that EVERYONE ELSE will be talking about! Download the calendar here.

REVIEWS

2 Dimensional Life of Her:

“A multi-layered, thought provoking and most unusual production that really requires repeated viewings to be fully appreciated”. Artshub (Sydney)

“This show, is promoted as a family affair and indeed there is much to bedazzle youngsters, but it is the adult who will benefit most from this forty minutes of eye catching strangeness”. Australian Stage

Call Cutta in a Box:

“I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it… I could easily substitute the word Weird for the word Incredible, or Mind-Expanding, or even potentially Life-Changing”. Gather and Hunt

*Service fees apply. ID required for Concession tickets

New Performance Festival | 17-25 February 2012
www.npfestival.co.nz | Twitter: #npfest | Facebook

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Some of us have been lucky enough to attend preview performances of Call Cutta in a Box. Here’s what some had to say:

"I came away having forged a personal connection with someone. That's something the theatre doesn't normally do."

"Those foreign call centres we all encounter at some stage, suddenly had a name, a face, a personality."

José (of Fest-O-Vision) went along too, here’s his video review which includes his fear of organ harvesting plus an interesting interview with Director Jorj Karrenbauer.

We recommend booking for this one before word gets around and it sells out!

Call Cutta in a Box

17-25 February, Every half from 4.15pm – late. Each performance lasts approx 50 minutes.
Special Location – meet at Festival Box Office, Aotea Centre
Limited door sales from the Festival Box Office or pre-book online 0800 BUY TICKETS 

Don't forget to join the Facebook page for updates and more 

New Performance Festival | 17-25 February 2012

www.npfestival.co.nz | Twitter: #npfest | Facebook 

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It’s Production Week for New Performance Festival which means boxes have been arriving from all over the world, theatres are being set up and the festival club stage, seating and beer fridge are almost ready to go.

For artists, Production Week is when works are rehearsed, tweaked and tested and last night Josie went along to German Reality Theatre company Rimini Protokoll’s Call Cutta in a Box to take part in a technical rehearsal through before it runs for media and ‘real audiences’. This is what she said:

I’d read quite a bit about Call Cutta in a Box before heading along to the performance and it was fair to say that I was excited and suffering from a bit of performance anxiety at the same time! I don’t want to give away too much about the show, but the whole concept of Call Cutta in a Box turns traditional performance on its head. You’re not just an audience member, you’re participating in an experience.

Let me relieve your mind and tell you that it’s not demanding or embarrassing; I’d say it’s the opposite – inspiring and friendly! From when you pick up the ringing phone and are greeted by name, to the end of the ‘show’, you’re coached through the story.

I’m absolutely certain that the experience is different for everyone. For me, I felt like I’d made a friend at the other end of the phone. The call centre worker and I discovered we had more in common than either of us had expected. There are clever things that happen that are a bit mysterious and provide the ‘oooh’ factor. Without spoilers (I know I’ve been very vague), I can only really say that I left feeling exhilarated and smiling from ear to ear. Awesome.

You’ll understand this once you see the show…

Read our feature on Call Cutta in a Box and if you do go, don’t forget to RSVP and check in on Facebook.

See the full gallery on Posterous

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Every festival needs a Festival Club. A place where you can hang put after shows, schmooze with some directors, have a drink with your mates and have a boogie if you want.

The New Performance Festival Club, is a club with a bit of a difference. It will feature live rounds of Ping Pong, artist discussions, haircuts and the best new live music from around NZ.

Orchestra of Spheres
Fri 17 Feb

Orchestra of Spheres (pictured above) are a Wellington four-piece fresh from their European tour of All Tomorrow’s Parties (a Festival that’s quite a big deal in the international music scene).

We loved their track Hypercube so much we used it on the NPF trailer!

Listen on Bandcamp

Badd Energy – feat. Sam Moore, Coco Solid, Trixie Darko and J.Suave
Sat 18 Feb

Badd Energy have just released the second track off their new album Underwater Pyramids (out soon on Flying Nun) which will feature their much played Third Eye. Here’s their totally awesome 80’s-flavoured music video for Ba-Zing.

Superstars of Westlynn
Fri 24 Feb

An ensemble of awesome musicians collected up by Wellington underground music legend and master saxophonist Jeff Henderson. We can’t wait to see what he puts together.

Storehouse
Sat 25 Feb

Saturday is special, it’s closing night of the New Performance Festival, so what better way to come to a close than with “foot-stomping singer/guitarist Tom Rodwell, and singer Coco Davis (who recently stole the show in ATC’s production of Cabaret) plus a revolving cast of monster musician sidemen”

Listen on Bandcamp

Late Night Music

17 - 18 and 24 - 25 February (Fri/Sat only)

10.30pm till late

Festival Club, Level 3, Aotea Centre

Booking info

Facebook event

New Performance Festival | 17-25 February 2012 

www.npfestival.co.nz | Twitter: #npfest | Facebook

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There are heaps of opportunities to learn from the artists at New Performance Festival. There are three workshops where you can hear from experienced arts practitioners, and there’s an artist talk at the Festival Club every day from 5:30pm. Artist talk is a very generic term, what’s really going to happen is the Ping Pong Pit – where artists discuss their work while battling each other at ping pong. We expect things to get a bit crazy. Happy hour starts at 5pm, with $6 house drinks too – just a tip!

If you’re serious about performance – the workshops are amazing opportunities for you. Check out the details and book now!

18 & 19 February - Thought/Action with Frank van de Ven and Peter Snow

23 & 24 February - Presence, Voice and Theatre with Bert van Dijk

25 February - Designing Actions to Time and Space with John Downie

New Performance Festival | 17-25 February 2012

www.npfestival.co.nz | Twitter: #npfest | Facebook

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We’re in full on festival mode - Short+Sweet Dance wraps up on Saturday with the Gala Final – here’s a great Nightline story in Ali Ilkram’s inimitable style.

Next week New Performance Festival kicks off and it’s great to see buzz spreading around the internet. Thanks to Cheese on Toast for posting the full FEST-O-VISION trailer (so mad, so funny. And there’s a bear costume!) We’re also collaborating with Auckland Art Gallery to bring a talk this Sunday at the Gallery’s auditorium. Head along at 1pm to hear from Curator Stephen Bain and two of the directors from the festival.

We’ve just released the short version, you can check it out below.

We had this through from the Binge Culture Panda – a trailer for their show in New Performance Festival, Wake Less. (Really, really want to see this show now).

Here’s a video from the Guardian website about an actress’ efforts to get comedian Simon Amstell active online.

Really keen on theatre? Or Arrested Development? Or Scott Pilgrim vs The World? Yeah – we’re dreaming of a trip to Sydney to see Michael Cera, Keiran Culkin and Emily Barclay in This is Our Youth too.

Good news for New Zealand playwrights and fans of local theatre – Playmarket has released the figures for 2011 and it was a record year for local plays. Read the article on The Big Idea. We certainly saw some great local works last year – did you? What were your favourites?

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Almost as good as those $1 flights on Grabaseat, the FORWARD PASS lets you see four incredible Festival shows for only $50*, saving 20 of your precious dollars.

In other words, you pay for two and get two free.

Choose two shows valued at $25 and two shows valued at $10 and pay only $50*. 

$25 shows:
• Ghosting Part 2 - Cabaret (Auckland)
• Be | Longing: A Verbatim Play (Dunedin)
• Show Pony (Auckland)
• Providence (Auckland)
• Wake Less (Wellington)

$10 shows:
• The Risk of Listening with Tao Wells (Wellington)
• I Am a Wee Bit Stumped (Auckland/Norrbotton)
• Thought/Action: The Death of Agency (Amsterdam/Melbourne)
• Dance Like a Butterfly Dream Boy (Auckland)
• Vague Meditations and the Irresponsible Use of a Time Machine (Wellington)

Buy a FORWARD PASS online now

If you want some help planning your festival timetable you can download a handy calendar here, or phone our friendly ticketing buddies at THE EDGE on 0800 BUY TICKETS.

*Service fees apply.

The FORWARD PASS can be redeemed at any time prior to the performance by calling 0800 BUY TICKETS (0800 289 842) or visiting the Aotea Centre or Festival Box Office. Door sales are available unless sold out prior.

PS – Check out the new Wake Less trailer!

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A show of dances of all genres, with none over ten minutes sounds like a good concept, right? You would be...correct. Short + Sweet dance is an awesome night out, and an opportunity to see some crazy-good dancing...and you only have to concentrate for ten minutes at a time!

The best way to describe the Short + Sweet dance festival? Mostly awesome, occasionally awkward. If you’re like me, you won’t like every dance. Maybe I’m too much of a boring dance purist and not wacky enough, but some of the dances felt like crazy ideas that should have just stayed ideas. But you only have to wait ten minutes for the next awesome one, of which there were plenty. My picks? I loved the hilarious Double Derelicts, a story of two vagrants which was as much comedy as it was dance. And I was completely blown away by M’n’M, which is a kick-ass hip-hop piece that basically transforms five guys into human robots. (And not in the terrible 80’s way...) How they get their bodies to move like that individually, let alone move all in sync, has to be seen to be believed. Oh, and it opens with tap-dancing, too. Honestly, I’d watch ten times the ten minutes they had. 

In a nifty change from the norm, the audience also gets to vote for their favourites, and the winners will go on to the gala final on Saturday. So, if you like to wield your power - go tonight or tomorrow and vote. Or, if you want to see the creme de la creme as voted by all the audiences - go on Saturday. Easy. 

-          Kate

Short+Sweet Dance
All dance genres, all styles, all abilities with just one little rule – no dance over 10 minutes!
Concert Chamber, Auckland Town Hall
On until Saturday 11 February. Tickets $15 - $25 + Service fee.
Tickets »

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Dance Like A Butterfly Dream Boy

Chris Hooper is an entertainment junkie. Even though he works in television, he buys tickets to go to live performance all the time – what well rounded tastes! We asked him to have a look at the New Performance Festival programme and tell us what he thought looked most interesting. Over to you Chris.

 My Festival Picks:

I’m just going to put this out there – I like the weird stuff. Arts-wise I mean. Don’t get me wrong, I like conventional theatre too (you know – some good old-fashioned ‘Proper Acting’, annunciation, nicely synchronised chorus lines) but sometimes, I just like it weird. Unconventional venues, interesting stories; the whole genre-confounding, head-scratching, eye-popping she-bang. So when I took a peak through the New Performance Festival brochure (which smells really very nice by the way) my insides did a happy.

Here’s four things I’m intrigued by and excited to see:  

2 Dimensional Life of Her by Fleur Elise Noble. An award-winning performance that incorporates drawing, animation, puppetry, projection and paper. Yes, that’s right – puppetry. I love puppets – they’re creepy and sad.  It sounds like a multi-media extravaganza – and I like to see all the medias given due attention.

Call Cutta In A Box by Rimini Protokoll. Billed as ‘reality theatre’, this is a deeply intriguing proposition where you’re put directly into the piece as the recipient of a phone call with a real-life, non-professional actor who’s sitting on the other end of the line 10,000kms away. Who knows what we’ll talk about – but I can’t wait to find out.  

Be Longing: A Verbatim Play By Theatre Studies, University of Otago. I’m not from here – I came here to steal your jobs (though not your women), so this play about belonging in Aotearoa has my name written all over it. Based on the real stories of people who’ve migrated here, returned from OE’s after a long time, or who are tangata whenua, it’s a research project brought to life. The group’s brand of documentary theatre has been acclaimed in the past, so it’s a fair bet that this will be interesting and thought-provoking.

Dance Like A Butterfly Dream Boy by Josh Ritter. Apart from an amazing title, this is a dance piece set “deep in the heart of the homo-social neurosis”. Now, I don’t know what that means but I’m pretty sure I suffer from it, so I’m going to go along and find out.  

You can stalk Chris on Twitter at @tophhooperton.

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