Theatre

What I'm Looking Forward To: Josie Campbell

Taken from The Common Critic, by Sylvia Giles.

Josie Campbell is the comms go-to person at The Edge arts and entertainment centre, and is also the voice behind its social media, which promotes shows from The Civic, the Town Hall, Aotea Centre and the Herald Theatre. She also was one half of the critically acclaimed online food entertainment extravaganza The Perfect Setting as part of Auckland Fringe in March.

So it's not surprising that she's really clued in about a broad range of upcoming events. (She says: "I know they're all on at where I work - please forgive me, they're the ones running through my head!") An enthusiast for live performance, she tells us what she's looking forward to.

1. Short+Sweet
aka, the Largest 10-Minute Theatre Festival in the World. It's a cool idea - a whole bunch of directors and actors (some famous and some aspiring) are put together to produce 10-minute plays - audiences get to see 10 short plays in one night. It's a really fun mishmash and a bit of a rollercoaster with hilarity and sadness all on one stage. The unforgettable part of last year for me was a giant fruit fight at the end of one of the plays - messy!

2. Calendar Girls
ATC's production of Calendar Girls looks like it will be big and colourful and hilarious. Anyone who is about my vintage remembers the trauma of Theresa Healy's departure from Shortland Street, and I have to say I'm really looking forward to seeing her on stage with a bunch of other amazing actresses.

3. SOAP The Show
I really like acrobatics and I'm still gutted that I missed out on La Clique in the Spiegletent a couple of years ago, but I think this will make up for it (it has one of the same directors involved). Plus, one of the acrobats was on Britney's Circus tour. Can anyone say SPECTACULAR?

4. The Man in Black
I've got a few Johnny Cash albums and loved the Ring of Fire movie so I cannot wait for the stage show about Johnny Cash's life. Few people I know have seen the show in Australia and say it is brilliant.

5. APO: The Planets
Slightly off topic ... I don't know heaps about classical music but went to one of the APO's concerts recently and loved it. The next one I'm going to is The Planets - which is exciting because as well as amazing music, they're projecting NASA images. Admitting how fascinating I find this makes me sound like a total geek, but NASA! Sounds incredible.

Something bold, something new

Taken from NZ Herald, by Dionne Christian.

If Matariki is to be more than a token addition to the calendar of contemporary festivals, then events and activities must embrace te reo (language) and tikanga (protocol), according to Tainui Tukiwaho.

While Matariki, the Maori New Year, has always been important in the Maori calendar it has been recognised by wider society only in the past few years.

This year, it includes a celebration of Maori play writing which unites Tukiwaho's SmackBang Theatre Company with Hekama Productions on a theatre project which "walks the talk" through its strong use of te reo and tikanga.

The Tuakana-Teina Project has brought together two Maori writers in a mentoring relationship. Award-winning writer Albert Belz has been assisting and guiding emerging playwright Michael Rewiri-Thorsen.

Tukiwaho says the tuakana-teina relationship is an integral part of traditional Maori society, providing an older or more experienced tuakana to help and guide a younger or less experienced teina.

The results of Belz and Rewiri-Thorsen's collaboration can be seen next week with the double-bill presentation of new and one classic play: Rewiri-Thorsen's debut Strong Hands and Belz's Te Awarua.

Rewiri-Thorsen says it's been "huge" to  have Belz's support and guidance while he's been working on his first play - or at least the first one that's longer than 15 minutes.

"I guess it's only just hitting home that I've written a play and it's about to be performed. I'm excited, rather than nervous, because even though it's my work and my words, it's not me on stage having to perform it. I can sit back and take it all in, look at what needs to be done next."

He describes Strong Hands as a work in development but hopes it will have a life beyond the project, perhaps touring nationally and, one day, even internationally.

He says Strong Hands, directed by James Beaumont, is about the changing relationship between two brothers and the ways and means through which men do - and don't - communicate. "So the themes are universal, recognisable to people of any culture."

Te Awarua, directed by Tukiwaho, draws its inspiration from World War I. Belz wrote the play in 2004 while completing a writing residency in France. Set just outside the French town of Le Quesnoy, which New Zealand troops liberated towards the end of World War I, the action takes place in a trench in the midst or battle.

Tawera, a Maori Pioneer Battalion soldier, is preparing to "go over the top" when he is unexpectedly joined by a French woman searching for her lover, a Pakeha soldier and a Frenchman. Against the backdrop of World War I, Belz wove the legend of Hinemoa and Tutanekai.

Te Awarua was performed in Le Quesnoy as part of the Oak and Fern Year festival in 2004, a year-long celebration of the relationship between the township and New Zealand. This is its first public performance in New Zealand, aside from a show late last year for the Cambridge / Le Quesnoy Friendship Association in Waikato.

Actor Gerald Urquhart plays the Pakeha soldier. Best known as Shortland Street's Luke Durville, Urquhart spent a large chunk of last year studying te reo on a course set up by SmackBang to teach actors the langauge.

Tukiwaho says the Cambridge performance gave SmackBang a chance to test audience reactions to the extensive use of Maori, along with English and French, in the play. He says he was "pleasantly surprised" that it was so well received.

"People will go to see a film with French subtitles and not blink, but there has been no research done about how they react to hearing te reo on stage."

Meanwhile, Aucklanders get a rare chance to see Belz's play Awhi Tapu when Wellington theatre company Taki Rua brings it to TAPAC later this month.

Written in 2003, Awhi Tapu was Belz's second play and won him an award from the Human Rights Commission for its positive contribution toward harmonious race relations. A subsequent North Island tour sold out.

He says it is a story of reconciliation and friendship set in a forgotten forestry town at the foot of the Urewera Ranges where Wendyl, Sonny, Casper and Girl Girl watch as their friends and neighbours slowly abandon the town for greener pastures.

This new production features Matariki Whatarua, James Tito, Kura Forrester and Tola Newbery.

PERFORMANCE
What: Tuakana-Teina Project: Strong Hands and Te Awarua
Where and when: Auckland Town Hall, June 15 - 17

What: Awhi Tapu
Where and when: TAPAC, Western Springs, June 22 - July 2

The Big Idea talks to Tim Carlsen & Sophie Roberts

Taken from The Big Idea, by Renee Liang.

Renee Liang chats to writer / actor Tim Carlsen and director Sophie Roberts about their new play, One Day Moko, devised after Tim spent some time as a volunteer working with the homeless.

* * *

As a writer, I'm intrigued and a little threatened by devised theatre. (What use is a playwright if plays can be made without scripts?!) Yes, I'm playing devil's advocate - I've since learnt that writing is actually integral to the process of devising, it's just that often the writing happens after the story or scene has been found by the actors' bodies. Following the "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" philosophy, I recently took part in a couple of workshops, which were great fun (if a little painful for those who had to watch me 'act').

I met Tim Carlsen and Sophie Roberts at John Bolton's excellent one-weekend course, run by The Actors Laboratory. By then Tim's play One Day Moko, which Sophie directs, was well advanced. Tim is a recent Toi Whakaari graduate and met Sophie (also a recent graduate) as she was tutoring the graduate Solo shows. One Day Moko gives the one man show a surprising twist as Tim, embodying a homeless man (and his dog), interacts with other characters via a TV set. which he takes with him on his travels.

Tim's at pains to point out that One Day Moko is not about being homeless, but rather an exploration of the habits and routines that affect us all (to greater or lesser degrees). The play was born out of observations TIm made when working as a volunteer with homeless organizations in Wellington and Auckland. He makes the point that contrary to what people may think, the poor and unemployed don't just sit around - some are in fact very busy, as part of the 'work' of being unemployed involves going to a lot of 'meetings' - from socializing with friends to getting to the CIty Mission dinners on time.

But even if it's not really about being homeless, Tim's piece is one of a number of works (the recent Fringe hit Homeless Economics among the others) which explore the issues around a group in society that, until now, most people have either ignored or found quite scary. I'm learning more about this, as I've volunteered to spend a night out in the open in midwinter as part of the "Big Sleepout". Will spending the night lying on a piece of cardboard at AUT campus bring me closer to an understanding of homelessness? Probably not, but listening to stories from the real people themselves (part of the night's programme) probably will.

Either way, i'm doing this because it will raise money for Lifewise, a group which works to help the homeless by working with them to change the 'roots' of the problem - ie, education, social supports and health. They also offer practical help - not just shelter or food but also help tackling drug addictions, mental health issues and societal attitudes. So I'm going to end my intro with a shameless pitch - please help me help Lifewise by sponsoring me here.

Great. Thanks! Now, back to the play...

Why do you choose theatre as a medium?

Tim: It gives me a public forum to express imagination, questions and curiosities that I have in life ... encompassed in a form that has endless possibility for both audience and artist.

Sophie: It's not a passive artform, it demands that you engage, it's a place where everything is amplified, its happening in the moment, it wakes you up, it's magic.

How do you choose what to base a play on? Are there particular stories or themes that you go back to, again and again?

Tim: I listen out to what I'm attracted to in life, give it some attention and follow this by asking "Why?" The themes that I'm drawn to are to do with domestic and addictive habits, daily routines and lifestyles in humans ... and sometimes dogs.

Sophie: I just kind of follow what interests me, what pisses me off, what amuses me, what I want to know more about. I do tend to be drawn to quite dark worlds that have a heightened or distorted sense of reality.

Tim, why have you chosen to do a play based on a character who is homeless?

Tim: This piece is in no way trying to give an 'accurate representation' of homelessness - I don't believe I'd be doing this issue justice if I said it was (whereas some of the cast from Homeless Economics would know this lifestyle first-hand). I've never been homeless and so can only use my research and observation to get a mere insight into this community, one which highlights some of the bigger questions that I have in life. To what extent do we choose our daily routines and habits? What are some of the forces that drive us to recognize or ignore these things about ourselves? The social issue of homelessness certainly has its place in One  Day Moko - but this work is further developed other 'worlds' have entered the piece that also tie into the questions I mentioned above - from Spaghetti Westerns to Karaoke Clubs - an accurate representation of homelessness? By clashing such content together something new is revealed for the audience that allows / will instigate reflection and conversation regardless of our background and social standing.

Actor, director, writer ... is there much distance between these roles?

Tim: In devised work I think the distance is not so great ... depending on the demands of the work these roles can be fluid ... all dependent on the individual.

Sophie: I see them as very different. Who I am in the rehearsal room as an actor isn't the same when I'm in the room as a director, they are totally different  jobs that require different skills. But I feel like they exist well alongside each other, both roles challenge and satisfy different parts of who I am as a practitioner.

Read the full interview here.

Passing baton to nouveau riche

Taken from NZ Herald, by Brian Rudman.

As charity fund-raiser extraordinaire, Dame Rosie Horton is living proof that shaking down the rich is something best left to their own kind. So who better than newly knighted arts patron James Wallace to celebrate his honouring by pointing the blow torch at the nouveau riche, telling them it was about time they started sharing some of their cash with the community that made them who they are.

That his comments came as the new 77m superyacht of New Zealand's richest man, Graeme Hart, moored for the first time at Auckland's Wynyard Wharf, couldn't have been more timely.

We're not told how much the Weta, Mr Hart's latest toy, is worth, just that it's longer than his previous flagship, the $100 million Ulysses. Which puts it in the same price range, one would guess, as the rebuild of Auckland's public art gallery.

Sir James' concern is about who will follow his generation's footsteps as patrons of his special interest - arts and culture.

He hoped his award "encourages others to support the arts in particular, especially financially".

He said a basic group of his contemporaries had been supporting the theatre, opera and ballet "so well" but "we are all getting older".

He said "we don't seem to be succeeded by new generations and yet many professionals and business people are very wealthy. They don't seem to [be] following the example and it is a worry".

Sir James' comments will assist Arts Minister Chris Finlayson's own crusade to improve arts patronage. In September 2009 he created a "cultural philanthropy taskforce" to recommend ways of increasing giving by private individuals to arts and cultural institutions, "over and above - not instead of - government funding". On the taskforce were prominent givers Dame Jenny Gibbs, Dayle Mace and Dr Robyn Congreve.

Their report, Growing the Pie, presented in December, suggested targeting more than just rich individuals. They quoted Creative New Zealand's research that "engaging with the corporate sector might be the most viable source of funding growth for arts organisations". Also, from Britain came evidence "that most support from individuals came not from the wealthiest but from the 'restaurant-rich': those who earn a reasonable but not necessarily large amount and have some discretionary income to eat out and support worthwhile causes".

They also highlighted a lack of expertise, on both sides, in the courtship process. 'Many cultural organisations struggle with how to source private support, how 'to make the ask'." In a survey of 480 cultural organisations, of the 56 per cent who received no corporate support, most had not asked for it. The same went for the 38 per cent who received no individual donations. Half the organisations did not even know if they had donee status, without which they cannot claim tax relief on donations.

"Having donee status and promoting this to potential donors, is critical to organisations attracting private support."

Similarly, on the other side, "potential and willing philanthropists may be unsure of who to support, how to find a cultural organisation that is a good 'fit'".

In other words, it might pay for both sides to learn to be a bit more pushy. This is the substance of the first recommendation, a small team of government-funded fund-raising experts to train cultural organisations in the dark art of extracting money painlessly.

As for the tax environment, the taskforce praises it as good as any in the world for those who want ot give, citing "the ability [now] for individuals to claim a tax credit for one-third of all donations they make up to the level of their annual taxable income".

What's lacking is public awareness of its benefits.

"The taskforce is convinced individuals and organisations need to be made more aware of the favourable tax regime that exists ... in regard to charitable giving."

It also wants increased publicity about payroll giving, where individuals can have regular donations deducted through PAYE and receive the tax benefits instantly.

The taskforce also calls for greater public recognition of "the contribution of significant individual and corporate supporters of the cultural sector", which "could encourage new philanthropists to step forward".

This left me flummoxed. What form this greater recognition would take is not outlined. After knighthoods and dameships and heartfelt public expressions of gratitude, what else does a small democracy have to offer?

The taskforce also proposes a system of "matched funding" in which the Government proposes a contribution that would depend on the ability of the recipient organisation to raise an equivalent amount privately. And vice versa. The only concern here is that over time, governments would start tagging more and more funding along these lines.

One thing the report steers clear of is the element of duty the rich have to the community which made them wealthy. Sir James touched on this when he talked of certain rich people, not "into philanthropy" but instead, "immersed in their own lives and their own wealth".

It's not the sort of thing a ministerial task force could rightly raise. But coming from one of their own, it's nice to think it could be a nudge as powerful as any official report.

Knight worries about art funding

Taken from NZ Herald, by Linda Herrick.

Auckland arts patron James Wallace, who has been made a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, is worried about financial support for the arts by upcoming generations of wealthy professionals.

While he was pleased and honoured to be made a knight, he hopes it is a bit of a wake-up call.

"I hope it encourages others to support the arts in particular, especially financially," said Sir James. "Some of my generation have supported the arts so well but you look at the back of any programmes for theatre, opera, ballet - basically it's the same group of people and we are all getting older.

"We don't seem to be succeeded by new generations and yet many professionals and business people are very wealthy. They don't seem to be following the example and it is a worry.

"I see them attendinf arts events ... but I certainly think they are not into philanthropy. They are immersed in their own lives and their own wealth."

Sir James, who has collected contemporary New Zealand art since the 1960s, established a charitable trust in 1992 to administer his collection - estimated at more than 5000 works - which has been available for public viewing as revolving exhibitions.

The trust also runs annual rewards worth more than $160,000 for emerging artists and international residencies, along with patronages, including the Auckland Writers Festival, the Auckland Philharmonia, the Auckland Theatre Company, Friends of the Civic, the McCahon House Trust and NBR NZ Opera.

Last year, the Wallace Arts Trust and Collection moved to a new permanent home in the restored historic Pah Homestead in Hillsborough.

"In eight months, we had 100,000 visitors," said Sir James. "One of the nicest things about the story was that a Samoan girl who had been here with a school party a week or so before, brought her family back here with her.

"Now that family would never have gone to see contemporary New Zealand art. It's so important to reach out into the community.

"There is the art, of course, but there is the beautifully restored house, the grounds, the great park hardly anyone knew about ... To have people coming in from all over Auckland and other parts of the country means we are exposing people to contemporary New Zealand art who might otherwise have not been aware of it."

A home for Auckland Theatre Company

Taken from Theatreview.

Auckland Theatre Company is delighted Auckland Council's Strtaegy and Finance Committee voted to approve $10 million towarrds the $40 million cost of Auckland Theatre Company's proposal for a performing arts complex in Wynyard Quarter, to sit alongside ASB's new head office, subject to a number of conditions being addressed to Council's satisfaction by December 2011.

Councillers voted 16 - 5 to support the project.

"It's a strong endorsement of the role of the arts and culture will play in the development of Auckland's waterfront and in realising Mayor Len Brown's vision of Auckland as the world's most liveable city," says Lester McGrath, Auckland Theatre Company's General Manager.

The advocacy of the theatre company's subscribers in support of the project proved vital to the success of the proposal; a number of councillors speaking prior to the vote mentioned the strong support the project had from their constituencies.

"That audiences for the theatre are so actively engaged with the project bodes well for its success," says McGrath.

Auckland Theatre Company has investigated a range of options for securing a home venue over the last six years. The proposal for the Wynyard Quarter was by far the best in terms of ensuring the long term susstainability of the company and delivering a vision of enlivening the "after five" experience on Auckland's waterfront - and a high quality performing arts experience for Aucklanders and visitors alike.

"We truly appreciated that Auckland Council and the Mayor have given the Company the opportunity to proceed wwith developing plans, fundraising and moving the project forward," says McGrath.

Auckland Theatre Company will release the final design in the coming months.

Afterthoughts: Christchurch Arts & the Watershed

Taken from The Big Idea, by Jeff Clark.

We gathered and stood in a giant shed.

It was a Sunday. I had driven back from Dunedin with my family the day before but received a text that there was a Court Theatre company meeting in Addington, so unpacking was temporarily out on hold.

Earlier that day I had been at the "Have Your Say" expo as CBS Arena; a two-day 'group brainstorm' where people can hear, and share, individual visions for the restoration of Christchurch.

My favourite section of the expo (unsurpisingly) dealt with the cultural life of the city. Ideas ranged from the ridiculous to the sublime, all summarised on small pink post-it notes. Ideas (and opinions) are rife, indicating that Christchurch is slowly but steadily moving into recovery mode.

There were several guest speakers, one of whome was The Court's Chief Exexcutive Philip Aldridge. His speech was succinct, witty (he ruled out Christchurch building its own 'gherkin' or 'sailboat hotel') and advocated an organic flow to the city and low-rise buildings (the latter suggestion received a spontaneous round of applause). Philip also touched on the challenge facing the arts.

The biggest challenge facing all art groups, from small amateur groups to large organisations such as the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra, is the challenge to find space. The vast majority of venues suitable for any medium to large performance event are in the central city - and are now either inaccessible or unusable. The Christchurch Town Hall (home to a multitude of concerts, touring productions and other events) still awaits a final prognosis for repairs; The Arts Centre could take at least half a decade to restore. Some other venues such as the Isaac Theatre Royal have a shorter timeline for their repairs, but a heavy demand for these spaces mea that those who miss out are, literally, out in the cold.

Of course, the visual arts have found themselves as challenged by the events following the quake. The Christchurch Art Gallery, the city's leading home for visual art, has been commandeered and converted into the Civil Defence Headquarters. Other gallery owners find themselves now owners of prime real estate for displaced businesses. Artists find themselves without materials, works in progress or other resources as well as places to exhibt their works. Musicians have lost many of the bars, restaurants and cafes where they used to perform.

The most worrying aspect of these challenges is that for many artists, uness something is done quickly to secure new venues and spaces, their easiest option is simply to relocate. Many of these actors, designers, technicians facing this issue moved with me through the giant doors into the shed.

The interior is breathtaking. Mostly because of the sheer size of the empty space. The space used to be a grain silo. From the doors to the rear wall of the space is more than the length of a rugby field, and the roof is over three stories above us. Above the various doors are names of various suburbs of the city written in chalk. This is the place that was once connected to every part of the city. Now, it is essentially a blank canvas.

Our Artistic Director, Ross Gumbley, is over six feet tall and the size of the building dwarfed him (which, for anyone who has met Ross knows, is a hard thing to do). Ross welcomed us and handed over to Philip (in his second speaking engagement of the day). Philip outlines the road that had led us to this shed: a long process of due diligence, lease negotiations and resource consent - a process which could have been derailed at any point along the way by a number of obstacles. However, by the end of the day of Friday 13 May (an ironic date), The Court Theatre had secured a new, albiet temporary, home.

The aim is to have the new facility complete and a production up and running (the premiere of the latest play by legendary playwright Roger Hall, A Short Cut to Happiness) by November. It's a goal - an aspiration, and a promise to the people of Christchurch, as much as it is to the people of The Court. Ideally, when The Court returns to the central city (and it is when, not if) the facility will remain as a venue for use by other performing arts organisations. It is a way for The Court to survive in the short term and a way for the arts in Christchurch to thrive in the future.

It will not be easy. What financial reserves the theatre has will only be a small fraction of the total cost. It will be a long road and the fundraising efforts alone will keep everyone extremely busy. There are challenges ahead.

But, as we stood in The Shed, we saw opportunity. We have a house. Time to make it a home.

Short+Sweet 2011 Play shortlist

Taken from Short+Sweet website.

The following plays have been selected for the Short+Sweet Auckland 2011 festival shortlist. The playwrights have all offered excellent work and Short+Sweet Auckland congratulate them.

The scripts have now been forwarded to the 25 directors of the 2011 festival who will now select the works they wish to direct and then move on to cast and rehearse them.

The shortlist was cut down from well over 500 plays. The list is comprised of a total of 39 plays. 18 of these plays are from New Zealand (46%), 13 from Australia (33%) where the parent festival originated, and 8 written by authors of other nationalities (21%).

The directors will each chose from this list and then those 25 plays are combined with 15 ITC (Independant Theatre Company) submissions to create 40 plays to be presented this year.

The shortlist:

Ain't by June Allen (NZ)
Tango Partner by Angie Farrow (NZ)
Canary Now by Rex McGregor (NZ)
Game On by Renee Boyer-Willisson (NZ)
GURUS by Michael Clifton (NZ)
Legless by Laurence Dolan (NZ)
The Perfect Life by Angie Farrow (NZ)
Socipaths don't use commas by M. E. Macdonald (NZ)
Celebration of Life by Sally Sutton (NZ)
The Golfer's Cross by Denis Edwards (NZ)
Taking the Plunge by Rex McGregor (NZ)
The Bounce Of The Rugby Ball by Chris Molloy (NZ)
Complaints Department by Kerrie Spicer (NZ)
The Obituary by Joanna Sheridan (NZ)
Lithium Kiss by Peter Larsen (NZ)
She'll Be Right by Charles Hadfield (NZ)
Morning in Suburbia by Bronwyn Elsmore (NZ)
Trust Me by Bronwyn Elsmore (NZ)
THE CURE by Ken Jones (other)
The Reluctant Testicle by Paul Lawrence (other)
MY NAME IS ART by Peter Snoad (other)
The Arrangement by David Chang (other)
Corn Bread with Raisins and Almonds by Ben Marshall (other)
I'll Hear It When I See It by Ira Gamerman (other)
Preconception by Larry Hamm (other)
BIT OF A BLOW by Lynn Lobban (other)
The Misguided Tour by Angus Algie (AUS)
item on the News by Beverley Lello (AUS)
Other people by Mark Andrew (AUS)
Because The World Needs Unicorns by Cerisede Gelder (AUS)
Perfect by Therese Cloonan (AUS)
Punk by Carl J. Sorheim (AUS)
SIX SIDES by Iain Murray (AUS)
Outsourced by Gary Stowe (AUS)
Practising passion by Isla Gillespie (AUS)
Mollycoddled by Georgia Symons (AUS)
Raining bacon by Damian "Toast" O'Neill (AUS)
A mini singularity by Robbie Wesley (AUS)
Roach Blues by Alex MacDonald (AUS)

Thoughts on Theatre: Chewing the fat with Nisha Madhan

Taken from The Common Critic, by Nancy Kaur.

We sat down with Nisha Madhan at her Cross St apartment to talk about what she's excited about for this year. If you're not familiar with her work on stage you might know her as Shanti Kumari from Shortland Street - or perhaps from her latest real-life role as a waitress.

Although she's an experienced actress, tight times in the theatre industry are forcing Nisha into a "day job" after seven years survival on acting alone (and related activities such as teaching) is no small feat, especially in New Zealand's fairly tiny theatre scene.

She admits the grind isn't easy, particularly as it's becoming more expensive to put on original shows.

"[The Basement] is pretty much the only place you can go in Auckland to show new work in an underground way without having to pay too much money, although prices are rising everyday because they have to cover their costs," she says.

Her partner, director/actor/designer Stephen Bain, says higher costs at venues have forced actors to cut down rehearsal times to just a couple of weeks in some cases. One of Nisha's bugbears is the fact that venues for theatre aren't subsidised by the government, so actors have to pay rental fees.

As fees go up, "all of the production values of my show go down because I can't afford to buy costumes or whatever, so we end up with this brand of theatre ... which is two actors or one actor and a chair playing  about 10 different characters. Which is pure and lovely but it's only one kind of theatre."

Judging by the shows we've seen, Nisha and her set can clearly do a lot with a little money, but a bigger budget wouldn't hurt - which is why she's looking to do more shows at venues such as the Dogs Bollix. "But then there's the problem of making people pay $10 to watch a show in their own pub."

Nisha seems conscious of how much money she demands from her audiences - especially as she can barely afford to see shows herself. "It's part of the reason why we made our [cabaret show] pay what you like - part of the reason was that I couldn't afford my own ticket."

Booking fees are also a drag that seems to drive audiences away. She says she'd fund all her shows through koha if she could. "The good thing about koha is if people give 30c, you know they really can only give 30c ... I got sick of thinking, 'how much am I really worth', and looking at ticket sales.

"I am really passionate about getting people in a room, and if it means charging just $5 I'll do that."

This passion for bringing a crowd together isn't limited to productions at commercial venues - her flat also hosts many parties and shows: "I've done a lot of cabaret nights [here], where I'll basically throw a nice party but then have circus acts happening in the middle of it."

This year she's planning to mix things up by hosting a series of talks from a range of creative people, such as chefs or artists. "I think it would be a great way to spend the winter, to come and listen to someone talk about what they're interested in at the moment.

"The shows that I've done recently ... have been as much about the investigation of themes and politics as well as taking care of each other as a group. Taking care of the people around you first, then getting the audience in and taking care of them."

As theatregoers with limited budgets, the sentiment is appreciated.

New Stage for the Court Theatre

Taken from Theatreview.

The Court Theatre is moving to a temporary new site in Addington and constructing a purpose-built theatre from which the company will re-establish activities before the end of the year.

Following a search led by Chief Executive Philip Aldridge, an old grain store near the site of the old Mill Theatre in Addington was found with the internal space necessary to house New Zealand's largest theatre company. Negotiations were completed on Friday afternoon and a lease has been signed, securing The Court's home until the company can move back to the inner city.

Artistic Director Ross Gumbley is excited by the designs that have been drafted to convert this industrial space into The Court's temporary home. "We are literally building a theatre inside a giant shed. The site has a large space for car parking. The box office, bar and other facilities have been designed to be built quickly and efficiently using storage containers. The auditorium itself will be insulated for heat and sound and the layout of the stage and seating will recreate the intimacy and experience of The Court. One of the best things about this space is that it will house the entire Court company."

Aldridge feels that "Establishing The Court in this new facility and opening to the public will be a major step towards our cultural recovery. It will mark the return of a major Christchurch institution and a signal of new beginnings in the city, as well as providing a boost to hospitality businesses as people return to enjoying a night out."

It will also be a large financial undertaking. "This is not a project that we can do alone. The Court Theatre absolutely needs the support of the people and businesses of Christchurch in order to achieve this project - and to survive," says Aldridge. Fundraising activities will be launched "in a matter of days" in order to facilitate construction as soon as possible.

During the preparation of the Addington theatre, productions will be presented in alternative venues around Christchurch. "Scared Scriptless is already up and running and we will be presenting Alan Ball's comedy Five Women Wearing the Same Dress in the Aurora centre from July 14 - 23, along with a school holiday production of Hansel and Gretel (July 20 - 23). All going well, we aim to open our new theatre in November," says Gumbley.

With the Arts Centre terminating all tenants' leases and a time-frame of many years before buildings will be fully restored, when - or if - the Court Theatre can return is still uncertain. "The most important thing is securing The Court's home now. Beyond that, we are already discussing with local and national government about how the Court Theatre and the art will play a role in Christchurch's recovery," says Aldridge.

"This year the Court Theatre celebrates its fortieth anniversary," adds Gumbley, "and we are echoing the beginnings of the company - moving into a future of challenges and opportunities with optimism, enthusiasm and a passion to provide entertainment to the people of Christchurch."

There will be an extensive public campaign to publicise the new site which include tours of the new facilities - dates and times TBC.