Standing Room Only for Sunday 18 September 2022

12:16   Inviting the public to regenerate the cultural sector  

Deciding which creatives get a cut of the limited government funding pie is always contentious. 

Art is subjective after all.   There are inevitably claims of favouritism on panels selected to recommend winners and losers.  And those who miss out, understandably, often feel aggrieved.

The Manatū Taonga Ministry for Culture and Heritage regularly comes in for criticism over previous allocations.  

Last year, for instance, it found itself in hot water with the arts community after awarding $500,000 from its Covid Response Innovation fund to a hitherto unknown, start-up group called Narrative Muse, which had promised an online platform to match readers and books.

So now Culture and Heritage is trying something radically different, as it decides how to allocate the new 28 million dollar Cultural Sector Regeneration Fund it's responsible for.

There have been more than 660 proposals from groups and individuals keen for a piece of the action.  And the Ministry is going to the public, to ask which ones they support, and why.

Deputy Chief Executive Joe Fowler talks with Lynn Freeman, first explaining what this Fund is specifically for.

Feedback closes on the 26th of September.   Here's the form you'll need to fill out for your suggestions..
 

12:31  Mitchell Manuel combines tartan and koru

2022 is the Year of the Tartan.  It's also the 50th anniversary of the delivery of Te Petihana Reo Māori to Parliament demanding recognition of te reo.

Artist Mitchell Manuel is about to open an exhibition of work in Scotland called Woven Identities, where he brings together tartan and koru, celebrating his own Scottish-Māori mixed ancestry.

More broadly, he's also exploring the whakapapa, the genealogical and cultural connections between Māori and Scottish people.

Lynn Freeman first asked Mitch why the Scots are so heavily represented in New Zealand?

Mitch Manuel's exhibition Woven Identies opens on Wednesday at the Stirling Smith Art Gallery and Museum in Scotland 

 

12:45  Why the low number of tagata moana writers getting published?

This is a shocking statistic in 2022.  Just 3% of annual publishing in New Zealand features Māori and tagata moana writers.    

Facing these woeful figures, it's clear a strategy is needed to support and encourage the moana creative sectors who are trying - but clearly failing - to get their voices heard.   Where are 2022's  Whiti Ihimaera, Selina Tusitala Marsh, Alan Duff and Tusiata Avia?

Kim Meredith is the Manager for the Coalition for Books.   She's working on a national strategy along with Reading Warrior publisher David Riley and published poet, playwright and short story writer Courtney Sina Meredith.

Lynn Freeman talks to Kim Meredith and Courtney Sina Meredith about the shout out they're doing to creative moana communities for feedback and ideas.

 

1:10 At The Movies

Simon Morris reviews the live remake of the Disney animated classic Pinocchio, as well as New Zealand drama Punch and Spanish satire Official Competition.

 

 

1:31  Opera singer Phillip Rhodes prepares for Macbeth

In 2022, the corrosive nature of power and ambition that's at the heart of Scottish king Macbeth's downfall is as relevant now as it was when Shakespeare wrote the play.

Verdi's opera Macbeth is very true to the Bard's tale of a well-regarded military leader corrupted by his conviction he's destined to become King. 

Playing the lead role in NZ Opera's new interpretation of the opera is Kiwi baritone Philip Rhodes, under the direction of Netia Jones and opposite his Lady Macbeth, Amanda Echalaz.

Philip was born in Hawke's Bay and in 2005 he won the Lexus Song Quest, 

Lynn Freeman first asked him if Macbeth was a role he'd been dreaming of playing?

Phillip Rhodes takes to the stage of Auckland's Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre on the 21st of September as Macbeth for the premiere of this NZ Opera production, followed by performances in Wellington and Christchurch.
 

 

1:45  No other place to stand - climate change poetry

 

It's easy to imagine that a new collection of Climate Change poetry from around the Pacific could be overwhelmingly a picture of doom and gloom.

But what the four Kiwi editors of No Other Place to Stand have achieved, is a balance of the angry and the philosophical, the sad and the satirical.

One of the editors, Canterbury poet Rebecca Hawkes, talks to Lynn Freeman about the collection's range.

The other editors involved with No Other Place to Stand are Jordan Hamel, Erik Kennedy and Essa Ranapiri.  It's published by Auckland University Press.

 

 

2:06 The Laugh Track -  Luke di Somma

He's been described as one of the greats of the Christchurch musical scene, but that's grossly underselling him!  Composer, lyricist, musical director, a regular guest conductor of the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra, Luke Di Somma's pretty done everything you can do in the fields of musical theatre.

Following his smash hit musical here - That Bloody Woman - Luke's just made his debut in his current home city of Melbourne, with a cabaret devoted to his songs.  It's called Everything and Nothing - The songs of Luke di Somma.   

Luke di Somma is our guest on the Laugh Track.  His picks include Tim Minchin, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, Barrack Obama, and Caitlin Reilly.
 

2:26  Enter The Sandman - sand artist Marcus Winter

If you've ever seen a Tibetan Buddhist sand mandala you'll appreciate the potential for this under-appreciated art material - at least away from the beach.

Marcus Winter aka The Sandman is as much magician as he is artist in the way he uses grains of sand to create images.

Marcus is collaborating with two other Maori creatives on an immersive show for the 2022 Kōanga Festival at Auckland's Basement Theatre.  And he tells Lynn Freeman the aim is to build our connection to the tohu of the natural world through storytelling, taonga pūoro and sand.

Marcus Winter aka The Sandman is appearing in Ngā Tohu o Te Taiao,  It opens at the Basement Theatre on Tuesday as part of the Kōanga Festival.

 

2:37  Tom Baragwanath's crime novel Paper Cage.

 

Several children from a small New Zealand town go missing, one after the other.

An unlikely detective enters the police investigation in the form of Lorraine.  

She's usually found in the bowels of the station keeping all the paperwork in order.

This is the premise of Paper Cage, the debut novel by Tom Baragwanath, last year's winner of the Michael Gifkins Literary Prize.

Tom now works in Paris but his novel is based where he grew up - in Masterton in the Wairarapa.

Paper Cage by Tom Baragwanath is published by text.

 

 

2:49  In praise of Stone Walls

Two historic stone wall specialists will be talking at the upcoming UPSURGE Festival in the Bay of Islands.

Kate Ballard's book Stone Wall Country: The Dry Stone Walls of Bay of Islands and Kaikohe was based on interviews with local residents, including direct descendants of the original wall builders.

At her talk "Stories behind walls" she'll be joined by fellow enthusiast  Bill Edwards, Heritage New Zealand's area manager. 

There are hundreds of kilometres of dry stone walls, made from volcanic rocks in the region, so they're an important part of the landscape.

Lynn Freeman talks with Kate and Bill, and first asks how these walls were built.

Kate Ballard and Bill Edwards' "Stories behind walls" takes place on Saturday 24 Sept at the Plough & Feather in Kerikeri.  It's part of UPSURGE Bay of Islands Arts Festival.
 

3:06 Drama at 3 - Circus of Errors by Sam Truebridge and Phil Brownlee

Today's Classic Drama is a play by Sam Truebridge.  

The Circus of Errors is set in the dark, comedic world of a travelling circus where the Ringmaster rules the ring as well as the lives of those who perform therein.  But this circus carries with it a buried secret.

The collaboration between the writer and the award-winning composer Phil Brownlee makes for a very special piece of radio drama.   It's produced by Adam Macaulay for RNZ National.

Music played in this show

Artist:  Pat Boone
Song: Love letters in the sand
Composer: Kenny-Coots
Album: 16 original world hits
Label: MCA
Played at: 12.16

Artist: The Drifters
Song: I've got sand in my shoes
Composer: Resnick-Young
Album: The Very Best Of
Label:  Rhino
Played at: 12.26

Artist: Dido
Song: Sand in my shoes
Composer: Armstrong-Nowels
Album: Life for rent
Label: BMG
Played at: 12.58

Artist: Robin Sparkle
Song:  Sand castles in the sand
Composer: Thomas-Bays
Album: How I Met Your Mother
Label: N/A
Played at: 1.07

Artist: John Travolta
Song: Sandy
Composer: St Louis-Simon
Album: Grease:  Original Soundtrack
Label:  Polydor
Played at: 1.43

Artist: Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood
Song:  Sand
Composer: Hazlewood
Album: Lightning's Girl
Label: Raven
Played at:  1.58

Artist:  Jimi Hendrix Experience
Song: Castles
Composer: Hendrix
Album: Experience Hendrix
Label: MCA
Played at: 2.05

Artist: Gemma Ray
Song: Remember walking in the sand
Composer: Morton
Album: It's a shame about Gemma Rae
Label: Bronzerat
Played at: 2.58

Artist:  Belinda Carlisle
Song: Circle in the sand
Composer: Nowels-Shipley
Album: A Place on Earth
Label: Virgin
Played at: 3.58