Standing Room Only for Sunday 30 October 2022

12:16  Publishers see audio books as a growth industry

Demand for locally produced audio books has never been bigger, but up till now there's been no way to scale up production and create a self-sustaining industry.    

To make this possible, the Publishers Association of New Zealand (PANZ) has received almost half a million dollars from Manatū Taonga the Ministry for Culture and Heritage's $28 million Cultural Regeneration Fund.

In the first round of bids for the Fund, only five groups, out of 66 applicants, have received grants - adding up to $3 million.

The remaining 25-million will be shared out over three more funding rounds.  There are over 600 groups applying, all with ideas on how to support arts practitioners and communities now and into the future.

But it was the audio book initiative that caught our eye.   Lynn Freeman talks with Claire Murdoch who's a PANZ Council member and Head of Publishing at Penguin Random House New Zealand.
 

12:31  Philip Norman looks back on our earliest composers

When immigrants arrived in New Zealand in the Nineteenth Century, they brought with them some enthusiastic composers - or perhaps more accurately, musicians who composed on the side.

Their success rate was a bit hit or miss, according to composer and musicologist Philip Norman, who's about to deliver a talk about our early composers.  Certainly "God Defend New Zealand", "Waiata Poi", "Pokarekareana" and "Now is the Hour" were undoubtedly hits, but were they technically New Zealand hits?   

As well as his upcoming talk about early composers at a concert this afternoon, Philip is launching his new book -  A Complete Absence of Wit and Wisdom, a selection of his articles, lyrics and talks from five decades of writing about music.

Philip tells Lynn Freeman the earliest European composers to come to Aotearoa New Zealand were most likely the band masters of military bands:

Later today (30 October) Philip Norman conducts and comperes a show called Wit and Wisdom at The Piano in Christchurch.   Partly a concert with The Jubilate Singers to celebrate five decades of his choral compositions, it's also the launch of  A Complete Absence of Wit and Wisdom.
 

12:43  Repatriation of taonga - redressing old art crimes

 

The repatriation of art and artefacts to and from our cultural institutions, is one of the main issues up for discussion at this year's annual Art Crime Symposium.

Academics and researchers will hear papers on topics that range from the return of taonga through the Treaty Settlement process, how to repatriate stolen and problematic artefacts and specimens, and what exactly is "the good faith buyer" defence?

Delivering a paper on Repatriation will be art crime expert Arthur Tompkins.

Lynn Freeman spoke to him and to fellow expert, author and member of the Art Crime Research Trust, Penelope Jackson.  Penelope says that Repatriation as a theme was an obvious one.

 The 2022 Art Crime Symposium  is on Saturday (5 November) at City Gallery, Wellington.

NB:   There is a free ticket to the symposium for one of our listeners who's like to attend.  Please email artcrimenz@gmail.com and tell them in one sentence why you want to attend. It needs to be in to them by 5pm on the 2nd of November. 
 

1:10 At The Movies

This week Simon Morris reviews Mrs Harris goes to Paris, Valerie Adams: More than gold and Black Adam.

 

1:31  Before Sione's Wedding there were the Duckrockers!

Michael, Albert, Sefa and Stanley, the heroes of the hit 2006 movie Sione's Wedding, return to the screen - not as adults, but as a teenage gang, back where it all began.   It's the 1980s - long before the wedding that threatened to break up the Duckrockers.

The TV series starts when the four BFFs go to the 1984 DD Smash gig in Aotea Square that ended in the infamous "Queen Street riot".   When a newspaper headline blames it on 'drunk Polynesian schoolboys', the four need an alibi - fast!

Arts Laureate Oscar Kightley was Albert in Sione's Wedding 1 and 2.   In the TV prequel Duckrockers he plays Albert's father Issac.   He's also co-written the TV series with James Griffin and has directed it.

Teuila Blakely who played Sefa's partner Lelani in the movies now plays her Mum, Lana.   She also has a writing credit and is Associate Producer on the show.

She tells Lynn Freeman that when James suggested a prequel, it just felt perfect:

 Duckrockers goes to air on TVNZ 2 and on TVNZ+ on November 2nd 
 

1:37   Nahyeon Lee's "furious" playwriting debut

Nahyeon Lee's original background was in film and TV - she's directed, written and produced films, web-series and docu-series.  Next month she makes her playwriting debut with a show called The First Asian Prime-Time Sitcom, which she says she wrote in a "fit of fury"...

The Tāmaki Makarau-based all-rounder graduated from the University of Auckland in Screen Production, with first class honours for a Master of Arts in drama directing in 2020. 

She was one of the directors and writers on the feature film Kāinga that debuted in this year's International Film Festival.

Until now her theatre work has been as a producer, but her new play is a hard-hitting comedy about the frustrations experienced by an all-Asian cast and crew of a (fictitious) sitcom created for prime-time TV. 

Ahead of the play's premiere Lynn Freeman asked her about her initial decision to get into filmmaking.

Nahyeon Lees play The First Prime-Time Asian Sitcom premieres on the 3rd of November at Auckland's
Q Theatre.

 

2:06 The Laugh Track - playwrights Catriona Tipene and Ryan Cundy

We take no sides on a play called Fab Beasts that's about to open at Wellington's Bats Theatre.  We'll simply tell you that it features a unicorn called Vaughn at Unicorn Property Management, a detective called Ness - no, not Eliot Ness, the Loch Ness Monster - and a string of grisly murders.

It's the latest, totally Fringey play from the people who won the "Spectacular Organised Chaos" award at last year's New Zealand Fringe Festival.  They're our guests on the Laugh Track, they're called The Horse With No Name - though they're actually named Catriona Tipene and Ryan Cundy. (@horsetheatre on instagram)

Their picks include Father Ted's "My lovely horse", the movie Hot Fuzz, as well as TV shows The vicar of Dibley, Fleabag and The Office.

Fab Beasts canters onto the BATS Theatre stage from 1 November.  

 

2:26  Napier poet Jeremy Roberts looks back on life in Indonesia

 

The Dark Cracks of Kemang - The Bajai Boys in Indonesia is the enticing title of a memoir by Napier-based poet Jeremy Roberts.

The book concentrates on his and his friends' years in Indonesia, where Jeremy worked as an English language teacher and performance poet a decade ago.

It's full to overflowing with poems he wrote during what proved to be a heady time in his life.

Jeremy's life is pretty busy now too. 

He tells Lynn Freeman he's now a poetry editor and reviewer, he interviews poets on Radio Kidnappers and he's an MC at Napier Live Poets.

Jeremy Roberts' book The Dark Cracks of Kemang - The Bajai Boys in Indonesia is published by Interactive Press.

 

 

2:36  Photographer Grant Sheehan looks back on over 50 years of travel

From the pandemic to climatic issues, traveling the world has become a lot harder - ethically challenging, more expensive and riskier, as the headlines have pointed out this week.

In 1971, Te Whanganui-a-Tara/Wellington photographer Grant Sheehan sold his treasured motorbike to buy a return ticket to Amsterdam and he's travelled extensively ever since.

During the lockdowns, he had the chance to sort through his photographs and think about his experiences, which he shares in a book called in memory of travel.

But,m as he tells Lynn Freeman, it's not all looking back.  In the final chapter he considers the future of travel, from space tourism to digital tourism and virtual reality.

Grant Sheehan's in memory of travel is published by Phantom House Books.

 

2:48  Kāpiti Coast's Art Trail invites people into studios

Kāpiti Coast artists and craftspeople will be flinging open their studio doors and inviting people inside for two weekends next month, for the region's annual Arts Trail.

After two tough years, the 21st Art Trail is the biggest one yet.

More than 300 artists' work will be on show in studios and in gallery group shows, from Raumati up the coast to Ōtaki Beach.

It's not only a huge cultural event for the region, it's hopefully a financial shot in the arm for hospitality too.

Lynn Freeman talks with two of the participating artists this year -  award winning mosaic-maker Jane Santos, and jeweller Rebecca Bond, whose CV includes running the Kapiti Art Studio for differently abled people and being a WOW four-time finalist!

The Kāpiti Coast Art Trail is on next weekend (5-6 November) and the following one (12-13 November)

 

3:06 Drama at 3 - Behold the Summer Grass and Ete at the Metro

This week two plays in our Classic Drama slot.

First, then final part of Behold the Summer Grass,  Vincent O'Sullivan's powerful play inspired by an incident at a Japanese POW camp near Featherston in 1943.  Adapted and produced by Fergus Dick.

Then something a little different.   It's a show that Samoan stand-up comedian Ete Eteuati recorded live at the Metro in Mangere, Auckland - Ete at the Metro.   Produced by Pru Langbein.

Music played in this show

Artist: Malcolm McLaren
Song: Duck for the oyster
Composer:  Horn-McLaren
Album: Duck Rock
Label: Charisma
Played at: 12.16

Artist: Rosemary Clooney
Song: Lovely weather for ducks
Composer:  Evans-Livingston
Album:  Tenderly
Label:  ASV
Played at: 12.27

Artist: Peter Dawson
Song: Waiata Poi
Composer: Trad, Hill
Album: A green and pleasant land
Label: Pearl
Played at: 12.30

Artist: Brunettes
Song:  Holding hands feeding ducks
Composer:  Bree
Album: Holding hands feeding ducks
Label: Lilchief
Played at:  12.58

Artist: 3 Doors Down
Song: Duck and run
Composer: Arnold-Harrell-Henderson
Album:  The better life
Label:  Universal
Played at:  1.07

Artist: Jackie Lee
Song: The Duck
Composer: Nelson-Smith
Album: Land of 1000 dances
Label: Ace
Played at: 1.44

Artist: Duck Sauce
Song:  Barbra Streisand
Composer: Van Helden-Huth
Album: Now that's what I call music 77
Label: Universal
Played at: 1.58

Artist: Rick Dees & his cast of idiots
Song: Disco Duck
Composer: Dees
Album: Another slice of vintage cheese
Label:  Universal
Played at: 2.05

Artist:  Natacha Atlas
Song:  Eye of the Duck
Composer:  Atlas-Duncan-Higgins
Album:  Something dangerous
Label:  Mantra
Played at: 2.58

Artist: The Cougars
Song:  Saturday Night at the Duck Pond
Composer: Tchaikovsky
Album: Telstars, Mexicans, Man Hunts and Wonderful Lands
Label: Rockhistory
Played at: 3.05

Artist:  Booker T and the MGs
Song: You've got to serve somebody
Composer: Dylan
Album: That's the way it should be
Label: Columbia
Played at:  3.58