Latest news with #ElephantPublicity
Scoop
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Scoop
Bill Bailey New Zealand Tour 2025
Press Release – Elephant Publicity Following a hugely successful sold-out tour in 2023, award-winning UK comedian, musician and actor Bill Bailey is heading back to New Zealand this October and November with his brand-new show Vaudevillean – bringing his trademark wit, musical virtuosity, and wonderfully twisted sense of the absurd to 13 centres across the country. Familiar to fans from his iconic roles in Never Mind the Buzzcocks, QI, In the Long Run (created by Idris Elba), and the award-winning Black Books, Bailey also hosted the debut season of New Zealand's own hit panel show Patriot Brains. His creative range spans film, television, music, art and publishing – from voicing the animated feature Dragonkeeper, to writing the best-selling Bill Bailey's Remarkable Guide to Happiness, and winning the hearts of millions as the 2020 champion of Strictly Come Dancing. 'Bloody excellent… The material is solid gold' NZ Herald 'Virtuoso… Comedy's Mozart' The Sunday Times Bill's global touring career has taken him across Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand with acclaimed shows including Part Troll, Tinselworm, Qualmpeddler, Limboland and Thoughtifier. In Channel 4's Perfect Pub Walks, he embarks on countryside rambles with famous friends, journeying between historic pubs – proof that Bailey brings charm and humour to every setting. Before streaming, before tv, before cinema, before even radio… There was Vaudeville! This was the prime time entertainment of its day… A celebration of comedy, songs, and multifarious skills. Tales of showbiz, tales of the city, Tales of the strange, the unusual… all with the aim to amuse, amaze a broad audience. Enthralling family fun, to divert and transport from the tribulations of daily life! Bill Bailey returns with a show that celebrates this great tradition, as the versatile multi-instrumental, multi-lingual, purveyor of humour and musical prowess, who could lay claim to being perhaps the foremost practitioner of this great tradition, an entertainer, a performer, a modern Vaudevillian! Don't miss your chance to experience the master at work – tickets are expected to sell fast.
Scoop
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Scoop
The Redaction Action That Sparked A National Reckoning Comes Home
Press Release – Elephant Publicity Co-written with director Tainui Tukiwaho this uplifting one-man play is inspired by true events and shares the remarkable experience of Te Wehi Ratanas time in Rimutaka Prison part courtroom drama, part prison diary, part absurdist krero. Te Wehi Ratana's story takes centre stage in ration the Queen's veges following a theatrical act of redaction, resistance, and reclamation, playing to Circa Theatre, Wellington from 16 August – 13 September. Following its 2025 premiere at Te Pou Theatre in Tāmaki Makaurau as part of the Te Ahurei Toi o Tāmaki Auckland Arts Festival, the production comes home to the whenua where the story was born. Co-written with director Tainui Tukiwaho this uplifting one-man play is inspired by true events and shares the remarkable experience of Te Wehi Ratana's time in Rimutaka Prison. Part courtroom drama, part prison diary, part absurdist kōrero, people can expect a playful and provocative theatrical experience that questions what we hold to be true. In December 2023, Te Papa Tongarewa became ground zero for an act of protest that shook the nation. Tangata Whenua-led, direct action, climate and social justice rōpū Te Waka Hourua painted over the English text of the Treaty of Waitangi exhibition with the now-iconic provocation: 'no. Her Majesty the Queen of England is the alien. ration the Queen's veges.' The action ignited a national reckoning — sparking outrage, admiration, discomfort, and kōrero across the motu. All involved faced charges, only Te Wehi Ratana was held in Rimutaka Prison. This is the story of his 48 hours behind bars. Locked in a cell with his new mate Brian, Ratana discovered the true currency of incarceration: conversation… And lozzies. Nicotine Lozenges (or lozzies) became a bartering tool for stories. Inmates offered their thoughts — unfiltered and raw — on the Treaty, the Te Papa artivism, the Crown, and colonisation. What began as small talk soon gave way to confessions, kōrero, and hopes and dreams for the future. Ratana began collecting those reflections — written down in letters from the inmates. The voices that emerged were nuanced, poetic, conflicted, and deeply human. ration the Queen's veges is built on those voices. 'You think you know who's inside prison. But when you're in there, and you really listen, you realise: these are some of the most honest voices in the country. And they rarely get heard.' – Te Wehi Ratana Performed by the accomplished Ngahiriwa Rauhina (Ngāti Whakaue, Tūhourangi Ngāti Wāhiao, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāti Raukawa), ration the Queen's veges gives shape to the people and stories Ratana met behind bars — some true, some not. From his cellmates' surprising tenderness to the fierce loyalty of the inmates in Block C, Rauhina shapeshifts through a dozen characters with humour, purpose and emotional precision. The play premiered to acclaim at Te Ahurei Toi o Tāmaki Auckland Arts Festival in 2025. Critics said: 'A powerful and necessary amplification of the quieter voices of rebellion in our society.' – Art Murmurs 'A true story told with charm, clarity and honesty. Totally recommended.' — Theatreview Tukiwaho says the play illustrates the impact political action can have on those who are normally shunned in our society. 'Te Wehi found a safe space for inmates to express and share their feelings through ingenuity and genuine connection. ration the Queen's veges is a story about the quiet voice of defiance that still burns within us even when we are silenced.' It is particularly significant that ration the Queen's veges now arrives in Te Whanganui-a-Tara, 100 metres from where the protest took place, where Te Wehi was charged and convicted, and where the original spray-painted panel has since been removed. In April 2024, Te Papa installed a new Treaty display — a more curated response that includes video explanations and signage referencing the protest. But the original panel? It's in storage. Its future is unclear. Meanwhile, Ratana with Te Pou Theatre, is not done telling his story… CREATIVE TEAM Kaiwhakaari / Performer – Ngahiriwa Rauhina Writers / Kaituhi – Te Wehi Ratana & Tainui Tukiwaho Director / Ringatohu – Tainui Tukiwaho Stage Manager & Voice Artist – Roy Iro Lighting Design, AV Design & Production Manager – Jane Hakaraia Sound Design – Connor Magatogia Set, Costume & Props – Nicole Marsh AV Support – Bekky Boyce Operator – Marshall Rankin Produced by Te Pou Theatre and Productions SEASON DETAILS Venue: Circa Two, Circa Theatre, Wellington Early Bird Tickets: 19 June – 3 July 2025 Preview Night: Friday 15 August Season dates: 16 Aug – 13 Sept Programmed for inclusion in the TAHI – New Zealand Festival of Solo Performance Choose Your Price Night: Tuesday 19 August Audio Described Performance is at 4.30pm Sunday 7th September Sunday Special Tickets: 4.30pm Sunday 17 September, tickets are $40. Relaxed Performance: 4.30pm, Sunday 24 August. Also, pre-notes are available on request. Q&A Session: Sunday 17 Aug following the 4.30pm performance Relaxed Performance: Sunday 24 August Tickets: $30–$60 at Runtime: 50 mins (no interval) Content Note: Contains coarse language and themes related to incarceration and protest. BIOS: Tainui Tukiwaho is an experienced theatre maker having worked professionally in te ao whakaari for the past 20 years. He began his career as an actor after graduating from Unitec. Using this skill as a foundation for storytelling, he progressed to directing and writing where – over the past 10 years – he has built a sizable resume. Tainui observed a lack of Māori voices on our professional stages and quickly adopted and implemented a distinctive style and perspective representative of his cultural background. With this voice he has written, adapted and translated many plays, including Peter, Paka, Paratene, E kore a muri e hokia, Hoki Mai, Tama ma, Larger than life, Te Awarua and the international sell-out festival show Black Ties. Ngahiriwa Rauhina (Ngāti Whakaue, Tūhourangi Ngāti Wāhiao, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāti Raukawa) is a multidisciplinary artist whose career spans over two decades in Aotearoa's performing arts landscape. Raised in the healing waters of Whakarewarewa beneath the watchful eye of Tarawera Maunga, Ngahiriwa carries his Te Arawa whakapapa into every role—whether acting, directing, producing, or mentoring. He has worked across stage and screen, collaborating with some of the country's leading creatives, including recent roles in The Visitors, He Kōni Ahi, and Shortland Street. Passionate about elevating Te Ao Māori through storytelling, Ngahiriwa is also a devoted father and partner, committed to building platforms for future generations of Māori artists. Stage Manager and voice artist (off-stage actor) Roy Iro (Rarotonga, Aitutaki, Manahiki, Rakahanga, Tongareva) Roy Iro is an award-winning writer and actor from West Auckland, New Zealand, of Cook Islands descent. He graduated from Toi Whakaari: New Zealand Drama School in 2021, Iro co-created and performed in FLAMES: A Hip-Hop Musical, earning the 2021 Wellington Fringe Parkin Development Award and earning Best Supporting Actor for the short film In The Depths (2021). Iro's screen credits include appearances in the television series 'Wellington Paranormal' (2022) and Time Bandits (2024).In 2023, Iro was selected for the Q Theatre Residency Programme and Playmarket's Brown Ink residency (2023), providing him with the opportunity to develop new theatrical works and further hone his craft.
Scoop
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Scoop
Auckland Theatre Company Presents MARY: The Birth Of Frankenstein
Press Release – Elephant Publicity From the minds of award-winning playwright Jess Sayer and director Oliver Driver, comes MARY: The Birth of Frankenstein – a blood-drenched phantasmagoria that reimagines the infamous stormy evening when Mary Shelley, the mother of gothic horror, conceived Theatre Company proudly presents this world premiere, playing at the ASB Waterfront Theatre from 19 August – 7 September. You'd kill to get a ticket. In the summer of 1816, a real-life gathering took place at the Villa Diodati on the shores of Lake Geneva. The sun had vanished. In its place: lightning, laudanum, lust, and something darker still. It was here that literary history was made, and monsters were born. Before the night ends, some creatures will emerge. Some made. And one that will haunt the world for generations. ' Can you not feel it? The power of possibility coursing through your veins? What if tonight we are not men, or women… but gods? ' Forget polite conversations from the drawing room. MARY is visceral horror with its teeth bared – part psychological thriller, part hallucinatory fever dream. Think Black Swan wielding words like weapons, stitched with the ferocity of Tarantino, and the spiralling intellect of Stoppard in a blackout. This is not a historical literary tribute. It is an unrelenting plunge into the creative abyss. The notorious gathering of artistic rockstars is reimagined at their most wicked, burning bright and burning out. Director Oliver Driver adds, 'I want audiences to leave Googling these lunatics. I want them disturbed, exhilarated, and weirdly inspired.' At the centre is 18-year-old Mary (Olivia Tennet), consumed with conflict, her invincible perseverance overcomes all obstacles as she prepares to unleash something terrifying and claim it as her own. Surrounding her are the dangerous poet Lord Byron (Tom Clarke), wild and charming Percy Shelley (Dominic Ona-Ariki), volatile and jealous stepsister Claire (Timmie Cameron), and neurotic physician John Polidori (Arlo Green). When Byron dares them to write a ghost story, what follows is a descent into seduction, rivalry, and madness. Mary walks out with a legend, but at what cost? Helmed by the same visionary director that brought audiences to the sell-out season of Amadeus in 2017, the production is packed with the theatrical firepower of Lighting Designer Jo Kilgour, Composer & Sound Designer Leon Radojkovic, and Movement Coach Ross McCormack. Adding to that power are spectacular costumes by acclaimed film designer Sarah Voon, making her thrilling theatrical debut, and Set Design by John Verryt. A fiendishly clever script by Jess Sayer brings a modern flavour to historical icons so audiences can 'engage with how cuttingly contemporary these artists were in their time.' Every element is meticulously crafted to conjure a stage alive with illusion, atmosphere, and the thrill of pure stagecraft. MARY is a warning wrapped in spectacle. In an age where genetic engineering, artificial intelligence and unchecked ambition dominate headlines, this story feels more urgent than ever. It explores the fierce demands of creation – the sacrifices, the fury, and the power it takes to bring something new into the world. It's a tale of rebellion, of breaking societal constraints, of ambition and the need to be seen, and of the terrifying clarity that sometimes comes when you're pushed beyond your limits. With the highly anticipated 2025 release of Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein on Netflix, now is the time to return to where it all began.
Scoop
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Scoop
World Press Photo Exhibition Announces New Auckland Venue
Press Release – Elephant Publicity The World Press Photo Exhibition offers a striking window into the past years defining and often overlooked moments and news events, capturing stories of conflict, climate, culture and community. Rotary Club of Auckland presents World Press Photo Exhibition Saturday 26 July – Sunday 24 August, Auckland Opening next month, the prestigious international World Press Photo Exhibition returns to showcase the world's most compelling photojournalism from around the globe. Following the closure of Smith & Caughey's at the end of July, the exhibition has a new home for 2025 thanks to the generosity of the owners of 131 Queen Street and the team at Krukziener Properties. The exhibition will run as scheduled from 26 July – 24 August, with tickets available online via Eventfinda or at the door. The World Press Photo Exhibition offers a striking window into the past year's defining and often overlooked moments and news events, capturing stories of conflict, climate, culture and community. The World Press Photo Exhibition features a wide selection of images from the World Press Photo Contest 2025, taken by 42 international photo journalists and documentary photographers. Included in the diverse selection of images and stories on display at this year's exhibition is Amanda Maciel Perobelli's series Brazil's Worst-Ever Floods that captures record-breaking floods in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, which caused widespread environmental devastation, the displacement of over 600,000 residents, and the death of 183 people. Federico Ríos' project Paths of Desperate Hope documents a variety of individuals as they journey through one of the most important migration routes in the world, the Darién Gap, a 100-kilometer long stretch of dense and roadless jungle connecting Colombia and Panama. This treacherous land route is a critical passage for those seeking to migrate from South America to the United States, with more than a million people having braved the route since 2021. Also on display will be Ebrahim Alipoor's long term project Bullets Have No Borders, capturing kolbars (border couriers) who carry goods such as household appliances, mobile phones, and clothes, on their backs through treacherous terrain from Iraq and Turkey into Iranian Kurdistan. They work in incredibly tough conditions, for very little money, and at risk to their lives – both from the elements and from authorities. The Rotary Club of Auckland is proud to bring the World Press Photo Exhibition to Auckland, with all proceeds from the event going towards Rotary youth charities and disability charity PHAB. World Press Photo Exhibition Auckland Dates: Saturday 26 July – Sunday 24 August Times: Sunday – Tuesday: 10.30am – 6pm. Wednesday – Saturday: 10.30am – 6.30PM Tickets via Eventfinda
Scoop
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Scoop
Whāia Te Waiora – Matariki On Karangahape Road 2025
Press Release – Elephant Publicity This three-day celebration will light up the rori with installations, window displays, projections, live performances, music, and more, many free and all created by local artists, community leaders, and businesses. Thursday 19 – Saturday 21 June 2025 | Free All Along Karangahape Road Nau mai, haere mai — welcome to Matariki on Karangahape Road. This Matariki, Karangahape Road invites you to Whāia Te Waiora — a vibrant and deeply grounded Matariki celebration led by our people, for our people. From Thursday 19 to Saturday 21 June, this three-day celebration will light up the rori with installations, window displays, projections, live performances, music, and more, many free and all created by local artists, community leaders, and businesses. Hoki atu ki tōu Rori kia purea ai e koe ki ngā tae o te Hapori — Return to your Road to bathe within the colours of community. Grounded in the principles of whanaungatanga, the kaupapa of Whāia Te Waiora – 'in pursuit of wellbeing' – offers space for reflection, remembrance, and reconnection during the Matariki season. Karangahape Road has been divided into three whānau sections, each led by a community leader. Each section responds to four significant whetū, forming a constellation of kaupapa that weaves through the street — connecting artists, venues, and experiences. Together, the whānau are guided by Te Puna o te Ao Mārama, a stunning taonga toi installation by the late Teare Turetahi, gifted to the kaupapa by the Turetahi Whānau Trust. This sacred work first adorned Fort Street and Jean Batten Place in downtown Tāmaki Makaurau, and now takes pride of place on Karangahape Road, each vibrant disc a whetū, a guide, a reminder. The event also honours taonga toi as a solution, the collective leadership of the Hāpori Rori Steering Committee, and the enduring legacy of the late Teare Turetahi. Designer and community leader Nayesha Mulholland (Ngāti Uepohatu, Ngāti Porou) reflects on the kaupapa's potential: 'I'm looking forward to seeing the road come alive — seeing everyone walking the street and engaging with the mahi toi and having those conversations. Matariki is a time for reflection and for setting intentions for the year ahead, and I think this kaupapa creates a space for people to do that, even if it's just in small ways — even if it's just having a conversation with someone or pausing in front of a work.' Audiences will also be introduced to the community leaders through Whānau Spotlight, a series of storytelling moments exploring whakapapa, practice and leadership. They are available to read via the website. PROGRAMME HIGHLIGHTS A full programme will be live soon at All events are free and whānau-friendly. NIU DAWN: Whakaako kia Whakaora! | Educate to Liberate! Thurs 19 June | 4–5pm | Open Coffee, 553 K'Rd launches its newest taonga with kōrero and waiata from the Polynesian Panther Party Legacy Trust and Niu Dawn artists. A guided hīkoi to the local Educate to Liberate murals grounds this kaupapa in place. GENEVA AM | PIKIPIKI ALBUM LISTENING PARTY Fri 20 June | 6–7:30pm | A Space, 309 K'Rd In celebration of Matariki, Geneva AM invites you to an early evening release party for Pikipiki, hosted in association with Whāia te Waiora. Whānau vibes and fresh sounds. TE WHARE TAPERE – IRON BANK COURTYARD STAGE Fri 20 June | 4–10pm | Iron Bank Courtyard, 150–154 K'Rd The whānau-friendly heart of our Matariki night! A kaupapa Māori stage featuring storytelling, kapa haka, circus, spoken word, music and DJs. Hosted by Kayne Ngātokowhā Peters. KARANGAHAPE MATARIKI MĀKETE Fri 20 June | 4–9:30pm | George Courts Discover taonga from 15+ local vendors. Hosted by Celestial Corner and Kick Back Make Change, the Mākete uplifts artists and supports rangatahi. Jewellery, apparel, crafts, wānanga and more. Nau mai, haere mai. DIVE INTO THE MAGIC OF TE WAIHOROTIU Fri 20 June | 4–10pm | St Kevin's Arcade Lie back and look up! An immersive animated underwater world by illustrator Ezra Whittaker projected across the arcade ceiling, inspired by the hidden awa beneath Karangahape Road. ONGOING INSTALLATIONS & STREET ACTIVATIONS Teare Turetahi's Te Puna o te Ao Mārama – anchoring the kaupapa in legacy, light and unity. Cheeky Tuna Puppet – a playful tribute to the Waihorotiu stream, lurking in St Kevin's Arcade. Projections, window displays, and native Pōhutakawa trees – lining and lighting up the street. This is just the beginning. Additional events and activations will be announced soon!
