Arts

Truth and Big Lies

Truth and Big Lies

If my cal­cu­la­tions are cor­rect, the New Zea­l­and Inter­na­tion­al Com­edy Fest­iv­al should be going on as you read these very words. The com­edy fest­iv­al is, like so many events on the […]

Back to the big screen in May

Back to the big screen in May

I sup­pose every month of cinema releases can boast being ‘some­thing for every­one’, but this month it really does appear to be jus­ti­fied. First up, on Sunday 3 May, is […]

Empty tables, closed doors, Open Looks

Empty tables, closed doors, Open Looks

  The first quarter of 2015 was a mixed bag for loc­al read­ers and book­sellers. Quilters’ Dewey-defy­ing treas­ure-tables dis­played at last their naked sur­faces, while the thrum­ming hive of ephemera […]

The return of the Roots

The return of the Roots

Trin­ity Roots Cit­izen (Self-released) When beloved Wel­ling­ton group Trin­ity Roots ral­lied them­selves for a series of reunion con­certs in 2010, it became clear that the pub­lic weren’t that keen to let […]

Come on Doll Face

Come on Doll Face

Col­lage seems a use­ful meta­phor for con­tem­por­ary life in the digit­al age. A col­lage dis­rupts accep­ted mean­ings by tak­ing found images clipped from their ori­gin­al con­text, then mix­ing them up and […]

Fanfare for the Commons man

Fanfare for the Commons man

Jeremy Com­mons used to put on draw­ing-room oper­as. He doesn’t now, but for 14 years he ensured that these intim­ate dra­mas were reg­u­larly re-enacted, for a small audi­ence of the […]

The more things change

The more things change

Ever since I took over this column in early 2012, I feel like everything I have writ­ten has come with the sub­text of com­ing change. Much as we love it, […]

To end all wars

To end all wars

Vera Brittain’s mem­oir Test­a­ment of Youth is a heart-rend­ing les­son about the First World War and its effects. As you read, gobsmacked by the forces that swoop in and pluck […]

Other countries, other stories

Other countries, other stories

The past, we’re often reminded, is anoth­er coun­try. It’s still inac­cess­ible to even the world­li­est of 21st-cen­tury trav­el­lers; good luck work­ing out the status of forces agree­ment neces­sary to traverse […]

1 2 3 11