Overview
Following an earlier announcement that hip hop legend Che-Fu will be performing his seminal album Navigator from start to finish, the full lineup has now been revealed for Auckland Arts Festival 2021 (Ahurei Toi o Tāmaki Makaurau). The 13th edition of the arts and culture celebration returns from 4–21 March, 2021 with a program of more than 70 theatre, dance, music and visual arts events to the theme of 'aroha'.
After cutting its 2020 season short due to COVID-19, the festival has commissioned world premieres of several new works and resuscitated some that were cancelled due to the pandemic.
The 2021 program features more free activities than ever before, including events on International Women's Day and New Zealand Children's Day. Te reo Māori is another focal point, with featured events including a kapa haka extravaganza, a showcase of four wāhine toa performers and te reo poetry delivered by a host of women from across Aotearoa.
The Civic Club will see intimate performances from Reb Fountain, Chelsea Jade, Carnivorous Plant Society and Shayne Carter, as well as a comedy talk show with Tom Sainsbury, and dazzling circus cabaret from the rafters.
Other highlights on the stage include Strasbourg 1518, which explores the dancing plague of 1518; The Artist, a new physical theatre comedy show from circus star Thomas Monckton; and Jack and the Beanstalk, a Kiwi take on the classic tale written and directed by Michael Hurst.
Elsewhere, there's an event featuring six of the country's finest pianists at once, a screening of E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial with orchestral accompaniment from the APO, an outdoor aerial dance event performed mid-air between trees, and an extravagant evening of runway divas, stunty vogue battles and seductive sex sirens.
Auckland Arts Festival will run from March 4–21, 2021. Tickets are on sale now at aaf.co.nz. In the event of cancellation due to COVID-19, ticketholders will be refunded in full.
Top image: Eu Lee Teh.