Overview
Auckland Arts Festival has spilt the beans on five new shows dropping by next March, joining the already announced production of Giselle by the English National Ballet, Royal New Zealand Ballet's take on Jane Campion's The Piano, and a theatrical adaptation of George Orwell's, 1984.
For the 2018 program, the festival has combined forces with Wellington's biennial New Zealand Festival to bring local audiences a veritable feast of the arts. For those in the capital, a stellar lineup was announced for NZ Festival last night.
The five newly announced shows appearing at Auckland Arts Festival 2018 include: French–Vietnamese company Nouveau Cirque du Vietnam performing its one-of-a-kind circus, À Ố Làng Phố. To a soundtrack of South Vietnamese music and contemporary hip hop, the show tells the story of village and city life in Vietnam with astounding acrobatics and astonishing props, including towering bamboo.
Us/Them is a powerful piece of physical and narrative theatre, which presents a "grown up yet playful", child's-eye-view of the horrific 2004 siege of a Beslan school by Chechen separatists. Directed by Dutch director Carly Wijs, this theatrical piece had audiences at the 2016 Edinburgh Festival calling it "haunting", "remarkable" and "unforgettable."
Hone Kouka and Tawata Production's new work, Bless the Child, is an urban thriller and unflinching social commentary scrutinising the issue of violence against children in New Zealand society. It tells the story through a Māori lens and with a stellar cast.
New Zealand dancer Michael Parmenter will choreograph the New Zealand Dance Company in the world premiere of new dance opera, OrphEus. The dance work, which also comprises theatre and live music, includes Grammy Award-winning American tenor Aaron Sheehan, baroque ensemble Latitude 37 and special guests.
Lastly, American vocalist Cécile McLorin Salvant will bring her repertoire of jazz standards and songs from her latest album, Dreams and Daggers, to New Zealand for the very first time. The 28-year-old has been described by the New York Times as "the finest jazz singer to emerge in the last decade."
Auckland Art Festival will take place in March 2018. The full program will be announced on Tuesday 31 October.
Image: Nguyen The Duong