Jeff Clark flew to Auckland and back last weekend. Apart from an eardrum rupturing, he had a great time and has seen some bright spots in Christchurch during the last few days – the brightest being a concert for The Court Theatre that raised more than $65,000.

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On a flight out of Christchurch last Friday night I saw a big dark patch where the CBD had been. It was an odd sight, considering the bright lights I’m used to seeing below. Flying back on Sunday daytime, however, the city beneath looks like the top of my head: recognisable for the most part, but with bald spots that are getting bigger every day. There was recently a bit of a brouhaha in the media about a helicopter flights over the central city – some people felt it was insensitive, others felt seeing the central city is an important part of closure. I suspect it will continue to be an ongoing debate, largely because it’s an entirely subjective experience.

It’s not just those who can afford helicopter rides and flights to Auckland that are being presented with the evidence that the face of central Christchurch has changed irrevocably. Driving around the outside of the central city I could see groups gathered to look at the demolition work that has reached the edge of the cordon. The deconstruction seems to have sped up somehow – or perhaps it has simply reached the point where we can see what has been eating away at the familiar spaces we used to know. Online photos of the inner CBD show places I remember fondly – Cashel Mall, Whitcoulls, High Street – have been consigned to memory.

Following the June 14 aftershock, the Arts Centre has announced that the site is “unsafe and cannot be accessed... as a consequence there will no longer be any ability to retrieve goods and chattels from within the buildings”. That means that all the equipment, all the props, costumes and personal belongings that The Court Theatre hasn’t recovered (and there was a lot we haven’t recovered) is as good as lost. Just thinking about my office – the programmes dating back to 1971, the CDs of show photos that had yet to be sent to our off-site archives and the reviews we had kept from local papers – scratches the surface of what we have left inside.

Carrying On

It’s hard for that news to overshadow my mood this week, however. For the past two weeks we have had a multitude of people rehearsing for our fundraising concert Carry On Court. These actors, choreographers, singers, dancers and musicians have donated their time to this – not purely out of altruism (although that is a very large factor) but also from the recognition that the future of their careers (or at least, their careers in Christchurch) depends on the city’s arts organisations surviving. It’s hard to be cynical when you’re surrounded by passionate, enthusiastic and talented people who care about something as much as you do.

It’s also hard to be cynical in the face of public support. When the news broke about the Arts Centre closure, we were inundated with calls – not just people wanting to book for Carry On Court (in a matter of days we went from “some seats sold” to “practically full”) but people offering their collection of old programmes, the old RAF uniform they’ve kept in a wardrobe or anything they think we might need. Carry On Court was a sell-out (over 690 seats) and having that many people bustling through the foyer of the Aurora centre (many of them people we have not seen in several months) was a wonderful return to the pre-show excitement we haven’t had for a long time.

The energy once the show got going, of course, was electric. Even without a full set (although our production designer did a spectacular job) props or costumes (although everyone looked stunning), Carry On Court created a phenomenal night of entertainment for everyone there. The show raised over $65,000 and we were able to announce on the night a significant donation of $500,000 from Pub Charity – the fundraising appeal has got off to a very strong start.

Light Relief

Despite the dark patches around the city, there seem to be some lights coming back on. The Events Village in Hagley Park now boasts a giant dome that will host numerous events and performances from Kidsfest to the Christchurch Arts Festival.

The programme of the Christchurch Arts Festival has adopted a “distinctly Christchurch focus” and embraced a smaller scale performances with a mix of theatrical, musical and other events. The list of venues encompasses purpose-built venues (such as the dome), school halls, museums and stadiums – which pretty much sums up how every performing arts group has had to adapt. I look forward to seeing as much of the festival as I can (which is always less than I want).

A number of stand-up comedy shows around the city have done very well – I suspect because the requirements of these shows (a stage, sound system and place for an audience) are much easier to attain than larger productions. Considering the comedy talent Christchurch has produced (Cal Wilson, Jarred Christmas and Rhys Darby, to name but a few) I’ve always felt a little confused that the stand-up scene has never really taken off in Christchurch. Maybe in the rebuild there will be a place for a comedy club – for now it is nice to see some entertainment options cropping up around town.

Of course, The Court has two shows opening very soon – Five Women Wearing The Same Dress, and family show Hansel & Gretel. Both are fun productions for different reasons (one is a cleverly-written comedy that explores relationships, the other a silent retelling of a classic fairytale – I’ll let you figure out which is which). These will be the last major theatrical productions The Court does for some months, although we have several fundraising activities and performance-style events in the works.

Our next major production will be the first show in The Shed: Roger Hall’s A Short Cut To Happiness. Our target is to open the new Court’s home before the end of the year – if we can keep the momentum we started with Carry On Court, I think the future looks bright.

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