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Peculiar Poetry

As the Fringe Festival ramps up, one of my picks is Open Your Mouth and I will Poet All Over Your Face, a solo show by poet Rose Northey. 

Winner of the 2019 Going West poetry slam, Rose’s poetry is weird and full of nervous energy. She’s definitely one of the most original young performance poets coming up in Aotearoa. 

Rose describes the show as “eating spaghetti on pizza on toast with a takeaway spoon” and recommends getting your tickets now, as her mother has been taking her publicity role extremely seriously.

The PumpHouse Theatre, 5-6 March 7PM

Cultural Reinterpretation

The season of festivals continues with Auckland Arts Festival kicking off next week. Award winning poet, Grace Taylor, is bringing her show UPU to Q theatre. Directed by Fasitua Amosa, the show features an all-star team of Māori and Pasefika performers, reading some of this country's literary legends including Ben Brown, Karlo Mila and Albert Wendt. I got to see an early iteration of the show a year or so back, and it was amazing hearing these poems reinterpreted, and in some instances brought back to life. 

Q theatre, 5-15 March

Anchor Me

Another AAF show that looks amazing is Baby Mutants, curated by Rosabel Tan.  The show features a panel discussion with Joel Bray, Tanu Gago, Moe Laga, Kaan Hiini and David Farrier.

The discussion centres around “How do you find (and remain true to) yourself when you don’t have an anchor? And how does this change the way we think about family?”  I’m going to be in Australia when this is happening and am gutted to be missing it. But if you’re kicking around you should definitely check it out. 

Spiegeltent Aotea Square, Tuesday, 17 March, 5:30–6:30PM

Alice Canton 

Calling all Tigers

Comedian, actor and post dramatist, Alice Canton is putting on a show entitled Year of the Tiger (虎—hǔ). Part live-documentary, part social practice, White Tiger features a group of strangers each born in the year of the tiger. Alice describes the show as a “live arts project that celebrates intergenerational connection through ordinary, non-performers bringing to life their extraordinary experiences.” If you’re born in the year of the tiger, and want to get involved head here.

Basement Theatre, Tuesday, 10 March, 6:30 – 7:30 PM