Standing Room Only for Sunday 27 March 2016

12:42 Jean Batten on stage

New Zealand's legendary aviatrix Jean Batten remains something of a mystery despite her many well-documented achievements in the air.  She made the first-ever solo flight from England to New Zealand, setting a record that stood for 44 years. She was fiercely private, yet one of the most famous Kiwis of her time - brave but not reckless, and forging a new path for women while still being patronised. Lynn Freeman talks to Auckland scriptwriter Phil Ormsby and actress Alex Ellis who are portraying her on stage, calling it a celebration of an independent woman who pursued her ambition with unqualified success.

 

12:51 Auckland's Crystal Palace is reborn

She's nudging 90 years and is looking a bit rough in places but Auckland's Crystal Palace faces a bright future. It's been a working cinema all its life - it was the first 'talkie' cinema in Auckland - and in the 60s it was also a popular dance hall and recording studio. Now it's destined to become an arts hub for musicians, performers and filmmakers. Karl Sheridan and Taylor MacGregor from Monster Valley made a documentary about the Crystal Palace last year and were so smitten they're now managing it.

 

1:10 At The Movies

This week Simon Morris reviews London has fallen, An and Risen.

1:34  A revival of classic play Joyful and Triumphant 

It's one of the most performed New Zealand productions - 200 shows over 5 years here and overseas. Robert Lord's family epic Joyful and Triumphant spans 4 decades of the Bishop family's Christmas Days.   Robert died just before rehearsals started. Now, almost 20 years since the last show, it's returning to the stage - with many of the original actors who are now playing 'older' roles. Lynn Freeman talks to three of them - Catherine Downes, Jane Waddell and Michele Amas.

1:47  Auckland Communities Foundation chair Geoff Clews

Two big reports on philanthropy in Auckland are about to be released.  One asks what motivates philanthropists, and what they hope will come from their donations.  The other gives potential donors advice on groups - like the arts - that are most in need of private funding. The Auckland Communities Foundation is behind the reports and in its first five years of working with philanthropists, it's distributed more than 5 million dollars in grants. The Foundation's Chair, Geoff Clews, is an Auckland tax barrister and longtime supporter of the Arts. He's set up the Rampart Endowment Fund to promote arts education. Lynn Freeman asked Geoff why New Zealanders seem much more reluctant philanthropists than those in countries like America.

2:06 The Laugh Track - Massive Company's Sam Scott and Scotty Cotter

Sam and Scotty's choices include Rowan Atkinson, Whoopi Goldberg, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler.

2:25 Dunedin's Fe29 Art Gallery

Dunedin couple Meg and Cecilia Mickelsen have turned their love of art into a cottage industry. Their St Clair home is also a gallery called Fe29, selling works by local and overseas artists - and a few by Cecilia, too. But we’re not talking about just one or two rooms here. The entire house is given over to art and the pair live happily amongst it all.

2:38  Novelist Karen McMillan's new novel The Paris of the West

We first met novelist Karen McMillan's Polish characters in Warsaw, the Paris of the East, during the Second World War.  In her sequel, the surviving family members who suffered appalling hardships under the Nazis, move to the Paris of the West - San Francisco. Unlike many migrants of the time, Celina, her father, shell-shocked husband and journalist brother in law get a big helping hand from family who moved to the States from Poland before the war. But even with financial support, the new migrants struggle to establish a new life in a very different country.  Lynn Freeman talks to Karen about The Paris of the West.

2:48   Photographer Trey Ratcliff

American travel photographer Trey Ratcliff - and former TedXQueenstown speaker - has had billions of hits on his travel photography blog. Trey is blind in one eye and only took up photography a few years ago. He made history by having  the first HDR photo - that's High-Dynamic-Range imaging - ever to hang in the Smithsonian. The works are dramatic in scale and tend to be highly manipulated with hyper rich colours. Lynn Freeman asked Trey about his very first camera.

3:06 Drama at 3

The Mercy Clause by Philip Braithwaite.

Music played in this show

Artist: Eric Burdon
Song: San Franciscan Nights
Composer: Vic Briggs, Eric Burdon, Barry Jenkins, Danny McCulloch
Album: The Animal's Greatest Hits
Label: Prism Entertainment 222
Played at: 12:12

Artist: The Flower Pot Men
Song: Let's Go To San Francisco
Composer: Carter, Lewis
Album: Listen To The Flowers Grow
Label: RPM 959
Played at: 12:33

Artist: Richie Havens
Song: San Francisco Bay Blues
Composer: Fuller
Album: The Best Of Richie Havens: Resume
Label: Rhino 271189
Played at: 12:57

Artist: Arctic Monkeys
Song: Fake Tales of San Francisco
Composer: Arctic Monkeys
Album: Whatever People Say I Am I'm Not
Label: Domino 353344
Played at: 1:08

Artist: Chris Isaak
Song: San Francisco Days
Composer: Isaak
Album: San Francisco Days
Label: Reprise 246069
Played at: 1:46

Artist: Foxygen
Song: San Francisco
Composer: Jonathan Rado, Sam France
Album: MOJO Presents 2013: The Best Of The Year
Label: MOJO January 2014
Played at: 1:59

Artist: Jeanette MacDonald
Song: San Francisco
Composer: Kahn, Kaper, Jurmann
Album: San Francisco and Other Jeanette MacDonald
Label: BMG 660877
Played at: 2:06

Artist: Tony Bennett
Song: I Left My Heart In San Francisco
Composer: D. Cross, G. Cory
Album: The Best of Tony Bennett
Label: CBS 462775
Played at: 2:59

Artist: Scott McKenzie
Song: San Francisco (Be Sure To Wear Flowers In Your Hair)
Composer: Scott McKenzie
Album: Tour Of Duty 3
Label: CBS 465119
Played at: 3:06

Artist: Buddy Guy
Song: Hello San Francisco
Composer: Geddins
Album: The Very Best of Buddy Guy
Label: Rhino 270280
Played at: 3:59