Standing Room Only for Sunday 27 May 2018

 

12:16 Sculptor Gill Gatfield is the talk of Venice

A massive rare stone extracted from a South Island mountain and carved by sculptor Gill Gatfield, is attracting intense international interest at the 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale. Gill calls her monumental sculpture "Zealandia".  It's a 2.3 metre high X-shaped figure weighing in at one and a half tonnes, and in January it was still nestled in a South Island mountain range.

The Auckland sculptor is the only New Zealander invited to be part of an exhibition called Time, Space, Existence that's presented by the Global Art Foundation.

Around quarter of a million visitors are expected to see the work over the next six months.  Lynn Freeman spoke to Gill in Venice just after it was unveiled to find out more about the rare stone she's introduced to the world:

12:27  Photographer Peter Peryer takes a trip into the past

One of New Zealand's best known photographers Peter Peryer is having a ball going though thousands of contact sheets of his early work.

He hasn't looked at many of them in a long time, until he started working on an exhibition that's about to open in Auckland.  It concentrates on Peter's photographs from 1975-1999.  

While they're in black and white, Peter embraced colour photography long ago - and digital photography, including his smartphone.  But as he tells Lynn Freeman, when he started out in the 1970s film was the only option:

The Peryer Archives 1975-1999 auction is on at  Bowerbank Ninow in Auckland on Thursday.

12:45 NZ On Air's Amie Mills is looking for new audiences

While NZ on Air waits to find out its share of the extra 15-million dollars allocated to Public Broadcasting in the Budget, the agency's new Head of Funding has no shortage of projects to choose from.

Next month Amie Mills leaves TVNZ where she's been the Children's and Digital Commissioner and spearheading the upcoming NZ On Air/TVNZ children's ad-free platform Heihei.

Heihei goes live tomorrow but there's a link to the soft pre-launch here.

Amie Mills tells Lynn Freeman that she aims to reach new audiences in new ways, riding the same technological wave that delivered Heihei.

1:10 At The Movies

Today Simon Morris reviews Deadpool 2, Mr Stein goes online and Number One.

 

1:33 A very Aussie Elixir of Love!

Donizetti's opera The Elixir of Love had an extreme makeover at the hands of Opera Australia, and now that production - described as "wacky and irreverent" - is coming to New Zealand.

NZ Opera is taking on Simon Phillips' interpretation of the love story which he's set in a country town in Australia during World War One. 

But he's handed over directing the production to Matthew Barclay, and he's the one working with the cast here in New Zealand.

The only other member of the original team is New Zealand bass, Conal Coad, who plays the villain of the piece.

Lynn Freeman spoke to both Conal and Matthew, and first asked Matthew for a job description of his title -"the Re-stage director".

The Elixir of Love opens in Auckland on May the 31st before it heads to Wellington next month.

1:47 Playwright Philip Braithwaite looks at a possible future of Wellington 

Wellington - 2168.  It's barely habitable due to climate change, tectonic shifts and nuclear accidents. So if you had the chance to escape to a new colony on Mars, would you go?  Even if it means leaving your partner behind? And can technology help keep this ultra-long distance relationship alive?

That's the scenario Wellington playwright Phillip Braithwaite has set up in his new play The Atom Room.

Lynn Freeman talks to Philip about dystopian futires, drama and virtual reality.  The Atom Room premieres at Circa Theatre in Wellington on the 9th of June.

 

2:06 The Laugh Track - Josh Kingsford

 

Josh was recently awarded a Best Newcomer credit after the New Zealand International Comedy Festival. 

As he contemplates his very promising future, he joins Lynn Freeman on the Laugh Track and picks some favoruites, including Bill Burr, Stewart Lee, Louis CK and Bo Burnham.

 

 

2:24 The NZSO Shed Series salutes Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood

The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra will perform music by Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood in the second of its hit Shed Series in Wellington next week.  Following the hit debut of the series, featuring the works of Frank Zappa, conductor Hamish McKeich has put together a powerful programme centred on Greenwood's music for the film There will be blood. 

Hamish talks to Simon Morris about the philosophy behind the Shed Series - whether it's reaching out or dumbing down!   The Jonny Greenwood concert by the NZSO will take place at Wellington's Shed 6 on Friday the 1st of June.

2:36  Novelist Michael Munro and a thriller set in Antarctica

Imagine if the word got out that Antarctica was a new source of top quality diamonds.

This are among the curly questions posed in a new geopolitical thriller by Wellington writer Michael Munro.

Eye of the Songbird opens with protagonist Sadie dangling in a crevasse in Antarctica, in a life or death situation.  Lynn Freeman talks to Michael Munro his first novel:

Eye of the Songbird by Michael Munro is published by Tita Publishing.

2:49  My heels are killing me - the new designers

Turkey tail mushrooms, subverting the male gaze, a story of migration, and hidden circular forms … all provide the background to some of the collections featured this year at iD Dunedin Fashion Week. Sonia Sly was in Dunedin for this episode of My Heels Are Killing Me

3:06 Drama at 3 - two series continue.

Further episodes of Dexter Guff is smarter than yoiu (and you can be too) and Te Wherowhero.

 

Music played in this show

Artist:  Julie Andrews
Song: A spoonful of sugar
Composer:  Sherman-Sherman
Album: Mary Poppins soundtrack
Label: Waltdisney
Played at: 12.16

Artist: The  Clovers
Song: Love Potion #9
Composer: Lieber-Stoller
Album: The Lieber and Stoller Story Vol, 2
Label: Ace
Played at:  12.25

Artist: Cyndi Lauper
Song:  I'll kiss you
Composer: Lauper
Album: She's so unusual
Label: Portrait
Played at: 12.58

Artist: Bruce Springsteen
Song: Soul Driver
Composer: Springsteen
Album: Human Touch
Label: Columbia
Played at: 1.10

Artist: Luciano Pavarotti
Song: Una furtiva lagrima
Composer: Donizetti
Album: L'Elisir d'Amore
Label: Decca
Played at:  1.33

Artist: Morphine
Song: Potion
Composer: Sandman
Album: N/A
Label: RYKO
Played at:  1.45

Artist: Tori Amos
Song: Barons of Suburbia
Composer: Amos
Album: The beekeeper
Label:  Epic
Played at: 1.58

Artist: Circus of Power
Song:  Doctor Potion
Composer:  N/A
Album: Vices
Label: RCA
Played at:  2.04

Artist: Radiohead
Song: Fake plastic trees
Composer:  Radiohead
Album: The Best Of
Label:  Parlophone
Played at:  2.24

Artist: The Searchers
Song: Magic potion
Composer: Bacharach-David
Album: The Collection
Label:  Castle
Played at:  2.33

Artist: Buchanan Brothers
Song:  Medicine Man Part 1
Composer: Cashman-Pistilli-West
Album: N/A
Label: Event (?)
Played at:  2.58

Artist: The Mamas and the Papas
Song: Once was a time I thought
Composer: Phillips
Album: The Mamas and the Papas
Label: MCA
Played at:  3.04

Artist: Seal
Song:  Free
Composer: Greene-Redd-Watts
Album: Soul
Label: Warner
Played at:  3.24

Artist: Aimee Mann
Song: Medicine wheel
Composer: Mann
Album: @#%&*! Smilers
Label: ?Hip-O
Played at:  3.58