Standing Room Only for Sunday 9 February 2020

 

12:30 Liz Sneyd - do young people want to hear classical music? 

The founder of a trust that provides free stringed instrument lessons to children in Porirua says there's no doubt young people are engaged in classical music. 

This comes after the announcement RNZ is planning to take classical music station RNZ Concert off its FM frequency, and replace it with music aimed at attracting a younger, more diverse audience. 

But Liz Sneyd, who set up the Virtuoso Strings Trust in 2013, says she teaches children, predominately Maori and Pasifika, who love to play in orchestras, and are enthusiastic about the music.  

12:45 Writer Aroha Awarau on his new play - Provocation 

It wasn't until 2009 that provocation, a defense killers of gay men used to have the charge downgraded to manslaughter, was struck from New Zealand's law books.

Before then they'd been able to claim that they were motivated to kill because of the unwanted sexual advances from
another man.

Gay Māori writer Aroha Awarau found reading about these cases terrifying.

He's addressing the unjust gay panic defense in his third play, Provocation, that will premiere as part of Auckland's Pride Festival.

1:10 At The Movies

Dan Slevin casts a critical eye over Terrence Malick's A Hidden Life, the true war story Midway; and a drama starring Adam Sandler, Uncut Gems. 

1:33 Film makers strike for the climate 

Encouraging film crews to shoot footage for more than one film or TV series at a time in an effort to reduce carbon emissions is one of the ideas being pushed by the Film Strike for Climate movement in the UK.

It's also behind the first of an anticipated series of short comedic films highlighting climate change issues.

Lynn speaks to its founder, Alfie Warren-Knight just after the organisation's first meeting in London.

1:50 Kapiti's new multi-million dollar performing arts centre 

The Kapiti Coast arts community has something to celebrate - a new performing arts centre, based at Kapiti College, is opening this month. 

Already the bookings are rolling in, with the Royal New Zealand ballet taking its Tutus on Tour there at the end of February, and the NZSO playing in March. 

The perfoming arts centre has been built in the grounds of Kapiti College, but it is a community asset, paid for in part by the Kapiti Coast District council. 

Its patron is ballet legend, Sir Jon Trimmer, who's lived on the coast for decades. 

Standing Room Only Producer Laura Dooney looked around the centre, and spoke to its manager Sonia Hardie, the district's deputy mayor Janet Holborow, the centre's patron, Sir Jon Trimmer and Kapiti College principal Tony Kane. 

See what's on at the centre, here.

2:06 The Laugh Track - Ashton Brown 

Today we're talking to a comedian who's also a writer and an actor - Ashton Brown. 

He's previously talked candidly on stage about his anxiety and in his new show, "Ashton Brown is not what we're looking for" he addresses the difficulty of auditions, his roles, his weight and his self esteem in general. 

Ashton Brown performs 'Ashton Brown is Not What We’re Looking For' 27 & 28 February at Dogs Bollix as part of Auckland Fringe https://www.aucklandfringe.co.nz/programme-2020/ashton-brown-is-not-what-were-looking-for

2:25 Births, Deaths, and Marriages with Bea Joblin and Sophie Lloyd  

A self funded New Zealand feature film in the style of a mock 1990s home video is about to screen around the country - six years after it was shot.

Births, Deaths and Marriages was filmed over three weeks with a large cast crammed into a small house.    

Writer and director Bea Joblin wrote the roles for her actor friends, and for her mother Geraldine Brophy, who plays the matriarch Ngaire in the film.

New Zealand International film festival audiences had the chance to see Births Deaths and Marriages last year ahead of its general release next month - no mean feat for a low budget feature film.

2:40 Book editors Christine Cessford and Gem MacDuff 

Book editors do much more than checking grammar and spelling and if necessary asking writers to cut out pages of text.

They're also painstaking fact checkers.

On Standing Room Only last year Lynn Freeman interviewed Andi Buchanan about their novella From A Shadow Grave that's set in several different time periods.

Andi talked about their editors picking up on the fact that teabags and types of makeup they'd assumed were around in the 1930's, actually weren't.  

Lynn tracked down the two editors who were students on the Whitirea Publishing course in Wellington last year...Christine Cessford and Gem MacDuff.  

2:49 Mike Sorenson - Dancing through Depression

Hamiltonian Mike Sorenson spends his days fixing cars - but his spare time is dedicated to dancing and creating work that gets people talking about tough issues like mental health. 

Mike's new work is called  Enough - a piece that looks at his own experience with depression, and expresses it through dance. 

After a couple of work in progress shows, Enough is about to be performed outdoors as part of the Hamilton Gardens Arts Festival.

Mike went into our Hamilton studio to talk about Enough and about how he got involved in dance while growing up in a sports mad part of the country. 

Where to go for help:
Need to talk to someone? Free text or call 1737 for support from a trained counsellor.
Lifeline - 0800 543 354
Suicide Crisis Helpline - 0508 828 865 (TAUTOKO)
Depression Helpline - 0800 111 757 or free text 4202

3:06 Drama at 3 - Ground by Fiona Farrell 

3:45 James Wenley on his new play - Dr Drama Makes a Show 

Seeing a portrait of his namesake and Great Great Great Grandfather who was a treasurer of the Bank of Scotland, prompted drama lecturer and critic James Wenley to write a play about identity, masculinity and Pakeha Privilege.

At the same time he's toying with the theatre conventions that he teaches to drama students at  Victoria University of Wellington
  
James is also a dramaturge - and in his spare time he's writing a book on New Zealand theatre performed overseas.

But at the moment his focus is on his first solo show, Dr  Drama Makes a Show.