Standing Room Only for Sunday 14 November 2021

 

12:15 Ian Mune returns with thought-provoking drama. 

Ian Mune been a fixture in our drama scene for so long - on stage, big and small screen and radio - that we almost tend to take him for granted.

He dominated New Zealand TV when it finally shook off its shackles back in the early Seventies, and became one of our first star actors.  Then five years later he did the same thing with our film industry - as an actor, a writer and a director.

And now he's done it again.  He and Irene Wood are heartbreakingly good in a TV series called The Pact, currently on TVNZ On Demand.

12:30 An orchestra in your back pocket.

Cantabrian David Thorpe has collected and played harmonicas for decades tackling all kinds of music genres along the way - you might know him as Li'l Chuck The One Man Skiffle Machine, Davey Backyard, The Swarm, or from The Black Velvet Band.

His new album says it all - it's called My Harp, My Rules. 

12:45 Celebrating Music Therapy Week

Saxophonist and clarinet player Ella Polczyk-Przybyla not only believes in the healing power of music, she's put that belief into practice here and overseas.

Based in Hawke's Bay, Ella's the Regional Manager for the Raukatauri Music Therapy Centre, a charity that supports young people who have experienced trauma, as well as at a school for the deaf.

Before heading to Aotearoa, she helped to set up a music therapy programme in Uganda at a centre for people affected by HIV/AIDS.  She also helped children with special educational needs and adults with mental health difficulties in the UK. 

Ella's involved with the upcoming Music Therapy Week, and she speaks to Lyn Freeman.

1:10 At The Movies

On At The Movies, Simon Morris reviews three films that have divided the pundits - Jane Campion's award-winning The Power of the Dog, Marvel Comics' ambitious The Eternals, and an investigation into the murder of Sir Peter Blake, The Garden of Evil.

1:33 Personal biographical portraits of remarkable New Zealanders.

Lynn Freeman is joined by Elspeth Sandys and Malcolm Mulholland to talk about the two New Zealanders they've chosen to write very personal essays about for a new book called Nine Lives.

Elspeth Sandys has chosen her uncle, Rewi Alley who lived and worked in China for 60 years, drawn there initially by the Chinese Revolution.

Malcolm Mulholland chose foremost Maori academic Dr Ranginui Walker, who's book Ka Whawhai Tonu Mato: Struggle Without End genuinely did change the course of his life. 

1:50 NZ Sculpture OnShore goes online.

A three metre high tower made from Takaka marble removed from the Beehive and a bronze sculpture of a tui atop a giant acorn - they're among the more than 200 works in the annual NZ Sculpture OnShore. 

The event is a fundraiser for Women's Refuge, whose services organisers say is in even more demand because of the pandemic.

Lynn Freeman catches up with two of the artists, Fiona Garlick and Chauncey Flay.

2:06 The Laugh Track - Sweeney Preston

New Zealand and Australian comedy are the same but different.  We like each other's comedians, when we see them, and our best often feature in comedy festivals on both sides of the Tasman.

But it can't be denied, we don't necessarily know a lot about them - not without a guide.  And today we're lucky to have one. 

Melbourne standup comedian Sweeney Preston has been stranded in Aotearoa since July - deftly staying one step ahead of lockdowns.

Sweeney Preston’s laugh track picks were Reuben Kaye, Anne Edmonds,  Sam Campbell and Dane Sampson.

2:25 Phillipa Werry on her new book The Other Sister.

Wellington author Philippa Werry sets her latest novel immediately post the First World War, when communities were shattered by both the war years and a pandemic that killed millions around the world.

In The Other Sister, Tilly is only 14.   But she's determined to help the local men who've returned from war physically and emotionally scarred.

Phillipa speaks to Lynn Freeman about the book.

2:40 Maria Dronke: Glimpses of an Acting Life

Dr Monica Tempian has written the biography Maria Dronke: Glimpses of an Acting Life about a woman she argues changed the face of New Zealand theatre.Lynn Freeman spoeaks to her, and to Maria's great grand daughter Henrietta Bollinger.

2:49 Self Worth and Productivity

A new production BIGTIMECLOCKS examines how self-worth is all too often linked to productivity. The team behind it, O+P works, is certainly productive - this show runs for a challenging 4 hours at Wellington's BATS Theatre.

Lynn Freeman speak so one of the co-writers, Olivia Mahood.

3:06 Drama at 3 - Awatea

As part of our celebration of "One Hundred Years of Radio in New Zealand", we're pleased to present a truly Classic Drama.   This is one of the very first New Zealand-written plays broadcast - Bruce Mason's epic drama Awatea, exploring Maaori - Paakeha co-existence.

Recorded in 1965, Awatea is one of the oldest plays in our archive.

The cast includes some of our greatest radio actors.. Inia Te Wiata, Pat Evison, Martyn Sanderson, Don Selwyn, a young Ian Mune.