Blog | TalkWrite

In Rita and Douglas writer Dave Armstrong explores the tempestuous relationship between writer Rita Angus and composer Douglas Lilburn, using Rita’s own words and Douglas’ music. Portraying these two great NZ icons are two of our current stage icons, actress Jennifer Ward-Lealand and pianist Michael Houstoun.

Renee Liang talked to Dave and Jennifer. Read More »

Glorious is a 1940’s-style American screwball comedy – written by Dunedin playwright Richard Huber. A finalist for the Playmarket New NZ Play Award, it’s hitting Auckland after successful seasons in Dunedin and Wellington. Read More »

By Renee Liang

The NZ poetry ‘scene’, as you might expect, is small. It’s also friendly and largely non-competitive – I’d like to think this is largely to do with the lovely nature of people who become poets, but it could also be that poetry is (even in comparison to the rest of the performing arts) something you do for love and not for the squillions you make reading poetry on a pub stage on a weekday night. Read More »

A Thousand Hills opens this week in Auckland. A hotly anticipated new NZ work, it’s had a long and careful gestation in the experienced hands of playwright Mike Hudson and director Margaret-Mary Hollins.

Renee Liang asked Mike about the challenges of retelling the real-life story of Rwandan genocide survivor Francois Byamana and aid worker Bob Askew. Read More »

This Thursday, the first ever Rhyme Summit Aotearoa takes place. If you know anything about NZ music or poetry, you’ll realise this is a formidable lineup. Some names such as King Kapisi are well known; many others, such as Simone Kaho and Jai MacDonald, are rising stars of the poetry underground.

The show’s organizers, Darryl Jones and Kiri Piahana-Wong, talked to Renee Liang. Read More »

Renee Liang chats to Sylvia Rands and John Gibson between rehearsals for The Angel and The Beloved, a new form of theatrical alchemy bringing the vision of 20th century lyric poet Rainer Maria Rilke to life with the power of music and voice. Read More »

Philippa Pidgeon danced and taught ballet all over the world before coming home to teach and choreograph at AUT. Her piece at the recent Viva Eclectika, an intercultural dance festival, referenced both Eastern and Western forms of dance. Philippa talked to Renee Liang about her dance influences. Read More »

In this week's TalkWrite Renee Liang looks forward to the opening of Q and asks what makes independent theatre makers keep going. She talks to actors Delaney Tabron and Andrew Munro about why they make theatre and their new work, Reasons to Be Pretty by Neil LaBute. Read More »

Renee Liang’s been working in Christchurch in the last six weeks. As she says goodbye to the ‘fragile, beautiful’ city, she reflects on how the local visual arts scene has adapted to the shutdown of the CBD, and interviews Sebastian Warne of ABC Gallery. Read More »

The Christchurch earthquake has been foremost in our minds for the last few months. No doubt the powerful and poignant stories from this event will continue to be explored in our media and arts for a long time.
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Renee Liang interviews Cilla McQueen about her work as New Zealand Poet Laureate and how the teaching of poetry in schools has changed.

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Renee Liang talks about the rich lineup of events on National Poetry Day (July 22) and interviews North Shore poet Johanna Emeney, author of the recently released Apple &Tree. Read More »

Gus Simonovic talks to Renee Liang about taking poetry as 'performance art' to the people, taking his projects to the next level with ART Venture and taking away ideas from a research trip in Europe. Read More »

In Renee Liang's previous blog post, she discussed how blogs, Facebook and Twitter (ie social media) can be used by a writer to hook a readership and publisher.  But are they worth the time away from ‘real writing’?

In this post, she explores how social media could enhance the writing itself. Read More »

How are we supporting overseas artists who want to come here? Renee Liang talks to Chicago poet, musician and organiser Nikki Patin, who's contemplating the big move to NZ. Read More »

Renee Liang ponders the usefulness of social media for writers - is it a way to avoid actual writing, or does it serve as a powerful tool to reach and engage with readers? Read More »

Renee Liang chats to writer/actor Tim Carlsen and director Sophie Roberts about their new play, One Day Moko, devised after Tim spent some time as a volunteer working with the homeless. Read More »

Fresh back from her travels, Renee Liang marvels at the record attendances for the recent Auckland Writers and Readers Festival, and discusses the likely benefits of the new NZ Society of Authors Asian Short Story Competition. Read More »

Sam Berkley is the writer of Flightless Birds, a new play premiering at the Musgrove Studio (Maidment Theatre) next week. He’s also playing one of the characters in this play about mateship, the Big OE and what happens when people have competing agendas.  Renee Liang spoke to him about writing, acting, and being part of Catalyst Theatre Company. Read More »

Now that the Spiegeltent has gone back into its containers and headed off to the next festival on the circuit, Renee Liang reflects on the Auckland Arts Festival 2011 in her last Backstage blog. Read More »

In her latest Backstage blog Renee Liang reflects on wild ideas, strange costumes and taking part in the Auckland Fringe.

"What a pity the madness had to end." Read More »

By Renee Liang

I love Festival time because of the atmosphere it creates.  Auckland feels like a real city, living and breathing, with a pulsing heart at Aotea Square. Read More »

By Renee Liang

For the last few weeks, Aotea Square has been a maze of tape, hardhats and mysterious scaffolding. Tonight all will be revealed. The Auckland Arts Festival has just kicked off and the Fringe is in full swing. Read More »

Renee Liang talks to Benjamin Henson, a recent arrival from the UK, who is producing a classic English thriller-mystery, The Turn of the Screw, using innovative theatre techniques. Read More »

By Renee Liang

It continues to be a strange week – on one hand I feel unable to stop looking at the terrible information about the earthquake streaming through from every source, on the other I remain excited about the feast of creativity that is carrying on regardless around the country. Read More »

By Renee Liang

As I park my car, whoops of laughter can be heard coming from St David’s Church hall, Newton. When I walk through the door the noise nearly deafens me. It’s Havoc in the Garden all right. Massive Theatre Company are playing warm up games, and as they move, lean, fall and catch each other, I feel as if I’m crashing a particularly boisterous house party. Read More »

Renee Liang offers her take on Auckland Fringe and Festival - digging a little deeper behind the scenes and into the minds of creators. If you're involved in the festivals, you might even see her at a rehearsal - or performing in an elevator...

Follow her updates below. Read More »

Theatremaker, performance artist, director and producer – Stephen Bain makes many things, most of them surprising.  He’s a stalwart on the Auckland theatre scene, well known for pushing theatrical boundaries. Recent travel and work in Europe has opened up some new possibilities. 
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As she kicks off the next creative year, Renee Liang looks back on her interviews with 'cultural storytellers' in 2010 and what drives creative workers. Read More »

In her second instalment on Arts and Health, Renee Liang talks to director Stuart Young about Hush - verbatim theatre which explores the difficult territory of family violence in New Zealand.

“In its short performance life so far Hush has already gathered some impressive stories of empowering those it portrays,” says Renee. Read More »