Silo Theatre: Morality Has No Home

Morality Has No Home

Silo Theatre and The Large Group presents BERTOLT BRECHT & KURT WEILL’s THE THREEPENNY OPERA

Silo Theatre combines with The Large Group for their second production of 2008 with an epic story complemented by an epic cast of 27 when The Threepenny Opera heaves into glorious life on May 30 at Auckland’s Maidment Theatre.

Macheath (Mack the Knife), notorious bandit and womanizer, runs afoul of Jonathan Peachum when he marries Peachum’s daughter Polly in a ceremony of doubtful legality. Peachum’s resolve to have Mack sent to the gallows is complicated by the fact that Mack’s old army buddy is the chief of police, Tiger Brown. Peachum and his wife commence a series of strategems to ensnare Mack…

With 25 years experience with the work, director Michael Hurst’s excitement surrounding The Threepenny Opera hasn’t waned since he played Crook-Fingered Jake in Theatre Corporate’s 1983 production. “I love the way the production has the ability to play with and tantalize audiences” says Hurst. “The Threepenny Opera is a riveting celebration of the artistic and political brilliance of the work of Bertolt Brecht.” Silo Theatre are also excited about returning to the work of Kurt Weill following their sellout 2006 season of Berlin which showcased some of Weill’s most biting political anthems. One of NZ’s leading theatre practitioners Arts Laureate, Michael Hurst is keen to tackle a project of this magnitude, which is only one of his many 2008 theatre ventures. His plans to stage an epic Greek tragedy for 2009 Auckland Festival has recently made the shortlist of potential projects. Michael is also the director of NBR NZ Opera’s Hansel & Gretel which tours to 15 centres from June 29 and stars in Auckland Theatre Company’s production of Blackbird in September. The massive ensemble of 27 actors and musicians that Hurst has handpicked for The Threepenny Opera include fellow theatrical mainstays Jennifer Ward Lealand and Roy Snow and the return to the musical stage of two high profile NZ actors. Boasting roles that include Fantine in in Les Miserables, Eva Peron in Evita, Florence Vassey in Chess and Grizabella in Cats; one of Australia’s finest musical theatre performers Delia Hannah returns to the stage after a six year absence raising her daughter. Amanda Billing also makes her first stage appearance since starring in The Country Wife (2003) following her stint in the core cast of Shortland Street, where she has played Doctor Sarah Potts for the last four years.

The history of The Threepenny Opera is rich with variations, derisions and providing influences; from pioneering Verfremdungseffekt (alienation technique) and social critiques focusing on class struggle and morality to inspiring Big-Band tunes (“Mack the Knife”) and fringe theatrical works. Often cited as revolutionary by theatrical scholars, New Zealand has been no stranger to its appeal. Following its first Auckland production in 1970, the musical has returned to our shores in 1983, 1988 and 1992 – the past three outings starring Michael Hurst and Jennifer Ward Lealand, whose knowledge of the production is undoubtedly vast and all encompassing.

Young Finalists in Running for Manchester U Trip

AIG Life Names Five Young Finalists in the Running for Dream Manchester United Trip

Five young soccer players have been chosen by the insurer AIG Life as the finalists in its national competition to find a young soccer star to win an extraordinary trip to Old Trafford, home to the celebrated Manchester United. The talented group includes the winner of a football-juggling competition, an Australian junior tournament champion, and a youngster whose devotion to playing entails five two-hour round trips each week.

Now the competition is open to public vote, with all New Zealanders being asked to choose the winner.

AIG Life CEO David Pierce said, “We had hundreds of entries – a fantastic response. Now we’re asking all Kiwis to visit the Manchester United Young Star competition page at www.aigmu.co.nz to view a personal video message from each of the finalists and vote for the child they consider most deserving of a trip to see Manchester United play at their home ground.”

New Zealanders can pick their favourite by visiting the AIG Life website by Sunday 2 December. The winner will be announced by Wednesday 5 December.

The finalists, all fervent soccer-lovers aged between 11 and 16, met in Auckland for a training session with Wynton Rufer on Thursday 22 November before returning home to Wanganui, Wellington, Christchurch, Gore and the Auckland suburb of Hillsborough.

The session was broadcast by Campbell Live, and the full video can be viewed at www.tv3.co.nz/campbelllive.

Mr Rufer will lead the trip to Old Trafford between Tuesday 18 and Monday 24 December. The winner and their parent or guardian will enjoy match-day hospitality at Manchester United’s game against Everton on Sunday 23 December, with five nights’ accommodation in Manchester.

As principal sponsor of Manchester United, the most successful worldwide soccer club of the past twenty years, AIG Life’s parent company AIG has access to tickets, hospitality and merchandise.

AIG Life is a subsidiary of American International Group, Inc (AIG), a global leader in insurance and financial services with operations in more than 130 countries. It has US$1 trillion in assets, 69 million customers and 106,000 employees worldwide.

ENDS

Million Dollar Dress Launches Festival Of Poker

Celebrating the inaugural SKYCITY Festival of Poker, Amber Peebles wore a specially designed chip dress worth $1 million at the SKYCITY Lee Nelson and Brooke Howard-Smith Celebrity & Media Invitational poker tournament last night.

The event, attended by Kiwi celebrities and sports stars alike, included All Black Ali Williams, former Rugby League player Dean Lonergan, musician Che Fu, as well as stars Simon Doull, AJ Whetton and Siobhan Marshall. The never-to-be-worn again garment weighed more than two kilograms and featured 200 casino chips worth $5000 each, highlighting the glamour of New Zealand’s biggest ever poker tournament.

Increasing public interest combined with the success of the invitational tournament, hosted by poker legend Lee Nelson and TV personality Brooke Howard-Smith, has proved that New Zealand is ready for world-class tournament poker.

Ejaaz Dean, Executive Manager – Table Games, said: “The Festival of Poker is not only a fantastic draw for world-class players, but also a great opportunity for the New Zealand public to visit a foremost entertainment destination.

“As the New Zealand home of poker, it is important for us at SKYCITY to thrill and excite customers by creating an offering unmatched elsewhere.”

The week-long event has transformed SKYCITY Auckland Casino into a poker player’s paradise, with single and multi-table satellite tournaments throughout the week culminating in a four-day main event starting on Thursday, October 9 and featuring international poker stars including Joe Hachem and Lee Nelson. For information on how you can take on the world’s best poker players, the tournament schedule and online registration for events; visit www.festivalofpoker.co.nz or call 0800 SKYCITY.

Tournament poker is one of the world’s fastest growing sports and has huge television appeal and viewership.

Sexualisation of children in the media

The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists is concerned about the sexualisation of children in the contemporary media.

“Sexualisation of children involves the imposition of adult models of sexual behaviour and sexuality on to children and adolescents at developmentally inappropriate stages and in opposition to the healthy development of sexuality. It encompasses sexual objectification and representation of children in adult sexual ways and in ways that imply the child’s value is dependent on conforming to a particular appearance, sexual display or behaviours,” said Professor Louise Newman, President of The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists.

“There is growing evidence that premature exposure to adult sexual images and values has a negative impact on the psychological development of children, particularly on self-esteem, body image and understanding of sexuality and relationships,” said Professor Newman.

“Exposure to sexualising messages contributes to girls defining their self-worth and popularity in terms of sexual attractiveness, with negative impact on self-esteem. Excessive focus on appearance and a narrow definition of attractiveness has been found to contribute to the development of abnormal eating behaviours and lack of positive body image. Negative self-image is associated with depression, impaired sexual development in adolescence and poor self-protective behaviours in adolescent relationships,” said Professor Newman.

“Sexualised themes are frequently associated with depiction of aggression, and particularly depictions of male aggressive sexuality, and portrayal of girls and women as passive sexual objects. These may have particular impact on the development of emerging models of sexual behaviour and relationships,” said Professor Newman.

“The mental health of children and adolescents is supported if they are able to develop an age and developmentally appropriate sense of their self and their sexuality,” said Professor Newman.

“Several strategies are recommended to prevent the further proliferation of sexualised images of children. These include media regulation and psychoeducational approaches to provide children and adolescents with skills in media analysis and understanding of the impact of sexualised images and programs. These strategies aim to develop healthy sexual development and body image in the face of media representation. School based media literacy programs have been found to have a positive effect on body image concerns in girls,” said Professor Newman.

“Parenting programs should also encompass approaches to supervision of children’s media exposure and education of children about media representation,” said Professor Newman.

“Research should be focused on understanding the short and longer term impacts of sexualisation of children and the efficacy of media literacy programs and other targeted interventions,” said Professor Newman.

Professor Louise Newman will be presenting on the topic

The Official New Zealand Top 40

Stefania Gabriella Germanotta, better known by her stage name Lady Gaga, makes a double impact on this week’s charts. New in at #6 on the Albums Chart is her debut album The Fame, and on the Singles Chart Poker Face reaches #21, the follow-up to the breakthrough Just Dance.

The New York-born 22-year-old is a multimedia kind of gal, the pop star persona extending well beyond writing and performing songs. There’s also the tech (see her iPod sunglasses on the cover of her album, or her weekly ‘Transmission Gaga-Vision’ webcasts) and the fashion (under a catch-all theme she refers to as ‘Haus of Gaga’).

Originally employed by Interscope Records to write tracks for The Pussycat Dolls, it was decided she should focus on a recording career of her own instead. Within a year she had a hit on her hands as Just Dance, featuring contributions by Colby O’Donis and Akon, became a runaway dancefloor hit in the US before crossing into the mainstream. Live performances at the 2008 Miss Universe pageant and then on So You Think You Can Dance TV show quickly pushed it up the iTunes rankings.

Just Dance has since gone on to be a smash hit in a handful of countries, seemingly appealing to Commonwealth sensibilities as its biggest chart successes have come in Canada and Australia, where it reached #1, and here in New Zealand where it peaked at #3 helped by strong Pop radio play.

Now the album is doing much the same – debuting at #6 here this week (and #11 across the ditch) – while Poker Face becomes her second hit single in both countries. In Australia, but the biggest may be yet to come, however, as the new season of Australia’s Make Me A Supermodel kicks off with The Fame as its theme song.

The Man From Rugby

It’s no wonder New Zealanders seem to like James Morrison. He was born in Rugby – the town in Warwickshire that is, not the game. Songs For You, Truths For Me is the 24-year-old’s second album, following on from 2006′s Undiscovered which reached #4 here, spent 26 weeks in the Top40 and spawned the #1 single You Give Me Something.

Since then he’s become a father and largely been tucked away in the studio working on the new album. The first single, You Make It Real, has picked up AC and Easy Listening radio play, solidifying his reputation for the kind of soft-rock and soul ballads that go down well with older audiences (or as the UK’s Daily Mirror recently described the genre, ‘housewife pop’).

The album also contains a couple of collaborations, one with Nelly Furtado and another with OneRepublic’s Ryan Tedder. It’s all a long way from his first foray into music, playing in a school band called Peppermint Slug and failing his A Level music exam.

Going back a little further even, James attributes his distinctive voice to a bout of whooping cough that nearly killed him as a baby.

The New Singles

#21 Lady Gaga – Poker Face

See story above.

#23 TI feat. Rihanna – Live Your Life

A couple of artists each with chart pedigree team up to provide this week’s #23 new entry, Live Your Life. Atlanta rapper TI (real name Clifford Joseph Harris Jr) calls on Rihanna for guest vocal duties on this track from his sixth studio album, Paper Trail. A beneficiary of the digital age, it’s the second single debut in a week for TI, having also entered the chart at #32 last week with Whatever You Like. That track leaps 24 places to #8 this week.

#34 The Killers – Human

The first taste of the much-anticipated new album by Las Vegas four-piece The Killers, Human enters the Singles Chart this week at #34. So far the song has generated more discussion for its lyrics than its chart success, winning Entertainment Weekly’s ‘silliest lyric of the week’ award for the line ‘Are we human or are we dancer?’. This prompted songwriter Brandon Flowers to explain on the band’s website that the line is a reference to a disparaging comment made by author Hunter S. Thompson about how America was ‘raising a generation of dancers’. The new album, Day & Age, is scheduled for release in the last week of November.

The New Albums:

#6 Lady Gaga – The Fame

See story above.

#26 James Morrison – Songs For You, Truths For Me

See story above.

#28 Trivium – Shogun

Florida metalers Trivium make their second appearance on the New Zealand Albums Chart, in at #28 this week with Shogun, three places better than the #31 peak of 2006′s The Crusade. Signed to Roadrunner Records, the band has been around since 2000 and recorded four studio albums. Somewhat ironically, Shogun was recorded in the home of country music, Nashville Tennessee. Its production however, is true to heavy metal roots, being overseen by Nick Raskulinecz. Raskulinecz has produced albums for just about every American metal band in the book and achieved crossover commercial success with the Foo Fighters, Marilyn Manson and Velvet Revolver.

#30 Kid Rock – Rock N Roll Jesus

Former Mr Pamela Anderson, Kid Rock is making something of a ‘comeback’ with Rock N Roll Jesus, particularly thanks to a hit single in the form of All Summer Long. Until hitting the charts again this year it had been seven years since Cocky graced the New Zealand Albums Chart in 2001 and even longer since he first achieved success with the 1998/99 hits Cowboy and Bawitdaba. Most recently he’s been in the news for his boycott of iTunes over the Apple giant’s pricing structure, only recently relenting and allowing Rock N Roll Jesus to go on sale there.

#32 Various – Outrageous Fortune: Repeat Offenders

An all-Kiwi collection of songs from the soundtrack to the current season of the award-winning Outrageous Fortune, the collection has big shoes to fill if it’s to match the showing of its predecessor. The Westside Rules album hit #1 for a week back in November 2007 and became one of the year’s biggest sellers as a Christmas stocking stuffer.

#39 Thievery Corporation – Radio Retaliation

Washington DC dub duo Thievery Corporation have made the New Zealand Albums Chart twice before, most notably with the Top10 showing of The Richest Man In Babylon back in 2002. They followed that with in 2005 with #24 The Cosmic Game and now complete the triangle with Radio Retaliation.

Designer Beats The Odds Overseas

New Zealand fashion designer Jimmy Lim, the Deutz New Zealand Fashion Design Ambassador, has beaten the odds of major international success in his first ever showcase collection in Asia at the prestigious Malaysia International Fashion Week.

“I am very excited to have been chosen and to promote New Zealand at such an international event. It is an electrifying experience and has challenged at all levels to push the Jimmy Lim label to another level of sophistication and recognition both nationally and internationally.” says Jimmy Lim.
Jimmy Lim, 29, a fashion graduate of the Auckland University of Technology rose to fame following tremendous success after the launch of his fashion label

Partial Lunar Eclipse on Saturday 26th June

Eclipse of the Moon

New Zealanders will get the rare opportunity to observe a partial lunar eclipse in their skies on Saturday the 26th of June.

The eclipse will be visible to the naked eye, but the Stardome Observatory in Auckland is encouraging amateur star gazers to gather and view the event at their One Tree Hill location. The Stardome will be providing special shows for the public that night explaining how eclipses happen. Weather permitting, these shows will include complimentary viewing of the eclipse from telescopes set up outside.

Best viewing of the eclipse takes place between 10:30pm and 12:30am, with mid eclipse occurring at 11:38pm. The Moon will be partially obscured by the shadow of the Earth, as our home planet passes between the Sun and the Moon.

The last lunar eclipse was a partial one on the 31st of December 2009, but this was not visible over New Zealand. The next eclipse is a full one on the 21st of December this year when the northern part of New Zealand only will get to see it rise in eclipse. That’s a long time to wait though, so make sure you see the partial eclipse this month.

Stardome astronomer Grant Christie says, “New Zealand is very well placed to see this partial eclipse of the Moon. We expect it to be of interest to a wide range of astronomers as well as the general public.”

Eclipses of the moon are fun and interesting to watch. In antiquity they were used by the Greeks to prove that the Earth was round (from the shape of the shadow) and to estimate the relative size of the Earth and Moon as shown by the relative diameters of the Moon and the Earth’s shadow cast on the Moon.

All parts of New Zealand will be able to see the partial lunar eclipse on the 26th of June. The full Moon will enter the outer shadow (penumbra) at 8.55pm but little change will be seen until in enters the deeper central shadow (umbra) at 10.17pm. For this eclipse, the Moon only grazes the umbral shadow and at maximum only 50% of the lunar disk will be covered. Mid eclipse occurs at 11.38pm, the Moon leaves the umbra at 1.00am and finally the penumbra at 2:21am.

The special eclipse shows in the Stardome Planetarium on Saturday the 26th of June will cost just $10, and screen at 9pm, 9:30pm, 10pm and 10:30pm. www.stardome.org.nz.

New NZ Lonely Planet Celebrates Kiwi Hospitality

Lonely Planet’s new edition New Zealand Travel Guide, released today, salutes the welcoming warmth of New Zealand’s people – even in the face of economic and sporting challenges.

“Despite the country’s growing profile on the international stage,” the guidebook says, “there’s one dimension of a trip to NZ that you probably haven’t counted on: the extent to which the average Kiwi will genuinely want you to have a really, really good time.

The guide does concede, however, that not “everyone wanders around with Prozac grins, hugging trees. A short drive on Auckland’s motorways will quickly dispel that notion.” And it recognises the less-than-festive economic situation: “New Zealanders, like the rest of the world, are still struggling to shrug off the gloom of the global economic crisis, which pushed the economy into recession and sent unemployment soaring.” (p. 17)

The new guidebook also comments on the Kiwi obsession with rugby, and on next year’s Rugby World Cup: “In 2011, NZ will play host to the Rugby World Cup (RWC) and chances are, whether you travel before, during or after the tournament, you’ll be thoroughly sick of hearing about rugby by the end of your stay.” (p. 17) For anyone planning a visit in spring 2011, the guide warns: “if NZ dips out of the RWC in the finals rounds for the fifth consecutive time … come armed with enough tissues to console a nation, but expect mass hysteria in the event of a victory.” (p. 18)

A notable new feature in this 15th edition of Lonely Planet New Zealand is an eight-page, full-colour section showcasing the personal NZ highlights of 14 prominent Kiwis: Footrot Flats cartoonist Murray Ball, stuntwoman & actor Zo

The hunt is on for NZ’s Halo 3 Heroes

The hunt is on for NZ’s Halo 3 Heroes
New Zealand World Cyber Games Halo 3
qualifier tournament sorts the marines from the grunts

AUCKLAND 05 May 2008 – Think you have what it takes to beat the world’s best Halo 3 players? The hunt is on for Kiwi Halo 3 fans to battle it out in the New Zealand World Cyber Games (WCG) qualifier with a chance to take on other Halo 3 champions worldwide.

More than 1.5 million gamers from 74 countries are set to take part in the global WCG tournament; all vying for a slice of the NZ$3.6m prize money.

To compete for a place on the NZ team, gamers need to register online (www.wcg.net.nz), attend the three-day New Zealand qualifier in Auckland, and prepare for battle.

Following the qualifiers, a team of up to 15 people will be named to represent New Zealand at the WCG Grand Final in Cologne, Germany in November.

xLAN Limited World Cyber Games New Zealand strategic partner managing director Susan Baikie says the addition of a Halo 3 WCG qualifier is an added bonus to the impressive line-up of tournaments at this year’s event.

“Halo 3 is such a popular title here in NZ and we are pleased to be able to offer Kiwis a chance to compete in the international stage. We have a talented group of Halo 3 competitors and we look forward to the exciting tournament ahead.”

The New Zealand World Cyber Games National Qualifier will be held non-stop, around the clock, from July 11-13 at the TelstraClear Pacific Events Centre in Auckland. The competition games are Counter Strike 1.6 (PC), Warcraft 3: The Frozen Throne (PC), FIFA 2008 (PC) DOTA All-Stars (PC), Guitar Hero 3 (Xbox 360), Virtua Fighter 5 (Xbox 360) and Halo 3* (Xbox 360). Exhibition matches will be played in Team Fortress 2 (PC), Call of Duty 4 (PC) SpamTin Memorial Trophy Counter Strike: Source (PC), and Act and Dress like a rock star on Guitar Hero 3 (Xbox 360), PC World Case Modding Competition and also the Legendry Food Eating Competition.

The demand for competitive gaming is growing globally at a huge rate. Worldwide, more than NZ$51.5bn was spent on video games last year, with NZ$100m spent in New Zealand.

The New Zealand WCG Tier 1 sponsorship partners are TelstraClear, Samsung Electronics New Zealand and Microsoft New Zealand.

For more information and to register for the 2008 New Zealand WCG visit www.wcg.net.nz. Ticket price is $85 for the three-day event. Gamers compete for a place to the World Cyber Games Grand Final and prizes from sponsors.

*Halo 3 New Zealand World Cyber Games qualifier tournament is a

Master of Horror Stephen King Hails ‘Let Me In’

Master of Horror Stephen King Hails Let Me In “a Triumph”

Critical acclaim for director Matt Reeves’ haunting thriller LET ME IN, has reached new heights with legendary horror author Stephen King not only giving the film his stamp of approval, but by deeming it a triumph.

This latest accolade further elevates the film’s critical success, with Stephen King saying “LET ME IN is a genre-busting triumph. Not just a horror film, but the best American horror film in the last 20 years. Whether you’re a teenager or a film-lover in your 50′s, you’ll be knocked out. Rush to it now. You can thank me later.”

LET ME IN is a haunting coming-of-age tale and provocative thriller written and directed by Matt Reeves (Cloverfield), and produced by horror brand Hammer Films. It tells the story of Owen, a social outcast who is bullied at school, and befriends his neighbour, a mysterious 12 year old girl, who he comes to realise is like no-one he has ever met before.

Based on the best-selling Swedish book Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist, and the highly acclaimed film of the same name, it stars Australia’s very own AFI winner Kodi Smit-McPhee (The Road), as well as Chloe Moretz (Kick-Ass), and Richard Jenkins (The Visitor).

LET ME IN will release in New Zealand cinemas nationally on November 25.