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Culture The New Zealand cultural scene is vibrant and receives a lot more attention these days than it did of old, principally because of the film release of the first of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Auckland, as a cultural melting pot, has a particularly healthy and diverse cultural scene, although not everything the city generates gets beyond its own shores. One of the centres of Auckland cultural life is The Edge, a conglomeration of buildings around the junctions of Queen Street, Wellesley Street West, Albert Street and Mayoral Drive. Auckland Town Hall, Queen Street (tel: (09) 309 2677) is an impressively renovated building, with its Great Hall said to have some of the finest acoustics in the world. Behind the Town Hall, the Aotea Centre, Queen Street (tel: (09) 307 5060), has main and small stages, for drama, music, ballet and opera. For a taste of the alternative culture, with a bit more of a Polynesian influence, visitors should take a Saturday trip up the Karangahape (K) Road, or for that matter to any of the cultural or flea markets that spring up around the city on Saturday. K Road is awash with mainly Maori and Polynesian shops, butchers, fishmongers, grocers, craft shops, clothes shops, cafés and restaurants, all of which offer a colourful view of one side of the bi-cultural nature of Auckland. Tickets can be booked through Ticketek, at the Aotea Centre, Queen Street (tel: (09) 307 5000). The Thursday and Saturday editions of the New Zealand Herald, the free monthly listings magazine, What’s Happening, and the free newspaper, Tourist Times provide listings and information on cultural performance and events in Auckland. Listings are also available online (website: www.aucklandnz.com). Music: The Auckland Philharmonic and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra both play at the Auckland Town Hall, Queen Street (tel: (09) 309 2677), and there are many other regular classical concerts here. The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra from Wellington also frequently performs in Auckland, usually at the Town Hall or the Aotea Centre, Queen Street (tel: (09) 307 5000). Outdoor concerts are also held regularly in summer in the Auckland Domain. Classical music, opera and ballet are the remit of the Auckland Philharmonic and are often performed at the Auckland Town Hall. Theatre: The main venue, with various sized auditoriums, is the Aotea Centre, Queen Street (tel: (09) 307 5000). The beautifully restored Civic Theatre, Queen Street and Wellesley Street West (tel: (09) 309 2677), north of the Town Hall, is used for plays and musicals. More modern rock, dance, drama and cabaret performances take place at the Sky City Theatre, corner of Federal Street and Victoria Street (tel: (09) 912 6000). Local productions can be seen at the Dolphin Theatre, Spring Street, Onehunga (tel: (09) 636 7322) and the Howick Little Theatre Inc, Lloyd Elsmore Park, Howick (tel: (09) 534 1406). Dance: Numerous local dance groups include the Auckland Dance Company. There are regular visits from the Royal New Zealand Ballet Company, whose base is in Wellington. Most performances are given at the Aotea Centre, Queen Street (tel: (09) 307 5000). Black Grace is an all-male dance troupe from the Pacific Islands, while the Pounamu Maori Performance Group give regular displays of Polynesian song and dance at the Auckland Museum, Auckland Domain (tel: (09) 306 7067). Film: The city has numerous cinemas, with the best listings in the daily New Zealand Herald. Most of the mainstream cinemas are along Queen Street, at the junction with Wellesley Street, including the Mid-City Cinema Centre, 239 Queen Street (tel: (09) 302 0277), and the St James Theatre, 312 Queen Street (tel: (09) 377 4241). The main arthouse cinema is the Academy, beneath the city library, 64 Lorne Street (tel: (09) 373 2761). There is also a seven-storey high IMAX screen at Force Entertainment Centre, next to Aotea Square, Queen Street (tel: (09) 979 2400). The best-known film to come out of New Zealand is undoubtedly The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), part one of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, directed by Peter Jackson, part of which was filmed not far from Auckland. The city has achieved more serious celluloid acclaim for itself, with the 1994 film, Once Were Warriors, made from Alan Duff’s harrowing novel about the struggle of a poor Maori family in south Auckland. Cultural events: Opera in the Park, in February, is a family-orientated concert put on at Auckland Domain. The Pasifika Festival celebrates Polynesian culture and takes place in Western Springs, each March. There are numerous small food, wine and music festivals throughout the year, especially during summer. The year ends with Christmas in the Park, another family-orientated concert at the Auckland Domain. Literary Notes New Zealand, rather than just Auckland, has several literary figures, many of whom are known internationally, such as Katherine Mansfield, most noted for her short stories. Janet Frame, tipped for the Nobel Prize for Literature, deals largely with the emotional crises that she herself experienced, while Keri Hulme, of mixed Maori, English and Orkney descent, won the Booker Prize for The Bone People (1983). This was an experimental work drawing on Maori culture and the best selling book ever by any living New Zealand author. Maurice Gee, who worked in Auckland as a teacher and later a librarian, sets several of his novels in Auckland. Alan Duff, whose kitchen-sink dramas, like Once Were Warriors (1990), examine the place of Maori in modern society. |
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