News in brief
Movie screenings and amplified picnic on the Village Green
“Classic movies under the stars are getting more popular every year,” says SolarCity Summer Movies organiser Antony Hodgson. “Two real classics are coming to Takaka this summer – Lili (January 9) and High Noon (January 19).
“Why do people want to go and sit on the Village Green to watch movies that first screened when their Nana was a kid? I guess it’s the attraction of a family event that returns us to a simpler time and puts us back in touch with the other people who live in our neighbourhood.”
Antony said that there would also be an Amplified Picnic before Lili, on Sunday 9 January.
“The Amplified Picnic starts at 6pm – it’s free and there’ll be music, storytelling and games. The movie is at 9pm. Although the picnic part is free, people need to have gold coins if they’re staying for the movie.”
This year there’s a new, bigger screen for the movies. It has been purpose-made locally, and is inflatable.
“Where else can you see a movie on a big screen in a beautiful setting for just a couple of bucks?” says Antony. “Pack a picnic (BYO is okay), bring a rug or your couch, wear warm clothes or your pyjamas and pocket a torch to light your way home.”
The movie begins at dusk, but it will not screen if it is raining, so if the weather looks doubtful text the question: Is it on? to 021 776623 after 7:30pm.
Movie descriptions:
High Noon (1953) PG. 85mins. On the day he gets married and hangs up his badge, lawman Will Kane is told that the man he sent to prison years before, Frank Miller, is returning on the noon train to exact his revenge. Starring Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly.
Lili (1953) G. 81mins. Starring Leslie Caron as a naïve French girl who tags along with the members of a circus troupe, telling the puppets of her sadness and singing her troubles.
The full movie schedule is online at www.nelsonfestivals.co.nz
Neil Wilson
The Mamuka Project
The Mamaku Project have toured their unique festive style around NZ and abroad for the last five years… A fine blend of French quirkiness, Electro-Oriental-Jazz and Pacifica Dub... Ever-evolving instrumentation and collaborations keep this project both inspired and surprising:
“Wild flavours of French Cabaret flirt with the pulse of Electro-Oriental-Jazz. An intoxicating affair of multi-lingual noir poetry, over trip-hop landscapes, conjuring Balkan dance floors and a sprinkling of circus…”
Freshly returned from overseas travels touring Europe and Korea, The Mamaku Project Electro-Trio features: Tui Mamaki: Vocals/Machines, Monsieur E: Synths/Beats/Accordion, and Gareth Priceless: Electric-Guitar.
Playing at the Roots Bar on Thursday 20 January from 9.30pm, $15. www.myspace.com/themamakuproject
The Travelling Brain Show
John Hudson and Sonja Kling, the German thing, live in Cologne, Germany, because it smells nice. From there they work in TV and theatre throughout Europe and England.
This summer they are touring the beautiful places in New Zealand with The Travelling Brain Show, just for fun. It’s a full-on vaudeville experience with strange stories of the mind, all live in 3D. Hudson and Kling are extremely entertaining at their craft and perform with sumptuous singing and occasional dancing. If you have half a mind, get along to this stunning show and you might discover the other half while you’re there.
John was an original Shenanigan Brother and left New Zealand 10 years ago to perform in the European comedy scene. There he met Sonja on a couch in Cologne and they fell in love.
Sonja has just completed six years’ performing with Germany’s most famous political cabaret group, The Lach und Schiess Gesellschaft.
Don’t miss seeing these two seasoned performers in a theatre near you this summer.
Takaka The Village Theatre 12 and 13 January, 8pm. Tickets: $25/20 from Brief Affair.
