First Anniversary Service; 8am – 8:45am, Latimer Square

Events start at 8am this morning with a service to mark the first anniversary of the 2011 Christchurch Earthquake. Families of those lost in the quake will be in attendance, but members of the public may also attend.

Civic Memorial Service; 12 noon – 1:30pm, North Hagley Park

This public event in Hagley Park is expected to have a big turnout. The Linwood College Orchestra, Christchurch Pops Choir and New Zealand Army Band will accompany proceedings, which will begin with a mihi whakatau (official welcome). First responders will read the names of the 185 people who lost their lives, and then, at 12:51pm, two minutes’ silence will be observed. At the end of the service, the Monarch Butterfly New Zealand Trust will release 185 Monarch butterflies.

Attendees at the event will include the Governor-General Lt. Gen. Rt. Hon. Sir Jerry Mateparae, Rt. Hon. Prime Minister John Key, Mayor Bob Parker, Ngai Tuahuriri Kaumatua Henare Rakiihia Tau, Te Runanga o Ngai Tahu Kaiwhakahaere Mark Solomon, Anglican Bishop of Christchurch The Rt. Revered Bishop Victoria Matthews, Catholic Bishop of Christchurch Bishop Barry Jones and members of the Diplomatic Corps. 

Christchurch Earthquake Awards; 2pm – 4pm, North Hagley Park

Heroes of the 22 February earthquake will be recognised in this public event.

So if you missed it last weekend, make sure you book your tickets and seize the chance to catch Shakespeare al fresco while you can!

The show is a medley of songs by Stephen Sondheim, composer and lyricist, gathered from across his career. It’s a career that spanned such stage hits as A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and A Little Night Music, as well as some lesser known gems. The songs are performed by a trio of talented performers – Michael Lee Porter, Ali Harper and Juliet Reynolds-Midgley – and drawn into a cohesive whole by narrator David McPhail.

Marriage is a central theme of the night: ‘you can’t live with ‘em, you can’t live without ‘em’ seems to be Sondheim’s underpinning idea. He is certainly no fan of the sentimental. “You Must Meet My Wife” is a case in point: a rapturous song delivered by a new husband to his ex-mistress, of all people. The new wife is apparently utterly perfect in all respects – until it transpires that she is still a virgin and determined to remain that way!

Apart from this young wife, the men and women in Sondheim’s lyrics tend to as unsentimental as each other, whether indulging in one-night-stands or waxing lyrical over the fact that though a certain boy is entirely unappealing in every other respect, his ability to foxtrot suffices as a redeeming feature.

But although Sondheim’s world is bittersweet, it can be beautifully bittersweet. Sondheim is lauded as an uncommonly talented lyricist and this ability is amply evident throughout the evening. Particularly memorable was a song in which Sondheim spoke about the paradoxical loneliness of living in New York – “A City of Strangers.” It’s a beautiful piece in which couples fall in love in front of walls defaced with graffiti and then wait hopefully for a follow-up phone call that my never eventuate. It’s stirring stuff, beautifully written.

Make sure you catch Side by Side by Sondheim at The Court Theatre.
11 February – 3 March 2012
Mon, Thu 6:30pm
Tue, Wed, Fri, Sat 7:30pm
Matinee Saturday 18 February 2pm

Book at The Court Theatre: www.courtheatre.org.nz or phone 03 963 0870.

Nothing says summer in Christchurch quite like an evening spent watching a Shakespearian plot unfold in the leafy setting of the gardens at Mona Vale.

For summer 2012, Top Dog Theatre is treating Christchurch to al fresco performances of one of Shakespeare’s most delightful comedies, As You Like It.

Combining romance, deceit, cruelty and love in one deliciously multi-layered tale, As You Like It features arguably one of Shakespeare’s most challenging female characters, Rosalind (played by Harriet Prebble), who flees to the Forest of Arden to escape persecution in her uncle’s court – but not before falling head over heels in love with Orlando, a young gentleman of the court.

Accompanied by her cousin Celia (Nikki Bleyandaal) – and disguised as a young man – Rosalind meets Orlando, who has also been banished to the forest. She doesn’t reveal her true identity and he has no idea that he’s talking to the girl of his dreams! Also lurking in the forest is Duke Senior, Rosalind’s father, usurped by his younger brother and banished from the kingdom.

With Shakespeare’s deft touch, it’s all hugely entertaining and a perfect fit for the lovely outdoor setting. Bring your picnic blanket or chair (though note that those with chairs will be ‘banished’ to the back), warm clothing and a picnic. Book your tickets now for a charming night out with Shakespeare.

The Summer Shakespeare Festival opens on Friday 10 February and runs through to Saturday 18 February. Performances from 6pm to 8:10pm nightly.

All tickets for As You Like It are $12, available on the gate or from The Court Theatre Box Office (phone 03 963 0870).

Toilets and refreshments will be available on site.

Have you got your tickets for the Great Kiwi Beer Festival?! If you haven’t, we suggest you act super-fast because they’re almost sold out! Gate sales, if there are any, are likely to be limited.

The Great Kiwi Beer Festival takes place in Hagley Park, Christchurch on 25 February 2012 and will be a great day out; tasting beers (with delicious matching food), entertainment and seminars – ahh, sounds like the perfect way to spend a summer’s day in Christchurch!

Featuring more than 100 local, national and international brews, The Great Kiwi Beer Festival is an opportunity to treat your taste-buds to some of the best (and most innovative) beers on the market. Tuatara, Moa, Old Mout Cider, Mike’s Organic Brewery, Epic, Wigram Brewing Company and Yeastie Boys are just some of the breweries who’ll be there on the day.

There’ll also be beer appreciation seminars (although we’re sure you fully appreciate the golden drop already!) and live music performances from The Black Seeds, AHoriBuzz, The Nudge, The Unfaithful Ways. DJs Nacoa and Seth Hamilton will also be on hand.

So bring your friends, bring your family (children under 12 are free with an accompanying adult) and indulge in a great Kiwi passion. Tickets (the few remaining) are available on Eventfinder and cost $29.50 each.

Entry for spectators costs $5 per person or $10 per carload (children under 15 free).
For exhibitors, the entry fee is $5 per carload. Contact the Canterbury Mustang Owners Club for more information.

“Christchurch has never deserved a good laugh and a bit of fun more than now and we’re thrilled that after such a difficult 12 months we can bring Christchurch the biggest and best buskers’ festival it’s ever seen,” says the festival’s artistic director Jodi Wright.

“We’ve got 60 acts from 12 countries taking part in the festival and everyone is really excited about being here. A lot of the buskers specifically asked to be included in the line-up because they really want to see Christchurch smiling again and they can’t wait to get up on stage and start performing.”

Busker Park will feature, for the first time, Le Tigre Bleu – a European-style mini cabaret tent seating just 40 for intimate performances by the likes of The Daredevil Chicken Club, Devil Dan, Shep Huntly, Fraser Hooper and Rubberband Boy. Also look out for the Tui Birdcage Bar, where you can catch the Back Up Dancers and Kiwi busker Sam Wills (shows nightly from 7:30pm).

There’s also an adults-only show, the Christchurch Casino’s Midnight Carnivale, staged following the 10pm Christchurch Casino Comedy Hour at the Christchurch Casino’s Grand Café.

Kids don’t miss out either: The Tip Top Buskers Kid Pitch in the Botanic Gardens offers entertainment for young children and families every day from 11am.

All-day parking is available in Hagley Park for $3 throughout the festival.

How’s this for a nice little bit of kudos? A Lonely Planet writer has dubbed Christchurch one of New Zealand’s most exciting cities and, what’s more, he’s picked up the new term coined by Cityscape: SOMO.

Back in September 2011, we reckoned that the precinct we called SOMO (South of Moorhouse) – encompassing the areas of Addington and Sydenham – would be a key part of the new Christchurch and the opening of Dux Live and the new incarnation of The Court Theatre in ‘The Shed’ in the intervening months look to have confirmed this. Lonely Planet writer, Brett Atkinson, calls SOMO ‘Christchurch’s most dynamic neighbourhood’ and points to the Court Theatre and Dux Live as evidence that it is the ‘city’s new hub for live entertainment’.

But it’s not just SOMO that gets the glory. Atkinson also points to the Re:Start project in Cashel Mall, with its ‘colourful labyrinth’ of shipping containers. If you haven’t already paid a visit, make sure you do so over the coming weeks as it’s buzzing with summertime atmosphere – live music and the temptation of coffee or a cool wine sipped in the sunshine.

Christchurch’s creativity also gets a nod with a mention of the shipping containers that have been put to good use both in the Re:Start project and in other locations around the city. As Atkinson puts it, Christchurch City is ‘emerging as one of NZ’s most exciting cities’. Pick up the new issue of Cityscape (out in February 2012) and keep your finger on the pulse of the next exciting developments.

The opening of its inaugural show, A Shortcut to Happiness (running until 28 January 2012), provided an opportunity to try out the new venue. Dubbed ‘The Shed’, the new theatre is located in Addington and promises to really get the cultural heart of the new SOMO precinct beating. Don’t expect to see a recreation of the original Court Theatre because this place has an identity all its own. Tucked amongst industrial buildings behind the railway line, the new venue is housed in an old grain storage silo that has been stripped out and refitted with a purpose-built auditorium. It offers the same intimacy between audience and stage that was a feature of the Arts Centre venue, but improves on the original with larger, more comfortable seating and improved sight lines.

With plenty of on-site parking, a second performance space for musicians and artists in the foyer, box office, bar and coffee facilities, all housed in a superb industrial space reminiscent of Northern Hemisphere cultural institutions such as (dare we say it?!) London’s Tate Modern (albeit on a smaller scale), The Court Theatre holds onto its place as a cultural icon of the new Christchurch. We must give credit here to Artistic Director Ross Gumbley, whose original training as an architect has come into its own with a strong influence over the design process. Here at Cityscape, we are now officially convinced that Christchurch is going to be the New Zealand city to watch as a brand-new cultural identity evolves over the coming months and years.

Check out the coming season at The Court Theatre here and pay a visit as soon as you can.

After receiving a very enthusiastic response to our three special post-earthquake issues of Cityscape, the much-loved guide to what’s hot and happening in Christchurch, New Zealand, is returning in 2012 for four more issues.

And these issues will be even better than ever, offering locals up-to-date directories of Christchurch businesses together with the special features that our readers know and love, all wrapped up with that great Cityscape style. So, to anyone wanting to get the word about their business out to Christchurch locals, make sure you book your space and, to everyone else, keep your eyes peeled for the new issue next month!