AUCKLAND FESTIVAL 09.

As a Friend othe Auckland Festival I receive regular newsletters and thought you might like to share the latest one with me. Enjoy........

The next Auckland Festival may not be until 2009, but we wanted to let you know, as a much-valued Auckland Festival Friend, what was happening behind the scenes to make the next programme the most exciting, ambitious and challenging yet. Festival Director, David Malacari is currently in Europe, attending festivals and shows; talking to producers and companies; meeting with colleagues and artists; trawling through the latest dance, drama, music and arts.

Here's a diary note from him to date:

I'm writing this in between shows at the Edinburgh Festival. Am here for a week looking for artists for the 2009 Festival Club in particular. There seems to be a million things on. Every doorway invites passersby into another festival venue where artists from around the world try to find audiences, test their work, test themselves and develop their craft and productions.There's a real sense of adventure here. There is nothing that artists and audiences aren't prepared to try.

After Edinburgh I am visiting Germany, with the assistance of the Goethe Institute, to meet German artists and companies at a festival in the Ruhr Valley and then in Berlin. There are some incredible German artists who have had a profound affect on performance, Christoph Martaller, Thomas Ostermeier, Sasha Waltz and Heiner Goebbels, who brought his astonishing production, Max Black to Auckland Festival, AK07.

After Berlin there is a show or two to see in Pilzn in the Czech Republic then another in Graz, Austria. This is the time to explore so many of the possibilities for our 2009 program.
Earlier this year, David went to the United States and Canada...
Hawaii. What an interesting place. Where else, but in Honolulu, on Waikiki Beach, could you wear your bathers and jandals into a Gucci shop and not feel under-dressed? On Maui, the director of the Polynesian Arts Centre introduced me to legendary ukulele player, Jake Shimabukuro. Check it out! He's incredible. (Note from Bookman Beattie - be sure to have a look at this You Tube clip)

The Polynesian Arts Centre has a very interesting program and is very active in supporting and presenting the work of Pacific artists in Hawai'i.
Despite the obvious talent in Hawaii, I left concluding that the epicentre of Pacific arts development is definitely in Auckland.

In New York I managed to find a ticket to the acclaimed Broadway production, Spring Awakening. Who would have thought that a story of teenage angst by the 19th century German writer, Frank Wedekind in which someone commits suicide, a girl dies from a backyard abortion and the main character is sent to Reform School could be turned into a toe-tapping musical? That's entertainment! I believe that plans are afoot for an Australasian production sometime next year.

I noticed a new trend in dance in Montreal. It's called 'When the Music Starts, Get Your Gear Off!'. Two of the three dance programmes I saw were big on nudity. Will it spread to the rest of the world?

Those of you who have been to the festival in Wellington over the years will be familiar with the work of Robert Le Page. Far Side of the Moon, Seven Streams of the River Ota and The Dragon's Trilogy, have all been to Wellington. None of them have been seen in Auckland. Robert Le Page has had a profound effect on theatrical language. I was lucky enough to see his latest production, Lipsynch in Montreal. It is an enormous production, and still in development, but has some wonderful moments.

David will return with several more pieces of the Auckland Festival 2009 jigsaw in place. He's looking for international artists and work that might change how we think. That they will complement the work of local artists is guaranteed.

Meanwhile back here in New Zealand...
A new partnership has been formed with The Arts Regional Trust and the ASB Community Trust to develop and encourage the production of ambitious, risky and exciting work from New Zealand and Pacific artists. The Watch This Space programme will be encouraging local artists to explore new concepts and ideas that might be of interest to New Zealand's festivals and to festivals across the Tasman and further abroad. It's a truly exciting initiative and there are great hopes that some jewels will come out of it.
We'll be letting you know about other new developments with the Auckland Festival as they are confirmed. Thank you sincerely for your commitment to the programme, it wouldn't happen without you.