Standing Room Only for 03/26/2017

Standing Room Only is literally radio with pictures... and arts, theatre, film, comedy, books, dance, entertainment and music – all the things, in other words, that make life worth living. Full programme details are available on the Standing Room Only webpage

 

On the frontline: Women in WWI A hundred years on, World War One has been on our minds for the past few years. Mostly it's been from the point of view of the men who fought and died - or survived. Recovery - Women's Overseas Service in World War One a new book - and exhibition at Tairawhiti Museum in Gisborne - looks at the contribution of women. Internationally recognised historian Kay Morris Matthews tells the story of 54 women from the East Coast who volunteered for the front lines. Mar 26, 2017 02:50 pm The poetic landscape of Aotearoa 2017 The country's longest running poetry magazine has just put out issue 51, an impressive tally in anyone's book. Lynn Freeman spoke to Jack Ross who has edited Poetry New Zealand: Yearbook 2017, featuring new and well established writers. Jack has selected 125 new poems from hundreds submitted internationally, and supplemented them with essays and reviews by other writers keen to get people talking more about poetry. Mar 26, 2017 02:40 pm Lost in the sound of Brick Bay Brick Bay Sculpture Trail is approaching its 10th anniversary of meshing the environment with the work of New Zealand artists - both visual and sonic. As well as the plethora of physical sculptures, a growing amount of sonic art has been installed. Shaun D Wilson headed north of Auckland, past Pohui and Warkworth to walk the trail with sculptor Jonathan Organ who curates Brick Bay. Resting in the trees above the wooden pathway is multi-speaker choral piece by Olivia Webb called Miserere Mei. Its only recently arrived and joins sound works by Sharonagh Montrose, Sam Hamilton, Ivan Mrsic, and P. Westbourne. Mar 26, 2017 02:25 pm The Laugh Track - Jamie Bowen It's been a few years since Standing Room Only had veteran comedian Jamie Bowen on the show. He's lost a bit of hair but gained an impressive beard.  It's actually an award-winning beard - a rare win for a performer whose proud boast is he' one of the most award-nominated comics in the country. He's also one of the few Kiwis to be able to make a living out of comedy. Mar 26, 2017 02:06 pm Screen Gems: Cats! While cats are the undisputed kings of the internet, they don't actually feature very prominently in TV shows and films - no doubt largely because of their notorious difficulty in being wrangled. There's a reason for the expression "it's like herding cats". In Screen Gems, cat lover Irene Gardiner reminds us of some of our favourite screen cats from New Zealand and abroad. Mar 26, 2017 01:45 pm Kiwi meets Classical Kiwi artists, writers and musicians who feel a connection to the Ancient World are being asked to share their stories for a new website. New Zealand was after all where the long running series of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Xena: Warrior Princess were filmed. One of the stars of those series, Michael Hurst, is one of the first to talk about the influence of the classics in his career, as part of Massey University's Classical World New Zealand website. Greek national Dr Anastasia Bakogianni wants the site to remind us how much influence Ancient Greece and Rome have on the modern world - including 21st century New Zealand. Lynn Freeman spoke to her and and storyteller Derek Gordon who's very strongly influenced by the classics in his work. Mar 26, 2017 01:30 pm Whanganui's open home for artists Simon Morris is joined by Kathy Cunningham, the CEO of the Whanganui Events trust and glass artist Phil Stokes to talk about the Home Artists Open Studios event in Wanganui. Artists from the area are opening up their practise to whoever is interested. Mar 26, 2017 12:50 pm How to Keep An Alien: Australia To Ireland We like Irish performers here in New Zealand. Partly it's because they're terrific - a line of genius from Oscar Wilde, Dave Allen, Father Ted and Dylan Moran. Case in point: writer-actor-comedienne Sonya Kelly, whose show How to Keep An Alien is part of the Wanaka Festival of Colour, Kerikeri's UPSURGE Festival, and is about to wrap up at the Auckland Arts Festival. The show is an exploration of the difficult task of proving your love to a government bureaucracy. Mar 26, 2017 12:35 pm 2016 hard to top for NZ film 2016 was by any definition a pretty good one for NZ films – big hits, the continuing rise and rise of Taika Waititi, climaxing in another Oscar for the hugely successful editor John Gilbert for Hacksaw Ridge. But 2017 looks even busier, both for local films – fiction and documentaries – and big overseas production Mar 26, 2017 12:12 pm At the Movies for 22 March 2017 Simon Morris looks at three films that all, in different ways, fail to excite: Loving, Gary of the Pacific and Trespass Against Us. Mar 22, 2017 07:30 pm   Older stories The Rebel Pink Young Choreographers Novelist Bonnie Etherington remembers her childhood in West Papua Theatre in the heart of the Southern Lakes The Laugh Track - Kate McGill Playwright looks for Twelve Angry Kiwi Women Writers Not all audio is available due to copyright restrictions