The picks o’ the bunch
What’s on and what’s good at the Hamilton Arts Festival Toi Ora ki kirikiriroa)
By Louise Drummond
There are well over 30 shows happening at the Hamilton Arts Festival Toi Ora ki Kirikiriroa in late Feb/early March - music, theatre, dance, comedy, cabaret, films, food, escape rooms, and a bunch of family-friendly acts to boot. Some shows, like the annual Sunset Symphony, are free or koha. There's too many great shows to list here, so I've limited this piece to my six top picks for theatre. To check out the many other awesome shows and to book tickets, go here and see what grabs your attention.
Cheehoo! Jandals To Jazzhands. Rhododendron Lawn, Hamilton Gardens. Friday 23 February, 8–10pm. A mix of musical theatre and traditional Pasifika culture, this piece stars local talents Jessica Ruck-Nu’u and Iosia Tofilau, who have recently returned from an international tour of Shrek: The Musical. These two are absolutely worth a watch, especially when directed by Benny Marama, who is absolutely killing it with his cultivation of young talent in Kirikiriroa. BYO low seat or rug, coz it's on the lawn and you want to be comfy.
Merry Wives of Windsor. Festival Hub, Hamilton Gardens. Sunday 25 February 5pm, Saturday 2 March 5pm, Sunday 3 March 5am. The Summer Shakespeare tradition continues with another clever comedy. This is always an absolute highlight of the festival (I say this having been involved with several in the past), and the 5am (yes, you read that right) dawn performance is a surprisingly popular and oddly beautiful shared experience. It's koha, so just show up with a few dollars to drop in the bucket at the end and you're good to go.
The Tempestuous. Medici Court, Hamilton Gardens. Wednesday 28 - Thursday 29 February, 6.30pm. After touring her awesome Jane Austen and Charles Dickens-inspired shows worldwide, Penny Ashton is back with a Shakespeare-inspired solo musical. If it's anywhere near as funny as her previous shows, you'll be guaranteed a fantastic time.
Songs For A New World. Modernist Garden, Hamilton Gardens. Wed 28 February - Friday 1 March, starting times vary each day. Local legends Bold Theatre Company are bringing us another powerful musical. Their previous shows, especially That Bloody Woman and Assassins, have been outstanding, so I'm pretty confident that this one is also going to hit it out of the park.
Prima Facie. Clarence St Theatre. Thurs 29 February - Saturday 2nd March, starting times vary each day. A one-woman show about a lawyer who finds herself at the mercy of the legal system after one horrible night. The script for this show is absolutely incredible (it won the 2023 Olivier Award for Best Play), and I'm really looking forward to seeing this performed. (CW: themes of assault.)
Beautiful People. Mansfield Garden, Hamilton Gardens. Friday 1 March, 5.30pm and Saturday 2 March, 7pm. The NZ premiere of an award-winning play that tells the story of two elderly people facing ageing and death. That sounds super depressing, but it's actually a dark comedy, and the reviews are insanely positive, even the one from the Evening Standard that says the show is "like being kissed and hit with a fish in rapid succession." Consider my interest extremely piqued.
