A professional in the comedy scene for more than a decade now, Rhys Mathewson knew he was going to pursue comedy as a career after taking part in Class Comedians in 2006 at the age of 15. 

From that point, his star has been steadily on the rise. He won Best Newcomer for his first solo show in 2009 and, just a year later at the age of 19, he became the youngest person to be awarded the Billy T Award. He has since also won the Fred Award for Best New Zealand Show in 2016.

Ten years ago acclaimed potter Rick Rudd sold his house -  together with its unique native and sculpture garden - in Castlecliff, Whanganui to establish Quartz Museum of Studio Ceramics in downtown Whanganui. Born from Rudd’s concern that there was nowhere where you could see exhibited the history of New Zealand ceramics, it is Aotearoa’s only museum devoted to the ceramic arts, and the largest ceramics display in this country.

Aotearoa New Zealand is a land of birds. Yet contemporary fiction providing a bird’s eye view has been slow to arrive. 

While Catherine Chidgey’s award winning 2022 novel The Axeman’s Carnival looks at human interaction from the perspective of a magpie, Shelley Burne-Field’s new adventure novel for young readers, Brave Kāhu and the Pōrangi Magpie has a whole flock of makipai (magpies).

In this week’s Regional Wrap we look at the culture of Far North town Kaitaia.

In an article on Stuff in 2019, comedian Guy Williams posed the question, “Where are all the Māori comedians?” Williams noted that, despite our main comedy award being named after Billy T James, he could only name a handful of Māori funnymen and women working at the time. 

Now in 2024, comedian and actor Bailey Poching is responding. In a piece for Vice titled 'Here Are All The Māori Comedians' Poching says the question isn’t and has never been about where the Māori comedians are, but rather: where are you looking for them?

A psychological thriller, part of TVNZ’s Motherhood Anthology Series has been released in time for Mother’s Day.

The film’s title Amah holds three different meanings. The term, used in East Asia, describes a woman employed by a family to cook, clean and look after the children. In the Chinese Hokkien dialect, it’s the name and title given to a paternal grandmother and, in the case of this film, it also stands for ‘Artificially Maternal Android Helper’.

10 albums in 10 years in 10 different genres - that was Troy Kingi’s goal. But after the release of the seventh album - 2023’s ambient instrumental vibe album Timewasters - he’s admitted in a new TVNZ series Desert Hīkoi it was “starting to feel a bit stale.” He had been feeling a creative block.

Desert Hīkoi follows Kingi on his creative and spiritual journey with his band to regain his mojo.

The 2024 NZ Children’s Music Awards have been announced with the NZ On Air Best Children’s Music Video awarded to a two minute ode to flatulence. 

‘Let it Out’ by Don McGlashan and Harry Sinclair, featuring Tami Neilson,  is from the pair’s hit claymation TV series Kiri and Lou.

Arts News for 5 May 2024

In early 2021 writer Stuart McKenzie and director Miranda Harcourt’s verbatim play Transmission opened to sell-out houses at Pōneke’s small, dynamic BATS Theatre. Fast forward three years and a sequel Transmission Beta is about to premiere. And it’s a quite different, more complex story. 

McKenzie and Dame Miranda joined Mark Amery on RNZ’s Culture 101.