Stories

Movies to catch, books to read, television to bingewatch, music to dance to and podcasts to fill your ears this season. Movies TWIGGY If anyone deserves the title of Cultural Icon, it has to be Twiggy, the model who defined ‘the look’ of the 1960s with her ennui, androgyny and very long eyelashes. For the first time, the now Dame Lesley Lawson tells her story, with a little help from her friends. Like Dustin Hoffman, Paul McCartney, Charlotte Tilbury and Joanna Lumley, for starters. A must-see for any fashionista. WUTHERING HEIGHTS Timed to drop on Valentine’s Day, this steamy adaptation of the already steamy Emily Brontë novel has more bare male torso than most movies just in the trailer! Margot Robbie is Catherine and Jacob Elordi is Heathcliff in director Emerald Fennell's iteration of the classic love story. The film is also the reinvention of Charlie XCX, who transforms from Pop...

Judging by their 2026 programme, the team at The Court Theatre must be loving their new building and the flexibility it gives them. The main auditorium, the Stewart Family Theatre, is big enough to cope with a Gilbert & Sullivan romp or can be intimate enough for a tender two-hander exploring love and loss.  Meanwhile, the smaller Wakefield Family Front Room gives city favourites Scared Scriptless a venue to continue their endless run of impro, with Saturday night added to the regular Friday slot till late April at least. There’s also another uncomfortably funny play by Victor Rodger, and a back-to-back sporting double bill from The Court Youth Company.   Making the most of the whole facility, the Rainbow Theatre Festival returns as well, promising to be “bigger and gayer than ever”. For full details of The Court Theatre’s 2026 programme, head to courttheatre.org.nz STEWART FAMILY THEATRE The Importance of Being Earnest...

The stadium opening looms and District Plan rule changes mean the central city will finally be able to make some noise – the stage is set for Christchurch’s nightlife to go next-level. All we need now is a Night Mayor.  The concept emerged in Amsterdam about 20 years ago. It recognises that a city by night differs from the same city by day, and that the needs of the people who live, work and play in a city after dark also differ from those who do so by day.  Mirik Milan – young, good-looking and a former club promoter – was Amsterdam’s first formal Night Mayor, elected in 2014 by festival-goers, club and bar owners and the public.  Mirik championed the city’s night economy whenever complaints from those off early to bed caught the ear of officials eager to respond with threats of curfews and bans. “How can you make good...

Thirty years ago, Black Grace and Neil Ieremia burst onto the New Zealand dance scene with a debut that stunned audiences with its balance of raw physicality and finesse. Now, to celebrate the company’s remarkable journey, Black Grace brings to Christchurch a double-bill programme that is itself remarkable – a new work by Neil Ieremia alongside Paul Taylor’s ‘Esplanade’, one of the most iconic and celebrated choreographies in modern dance history and 50 years old this year. The dance has previously been performed in New Zealand only once, in 1999 by the Paul Taylor Dance Company itself. Including ‘Esplanade’ in the programme points to Neil’s deep personal connection to Taylor’s work. Renowned New Zealand choreographer Douglas Wright shaped his style while dancing for the Paul Taylor Dance Company in New York in the 1980s. In turn, Neil soaked up that inspiration while working with Wright from the age of 20. Neil...

After four years of hard work and hiccups, Qb Studios has opened the South Island’s largest purpose-built flexible workspace in the former Hunters and Collectors store on High Street. Qb Studios is Alex Brennan, Mike Fisher and Tom Harding. ‘Space-men’ was the headline on our 2019 story about the impressive track record they already had of repurposing the old for the new, turning outdated commercial or industrial buildings into modern, flexible office environments. The trio saw potential in the Hunters and Collectors building, which was damaged in the earthquakes and ended up destined for demolition. In 2021 Qb bought the building with a vision of saving it from the wrecking ball and turning it into another of their successful shared workspace hubs. The build was not without its challenges, including Covid disruptions, soaring construction costs and economic volatility. Excavation work uncovered contaminated soil, and the discovery of historic artefacts slowed progress....

In the first of a series of articles on what Te Kaha will bring to the city, we look at how the gravitational force of a 30,000-seat stadium is pulling the centre back to its pre-quake home. Before it even opens. The vision in the 2014 Christchurch Central Recovery Plan was for the CBD to become the thriving heart of an international city. Are we there yet? No, but there are a lot more signs of progress than were evident when the city marked the 10-year anniversary of the 2010-11 earthquakes. Back then, the report card made for harsh reading. Property Council New Zealand listed eight projects that were either unfinished or not even started. The East Frame and South Frame residential zones were still incomplete five years after projected 2014 delivery dates. The new convention centre, Te Pae, had missed its 2016 target for completion and was aiming for 2021...

Bet we’re not the only ones hanging out for festival season and the chance to shake our booty in the summer sun. Here to help is our annual guide to what’s on where and who’s on the bill. We will keep updating this as info and lineups drop. For now though, time to start your festival planning. NY 25/26 Lakes Music Festival  Hagley Park’s party by the water has more music on more stages for its fifth outing. 10 hours of entertainment across three stages, with the Racket Club joining the mix for the first time – get sweaty in this dedicated blackout techno space. Acts announced include: Wilkinson, Kettama, Maribou State (Live), Alix Perez (Strictly Soulful), ATRIP, Home Brew (Live), Emily Makis, Club Angel, Good Neighbours (Live), Mozey, Sam Gellaitry, SIN, Fukhed, Stimulant Disco, Beccie B, Chole, Fidden, Hound, Indecisive, Thanks, Two Faced, Hang The Saints, Haven. Hagley Park, 28 Dec,...

SCAPE Public Art’s Tyson Campbell has challenged six artists to explore ‘The Limits of Language’ for this year’s season of the festival, which will bring a truly monumental presence to city streets from 7 November to 1 February, 2026.  Tyson, in his second year as managing curator of SCAPE, is inviting the artists to explore how ideas move beyond words, using public art to test the borders of communication, connection and expression. The artists are: Sabin Holloway, a photographer and cinematographer who lives and works in Lyttelton. His aesthetic is “to find beauty in the unexpected”.Nichola Shanley, also of Lyttelton, who works with silk paintings, lights, ceramics and similar materials to create sacred vessels.Mollie Shaw, a graphic designer based in Ōtautahi and a 2024 graduate of the Ilam School of Fine Arts at the University of Canterbury. Mollie’s work explores the social and political dimensions of design, often engaging with themes...

Movies to catch, books to read, television to bingewatch, music to dance to and podcasts to fill your ears this season. Movies PIKE RIVER Even before the standing ovation at its world première in Sydney, this film on the fight to find justice for the 29 victims of the Pike River Mine tragedy was the most anticipated Kiwi drop of 2025. A who’s who of New Zealand cinema is behind the production, which is helmed by Rob Sarkies and stars Melanie Lynskey as Anna Osborne and Robyn Malcolm as Sonya Rockhouse. Lucy Lawless gets a look-in too. In response to demand, a series of premières and special screenings are scheduled ahead of the film’s nationwide release on October 30. The Isaac Theatre Royal will host Christchurch’s première on October 16. REGRETTING YOU Fans and new readers embraced with equal verve Colleen Hoover’s 2019 novel ‘Regretting You’. The book rose above cliché...

The Italian Film Festival celebrates its first decade with the 2025 programme, which is showing throughout September at Lumière Cinemas. To mark the occasion, Artistic Director Paolo Rotondo has curated 25 films ranging from gripping dramas to heartwarming comedies.  Here at the Cityscape office, we’ve pored over the programme and come up with our top 5 picks for the festival. Goditela! Il Boemo (The Bohemian) For lovers of opera, this film by director Petr Václav celebrating little-known Czech composer Josef Mysliveček is a real treat, with the opera scenes and music recorded by the Czech ensemble Collegium 1704 led by Václav Luks. And even if you don’t love opera, you will swoon over the costumes and grand palaces in which this sumptuous film is set. Mysliveček was a contemporary of Mozart and shared his friend’s penchant for a dramatic personal life as he plied his musical talents in the courts of...

The Royal New Ballet opts for another bold take on the classics with its November production of ‘The Nutcracker’, transporting the Christmas story from northern hemisphere winter to a Kiwi summer at the bach, complete with pōhutukawa trees, hokey pokey ice cream and pavlova. New Artistic Director Ty King-Wall is unapologetic about the switch. The first New Zealander to hold the position in 52 years wanted the company to have its own Nutcracker, “a work recognisably of the place we call home”. His version of ‘The Nutcracker’ begins on Christmas Eve at the Stahlbaum family bach, where family and friends gather for a summer celebration. Clara’s godmother, Auntie Drosselmeyer – reimagined here as a retired ballerina – arrives with a handcrafted Nutcracker doll, a gift that sparks a magical adventure. From this familiar scene, the production journeys into dreamscapes inspired by New Zealand’s natural beauty – from the icy majesty of Central...

One of Christchurch’s smallest restaurants has been a big winner in this year’s Cuisine Good Food Awards, taking out Casual Restaurant of the Year and awarded One Hat at the hospo industry’s annual accolades fest. Londo is tucked into the Carlton Courts complex, on the corner of Papanui Road and Bealey Ave. ‘Tucked’ is the word – Londo's not big in size but it’s a monster on flavours done well. One of those places where the fare sends your taste buds on an adventure, not just a stroll around the block to get your steps up. More than 400 of the nation’s top chefs, restaurateurs and industry figures gathered in Auckland for the awards ceremony, at which 20 category winners and 102 hatted restaurants were announced. Chef-owner Robert Fairs heads up Londo. His focus is firmly on fresh, locally sourced ingredients in both the drinks and the food. “Clever cooking,” say...

Step away from the Insta feed, fashion lovers! A most unlikely collection of New Zealand garments from the 1970s and ‘80s gets a rare outing at the 2025 WORD Christchurch Festival. Central Otago farmer Eden Hore amassed the collection of over 220 garments and displayed it in a converted tractor shed on his Māniatoto property until his death in 1997. Authors Jane Malthus and Claire Regnault, who tell Eden’s story in their book ‘Central Otago Couture’, are on the WORD programme in a session that includes a rare look at pieces from the collection. Their book includes photographs by Derek Henderson, some reproduced here, that place garments from the collection in the Central Otago landscape.  Jane and Claire join more than 100 writers, thinkers and performers from Aotearoa and around the world for the festival, which runs from 27 to 31 August. Most tickets are priced under $25. Also on the...

The Royal New Zealand Ballet’s reputation for innovation is on full display with its new season, Home, Land & Sea, which features a first-time collab with the New Zealand Dance Company set to music by legendary Kiwi muso Shayne P. Carter. The season takes its name from the collab, the first of the three works on the bill. ‘Home, Land & Sea’ is choreographed by New Zealand Dance Company artistic director Moss Te Ururangi Patterson and features six dancers from each company. It invites audiences to consider what it means to feel at home in this place, where we have come from, where we are going, and how we might find strength, connection and hope in one another. Also on the bill is ‘Chrysalis’ by Royal New Zealand Ballet choreographer-in-residence Shaun James Kelly, which explores metamorphosis and personal transformation through the music of Philip Glass. It’s another dream collab from the...

It’s over a decade since dance-floor darlings Minuit called it quits. Now Paul Dodge, Ruth Carr and Ryan Beehre are back, kicking off a national tour by headlining Christchurch’s Go Live Festival. As Ruth tells us, this isn’t a comeback tour, just a back-for-a-bit tour. And we on! Christchurch will be the first gig on Minuit’s Reunion tour – how are the nerves? Pretty good so far! But you never know, that kinda thing can hit a moment before you walk on stage sometimes. What can the fans expect? Any new material? We won’t be playing any new material – coz we have none – but we will be smashing out some of our and our fans faves for sure. This isn’t a “comeback” tour, just a “back-for-a-bit” tour!  BUT we are releasing our debut album, ‘The 88’, on vinyl, and it has two new songs on it that we never...

SCAPE Public Art’s new executive director, Rachel Jefferies, is excited about helping to shape the next chapter in the annual festival’s story of epic collabs between art and industry. SCAPE Public Art installs free-to-view art in central Christchurch. At its heart, it is about bringing communities together in public spaces through contemporary art. Rachel replaces Richard Aindow, who has taken his art admin skills to The Court Theatre as its new chief executive. “SCAPE plays a unique role in connecting people with public art. I’m excited to build on its strong foundations and help shape what comes next,” Rachel says.  Rachel returned home to Christchurch in 2021 after performance and arts admin roles that included percussionist with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and Strike, and senior management roles at the NZSO, Te Papa, and Auckland Philharmonia.  She has worked as a fundraising consultant for a range of charitable organisations. Rachel also...

Since ‘Glide Time’ in 1976, Sir Roger Hall has captured the voice of the average Kiwi and the mood of the times in plays that mix comedy with an acid edge of social realism. Now 86, Sir Roger’s latest work finds laughs in the problems of ageing through returning character Dickie Hart, the curmudgeon-in-chief of earlier plays ‘C’mon Black’ and ‘You Gotta Be Joking!’ Sir Roger was in the audience at the new Court Theatre when ‘End of Summer Time’ opened. “Very impressed” was his review, both of the production and of the new home for Christchurch theatre. ‘End of Summer Time’ is your first play to be performed in the new Court Theatre building. You were there on opening night – your impressions? Christchurch has always been very good for the arts, and The Court Theatre in particular. Way back when it started under Elric Hooper it has always known...

Movies to catch, books to read, television to bingewatch, music to dance to and podcasts to fill your ears this season. Movies The NZ International Film Festival begins its Christchurch run on Friday August 8, with plenty on offer for cinephiles and the simply curious. Here are three of our picks; head to the website for the full programme and ticketing deets. www.nziff.co.nz/2025/ ONE TO ONE: JOHN & YOKO More than just an outing for Beatles tragics, this doco finds the universal in the specifics of John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s time in New York in 1971, sheltering from the storm that followed the break-up of The Beatles and preparing for the couple’s 1972 One to One benefit concert at Madison Square Garden. Filmmaker Kevin Macdonald veers between intimate domesticity, society-wide upheaval and the banalities of popular culture to capture so much more than you might expect. PRIME MINISTER Moments of...