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On 7 January 2015 I learned a profound truth about New Zealand media. My family and I had flown from Dublin to Paris on our way to Sweden where I had an appointment to interview a subject for my PhD. Stopping in Paris made sense to us because Paris has a Disneyland and our young […]

In April 2021 I was made a ‘Notable Alumni’ of the University of Canterbury. Described in the citation as ‘activist, academic and performing artist’, I was awarded this honour by Vice Chancellor Professor Cheryl de la Rey in April 2021. I am one of only forty-five ‘Notable Alumni’, a list that includes community activist Dame […]

When I was a kid, New Year’s Eve was a bit of a thing. I didn’t know then but where we lived was the wrong side of the tracks and brutally working class. It was post-war, the dawning of the 1950s, and everyone in our street lived in a state house. Most of the families […]

Director Colin McColl reminds us in his excellent programme notes that The Life of Galileo is “the Brecht play for people who don’t like Brecht.” I like Brecht and I like this play.I also like this production.I like most of it very much.  One of the most prolific theatre journeymen of the 20th century, it’s probably fair to […]

Waituhi o Tāmaki  Auckland Writers Festival, in partnership with Auckland Live, presents the Donmar Warehouse production of BLINDNESS. A socially – distanced sound installation and immersive theatre experience direct from the UK. Voiced by Juliet Stevenson. 32 Performances: Tuesday 11 May – Sunday 16 May. Reviewed by Lexie Matheson Leaving the Concert Chamber of the Auckland […]

I was asked to write a piece for ‘Express’ newspaper for International Women’s Day on what feminism and the 5th Wave mean to me as a transgender woman. This is what I wrote: Talia Bettcher, in a moment of profound superficiality writes, in ‘Feminist Perspectives on Trans Issues’, that ‘the relationship between feminism and transgender […]

Yes, Luke, if you’re a blind, outdoor pétanque player and you want to know specifically whether you and your group can play your sport on the headland above Mairangi Bay on Mother’s Day even if it rains you might not find an exact answer to your question in the recommendations – but you will find […]

‘Ka Haka: Empowering Māori performance’ You can take the girl out of the theatre but not theatre out of the girl. ‘Ka Haka: Empowering Performance’ brought together academics and artists worldwide to explore the whakapapa stored within Māori performance, both traditional and avant-garde. I’m totally committed to a bicultural society, one enriched by ti tiriti […]

Down and Dirty with the Treaty Piki Diamond, AUT University Piki Diamond’s workshop Down and Dirty with the Treaty has had more impact on me as an educator than anything I’ve engaged with in the past 10 years, so much so that I have attended the session four times. It worked for me because of […]

‘Disobedient Thinking’ Welby Ings, Auckland Town Hall Welby Ings ‘remains an outspoken critic of dehumanised and fragmented systems of learning.’ Me too. I had already connected with Ings as both artist and colleague when I experienced ‘Disobedient Thinking’. I felt him to be someone with whom I had a deep and intimate synergy. Both school […]