NZEDGE Arts — New Zealand through the eyes of the world's media

NZ’s Role in Zhivago Affair

An unnamed New Zealand diplomat has played a role in the Cold War literary intrigue that became known as the Zhivago affair. It was a New Zealand diplomat stationed in Moscow who smuggled out…

Zane Lowe, Lorde Help Launch Star-Studded BBC Music Initiative

Some of the biggest names in music, including New Zealanders DJ Zane Lowe and singer Lorde, have united to record a cover of the Beach Boys track God Only Knows for the…

Coromandel Ballerina Vida Polakov Wins Genée Gold

New Zealand ballerina Vida Polakov, 16, has danced her way to gold at the Genée International Ballet Competition, one of the world’s most prestigious classical ballet competitions. Simply called “the Genée”, the competition,…

Chatting up Katharine Mansfield

“I like the New Zealand writer Katherine Mansfield, who according to Virginia Woolf smelt like a civet cat and had a hard, cheap face, and who was the only contemporary writer of whom she…

BBC Announces Cop Drama “Bay of Plenty”

Two female detectives will be the lead characters in a new BBC drama set in Rotorua. Luther creator Neil Cross will return to BBC as the creator of the drama, provisionally titled Bay of Plenty. The show will focus on…

Dragon’s Leading Light Todd Hunter Keeping It Current

One of the founding members of iconic Australian band, New Zealander Todd Hunter (pictured second from right), talks to Digital Journal about the band’s new album and their very modern way of working. Forty one…

Mumbai Composer Mikey McCleary Reinterpreting Bollywood

Mumbai-based New Zealander, songwriter and composer Mikey McCleary, 45, is a musical jack-of-all-trades making it in the Indian advertising world reinterpreting Bollywood songs and writing music requiring an “international-esque” sound. One of McCleary’s most famous…

Rambert’s Mark Baldwin Choreographs with a Big Bang

He was born in Fiji and grew up in New Zealand where he learnt the haka at school, yet Mark Baldwin was destined for greatness with Britain’s world-renowned dance company, Rambert. Rambert’s run…

Marton Csokas Menacing in The Equalizer Opposite Denzel Washington

Invercargill-born film and theatre actor Marton Csokas – who plays Russian bad guy Teddy opposite Denzel Washington in The Equalizer – chats with entertainment industry magazine Backstage about his approach to his craft, his…

Sam Neill Says We Can All Identify with Working Class Crims

Ask Peaky Blinders star New Zealander Sam Neill to account for the success of the BBC’s six-parter about Birmingham razor gangs – an odd but winning mix of industrial grime, street violence, catwalk-friendly fashion…

Air NZ has “Coolest Airline Paint Job in the World”

Air New Zealand has been judged by Business Insider as having the “coolest airline paint job in the world”, ranked first out of 15 international airlines with striking exterior designs. “As airlines and…

Paul Ewen Creates “Inspired Alter Ego” Francis Plug

Paul Ewen, New Zealand born and raised writer, is getting rave reviews for his first novel about his fictional alter ego. Ewen, now based in London, has published his first novel, “Francis Plug: How to…

Andrew McCarten’s Stephen Hawking Biopic a Comprehendible Hit

New Zealand screenwriter Anthony McCarten’s latest The Theory of Everything, which hits American cinemas on November 7, is “a sensitively directed inspirational biopic centred around the great British physicist Stephen Hawking and his mind-over-body…

Martin Henderson Busy Thrilling on the Small Screen

Star of Australian thriller Secrets and Lies Auckland-born Martin Henderson, 39, talks to DIY magazine about his part in the critically acclaimed series The Red Road opposite Game of Thrones star Jason Momoa and…

Electric Wire Hustle Release Second Album Love Can Prevail

The second album of New Zealand duo Electric Wire Hustle Love Can Prevail was released worldwide last month, and features on Jon Pareles’ Playlist in The New York Times. Pareles describes the R&B, soul and…

Trove of Explorer George Lowe’s Photos Published for First Time

In the summer of 1957-58 New Zealander George Lowe was the 12-man Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition (TAE) team’s official photographer. He documented the treacherous journey in its entirety, juggling a number of cameras and shooting…

Filmmaker Taika Waititi Flourishing out of the Mainstream

He’s best known as the Oscar-nominated filmmaker behind hits like Flight Of The Conchords and New Zealand’s highest-ever grossing film Boy. But Taika Waititi had a brush with mainstream Hollywood fame when he starred alongside…

Billboard Names Lorde Hottest Star under 21

Billboard has put New Zealander Lorde, 17, at the top of its 2014 edition of 21 Under 21, the magazine’s annual ranking of music’s most powerful minors, “and perhaps the most impressive crop of…

Kiri Te Kanawa Warns Britain Killing Talent

Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, one of the world’s greatest opera stars, has made an impassioned plea for Britain to stop blocking the flow of young singers into opera houses so that the top quality…

Lucy Lawless Plays a Teacher in New Outback Thriller

Lucy Lawless stars in ABC political thriller The Code as Alex Wisham, a teacher in a remote indigenous school who protects an Aboriginal boy blamed for the death of a teenage girl. She gets…

Gemma New to Conduct for LA Philharmonic

University of Canterbury graduate Gemma New has been selected by the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association as one of two conductors to participate in the 2014/15 Dudamel Fellowship Program. New will be conducting ‘Peter and the…

Cliff Curtis Gives Career-Making Performance as Genesis Potini

New Zealand actor Cliff Curtis, 46, who gives a career-making performance in fellow New Zealand director James Napier Robertson’s The Dark Horse (now playing the Toronto International Film Festival) is serious about his craft….

Strictly Star Erin Boag Says Motherhood Her New Priority

For 17 years, Auckland-born ballroom dancer Erin Boag, 39, and British partner Anton Du Beke, 48, have been tripping the light fantastic together, in a journey that has seen them rise through the amateur…

Holly Spring’s Daughter Her Muse for Award-Winning Photos

Photography was the furthest thing from Holly Spring’s mind when daughter Violet was struck down with a debilitating bowel condition that almost cost her life. Born with just one hand, her right, the new born…

Wellington Vampire Movie Wins People’s Choice at Toronto Film Festival

‘What We Do In the Shadows’ was a big hit at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, winning the Grolsch Midnight Madness People’s Choice Award. Its co-creator, ‘Flight of the Conchords’ star Jemaine Clement,…

Webb’s Auction House Offers up Art Bargains

“Auckland-based auction house Webb’s leads the way in meeting the growing interest in New Zealand artists,” according to Monocle. “Established in 1976, it now also provides auction services in Wellington and, in 2013, clinched the…

Singer Jackie Bristow Itching to Finish Fourth Album

New Zealand folk singer Jackie Bristow hasn’t released a new album in four years. But she has a really good excuse: Bristow has been touring non-stop, and consistently appearing on some lofty play bills,…

Good Kill Andrew Niccol’s Sobering 21st Century Riposte to Top Gun

In Good Kill, which has its world premiere this month at the Venice Film Festival, New Zealand writer-director Andrew Niccol explores the implications of waging war while staying home, a development that – for…

Surgeon Is Fundamentally a Storyteller

Auckland-based author and surgeon Dr Sharad Paul talks to the Bangalore Mirror about his latest novel The Kite Flyers, and about how a doctor came to be writing literary fiction. “I think I am fundamentally…

New Zealander Stephen Cartmell Performing in Minneapolis

New Zealand actor Stephen Cartmell, once the face of Wattie’s Baked Beans, steps up onto the boards in Minneapolis at the city’s Jungle Theatre, performing in satire The Mystery of Irma Vep. Cartmell…

Gareth Reeves Elopes as Lysander in Canberra Production

New Zealand-born actor Gareth Reeves, 36, stars as Lysander in the new Bell Shakespeare production of Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Dream on until 13 September in Canberra. Reeves and Lucy Honigman, who plays…

Jemaine Clement Talks Conchords and Vampires

Conchord and vampire Jemaine Clement is interviewed by The Guardian’s Alexander Bisley on his new film What We Do in the Shadows, share homes, and his Maori heritage. Clement is one of the most noted…

Black Ranger Power Given to Local Actor James Davies

New Zealand actor James Davies will co-star as Black Ranger (pictured, far left) in Power Rangers Dino Charge, with the television show confirmed to return to the country for filming of the latest series. Davies…

Lorde Trumps the Big Guns to Take MTV Best Rock Video

Lorde has become the first female artist to win in the category Best Rock Video at the MTV Video Music Awards, beating Arctic Monkeys, Linkin Park, The Black Keys and Imagine Dragons. The 17-year-old scooped…

2015 Venice Biennale Welcomes NZ Artist Simon Denny

Sculptor and installation artist Simon Denny, 32, has been selected to represent New Zealand at the 2015 Venice Biennale, which runs from 9 May to 22 November. “Simon Denny is one of the…

Comedian Cal Wilson’s Use of Language Masterful

At 43, New Zealander Cal Wilson woke up and found herself wearing a photocopy of her mum’s face. Wilson re-enacted that confrontation and many others pondering the roads not taken on stage at the…

Berlin’s Galerie Pavlova Offers up Our Talent to Europe

Originally from Auckland, Michael Dooney has relocated to Berlin where he has opened Galerie Pavlova, a space dedicated to promoting photographers, like Conor Clarke (pictured) who are established in the Trans-Tasman region and developing…

Rubberband Boy Has People Laughing Their Heads off in Toronto

One of the newcomers at this year’s Scotiabank BuskerFest in Toronto was New Zealand performer Shay Horay, a.k.a. The Famous Rubberband Boy. Named the freakiest boy in show business, the self-proclaimed “Olympic-grade athlete in…

Playwright Arthur Meek’s Upside Down Perspective on Colonialism

Can western theatre ever tackle the subject of colonialism without replicating its inequalities, Financial Times’ reporter Matt Trueman asks. New Zealand playwright Arthur Meek, feels that it would be presumptuous to write a story…

Laurence Larson Blends Language Wooing Millions of Chinese Fans

Auckland University student Laurence Larson, 20, is generating a big following on social media where his music videos sung in the unusual blend of Mandarin and English have been viewed millions of times. With dreams…

Richard Burton Couldn’t Beat George Silk on a Photo Call

In 1993, New Zealand-born LIFE photojournalist George Silk was asked by American photographer John Loengard if in his long career, Silk had been “willing to pose pictures.” Silk’s reply is worth setting down here in…

Hobbit Trilogy Beating the Odds to Hit Screens

“In one of the most epic feats in recent cinema history, New Zealander director Peter Jackson brought to life Tolkien’s fantastical universe with The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Almost a decade later, the…

Guardian Declares Kimbra’s Latest a Masterclass in Sheer Pop Joy

“The Golden Echo is less of a sophomoric follow-up and more of a bona fide pop classic from singer Kimbra …”, in fact declares the Guardian, it’s “a straight-up masterclass in sheer…

New Zealand: the Other Half of the Anzac Legend

As the centenary of the Gallipoli landings approaches Australians need to consider the other half of the ANZAC acronym, University of Sydney history professor Mark McKenna writes for the Conversation. The rise of Anzac…

Lee Tamahori Teams up with Adrien Brody on Emperor

Director Lee Tamahori is in the Czech Republic filming Emperor, a movie based on 16th century Roman ruler Charles V and starring A-lister Adrien Brody. The 64-year-old director of cult 90s film Once Were Warriors…

Penny Ashton’s Promise and Promiscuity Winking Assortment of Fun

“The fun of Promise and Promiscuity, a pleasant and playful solo musical by New Zealander Penny Ashton, is that the marriage of the two happens so charmingly, without undue exertion in literary deconstruction, reconstruction,…

Heidi Klum Wears Kiwi Design to Emmys

Kiwi fashion designer Sean Kelly, who is currently participating in the latest season of Project Runway, had his dress worn by Heidi Klum at this week’s Emmys. The New Zealand designer and Massey…

Families Turning to Rachael Hale McKenna to Photograph Pets

Families are increasingly turning to professional dog photographers like New Zealander Rachael Hale McKenna, to capture their memorable pet portraits. Professional pet photographers in the increasingly competitive business quiz owners about their dogs’ personalities, find…