The sparkle of festive season: Isaac Theatre Royal
As Gloucester Street glows with festive lights, it homes one historic, storied stage which becomes a vibrant canvas for music, dance, and storytelling that captures the warmth and wonder of Christmas. The Isaac Theatre Royal welcomes audiences into a season of live performance and holiday enchantment. It all begins with TINA – The […]
Sir Dave Dobbyn: Selected Songs
Sir Dave Dobbyn – Selected Songs At the Christchurch Town Hall Auditorium, 9 November 2025 Reviewed by Ian Knott. Photo credit: George Thomson / Live Nation Aotearoa – @Georgetommo / @livenationaotearoa When it comes to New Zealand music legends, few come bigger than the somewhat ironically diminutive Sir Dave Dobbyn. With a career […]
Life’s biggest questions: Isaac Theatre Royal
How did we get here? Is there life beyond Earth? Can you actually lick your own elbow? Introducing Creation Creation, a deeply thought-provoking journey of life’s biggest questions answered (sort of). At Isaac Theatre Royal’s Creation Creation on Sunday 12 November, two wildly inventive performers set out to tackle these very questions, and […]
The musical Christchurch never forgot: Blood Brothers at Isaac Theatre Royal
In the 1990s, a touring production of Blood Brothers, starring David Soul as the narrator, came to Christchurch and left a lasting impression. This September, it returns with renewed energy and local heart. Those who saw it the first time around still speak of the experience – the laughter, heartbreak, and the final […]
Creative Canterbury
Canterbury is the place to be if you’re seeking creative spirit and stimulation – and the spotlight is on our young artists. “Ōtautahi has so many empty windows and so many incredible artists. Projects like this show that we don’t need big budgets or permanent venues to support our artists and activate our city.” […]
Steve’s scene
Internationally renowned music publicist and consultant, not to mention Dolly Parton’s publicist across New Zealand and Australia, Steve Guest shares the latest in our creative industry. Canterbury, it’s getting chilly outside. Just ask the recent Crusaders crowd huddled within Apollo Projects Stadium watching them bring the championship home. We’ve been entertained by an […]
An evening with the Cowboy Junkies: Isaac Theatre Royal
Canadian alt-country pioneers Cowboy Junkies return to Christchurch this November to celebrate their 40th anniversary. Metropol deputy editor Tamara Pitelen caught up with songwriter Michael Timmins. In 1988, when Canadian alt-country legends Cowboy Junkies released their slow, haunting version of Velvet Underground’s Sweet Jane, little did they know they’d still be playing it […]
The curation of a legendary career
The work of esteemed contemporary Māori sculptor, the late Fred Graham, is being showcased in Toi Whakaata / Reflections, an exhibition coming to Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū in late May. A touring exhibition provides a rare opportunity for Ōtautahi to see wood, stone and steel sculpture works made by a […]
Recognising resilience
It’s only mid-April, and 2025 is already shaping up to be a huge year for Christchurch’s arts industry – a welcome reminder of our strength and creativity. By Nina Tucker. Let’s reflect. Flare Ōtautahi Street Art Festival animated the streets as bare buildings became beautiful murals. Painting the city, artists and historians shared […]
Colour, form, & bold abstraction: PG gallery192
Two new exhibitions from visionary artists Thomas Hancock and Janna van Hasselt explore form and colour – exclusive to view at this leading Christchurch gallery from 18 March to 12 April. Ōtautahi-based, Janna’s exhibition Flop on Pop at PG gallery192 presents porcelain structures that ooze with tactile exuberance. Woven and flowing ceramic paintings […]
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