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Otago Daily Times
19 hours ago
- Otago Daily Times
Festival anti-social conduct ‘deeply stressful'
Dunedin Fringe Arts Trust co-directors Kate Schrader (left) and Ruth Harvey. Photo: Gregor Richardson Inflammatory rhetoric from political leaders is to blame for a "significant" rise in anti-social behaviour, including hate speech and sexual harassment, at this year's Dunedin Fringe Festival, organisers say. Festival co-organiser Ruth Harvey, who lived in the United States during the first presidency of Donald Trump, said New Zealand needed to send a message as a country that "everyone is welcome here". "That is the thing that we champion in our work and our expectation is that others, including community leaders and politicians, should be doing the same thing." A final report on this year's festival, which ran for 10 days in March, said there was a "significant uptick in anti-social behaviour" of a level which had not been experienced in the past three years. Organisers cited "imported culture wars; a rise in misogynistic, racist, queer-phobic and ableist attitudes generally; and the erosion of social cohesion due to political and civil divisiveness" as contributing to the rise in such behaviour. "We had multiple instances of both in-person and online abusive behaviour, including two instances of hate speech, an [instance] of sexual harassment and multiple instances of disruptive audience behaviour in both our venue and others around the city." It was "one of the most challenging aspects of the entire festival" and created an unsustainable workload. Leadership dealt with each situation and the fallout as younger staff were left with too much to do and had their confidence shaken. "It was the first time staff have felt genuinely scared to do their jobs," the report said. There needed to be better behaviour and leadership from politicians and civic leaders, who set the tone for what behaviour was acceptable within communities, and significantly more funding to help community organisations address the "fraying levels of connectedness in our communities", the report said. Ms Harvey said the disruptive behaviour — which included heckling and involved inebriation — was experienced particularly during late-night events. Police were not contacted, and it was noted some of this behaviour was directed at events involving the city's queer community, she said. "I think that both locally, nationally and internationally you have quote unquote 'leaders' in our communities who are espousing some very racist, misogynistic and homophobic ideas. "It's given people permission to act in a similar way and it was so evident during the festival." Ms Harvey drew a connection to "very nasty" incidents in the North Island earlier this year, which included the actions of Destiny Church members who stormed a children's drag science show held in a library in Te Atatu. She knew of other businesses and event organisers in Dunedin who had also faced anti-social behaviour. "So I think it is indicative of the broader environment politically and socially." However, the "vast majority" of the thousands of audience members who attended events this year had been well behaved, Ms Harvey said. Fellow co-organiser Kate Schrader said the incidents were "deeply stressful" and they were not experts in dealing with anti-social behaviour. It was only a small team working behind the scenes at the festival and such behaviour took them away from their work running it. With more funding, the festival could increase the number of hours it employed security for, Ms Schrader said.
The Spinoff
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Spinoff
Windbag: The urbanist value of a rainbow crossing
Roadway art like Wellington's rainbow crossing can be a cheap way to improve inner-city vibrancy and pedestrian safety. Windbag is The Spinoff's Wellington issues column, written by Wellington editor Joel MacManus. Subscribe to the Windbag newsletter to receive columns early. Wellington's rainbow crossing at Cuba Street and Dixon Street opened with pomp and circumstance on October 10, 2018. The date marked the birthday of Carmen Rupe, the local celebrity drag queen whose silhouette appears on the green pedestrian lights along Cuba Street. The mayor at the time, Justin Lester, helped to paint the crossing. After the ceremonial cutting of the rainbow ribbon, drag performers strutted over the rainbow to cheers from an assembled crowd. Rainbow crossings became a global trend after the first one was installed in West Hollywood during Pride Month in 2012. LGBTQ+ communities embraced them as a symbol that said we are here. Cities – and specifically, liberal politicians within those cities – introduced them as a way to say we welcome you. That's exactly what Lester said in his speech: 'Everyone's welcome in Wellington.' Of course, painting a rainbow on the road costs money, and every use of public funds is open to criticism. Wellington's rainbow crossing cost $26,844 to install and $5,314 to repaint in 2022. That's about 20% more than a standard zebra crossing. But there are other examples where they've become boondoggles – such as a recently abandoned rainbow intersection in Dunedin, which blew out to an estimated $276,000. Comparing the cost of the rainbow crossing to a zebra crossing is slightly misleading, because a rainbow crossing is not an official pedestrian crossing. In a legal sense, it's just paint on the road. Still, paint on the road makes a difference. Compared to multi-year, multi-million-dollar transformations like the Golden Mile upgrade, a lick of paint is a cheap and quick way to add a bit of flair and personality to an otherwise dreary bit of concrete. It also helps to add a sense of pedestrian priority by acting as a colourful reminder to drivers to look out for people crossing. From the moment rainbow crossings arrived in cities, anti-LGBTQ+ groups opposed them. Often, they couched their opposition in costs or safety concerns, but the underlying message was clear: we don't welcome you. That's why Destiny Church members painted over the Karangahape Road rainbow crossing in Auckland. And it's why a group of individuals affiliated with Destiny Church launched a judicial review against Wellington's crossing on Cuba Street earlier this year. The challenge was on narrow legal grounds. They argued that the rainbow crossing breached the NZTA guidelines for road markings because it could be confused with a standard pedestrian crossing. There was some basis for this; emails from 2017 and 2018 showed that NZTA Waka Kotahi officials told Wellington City Council that a rainbow crossing would not comply with traffic control rules. The rules were changed in 2020 under transport minister Phil Twyford to introduce the concept of 'roadway art', which is allowed as long as it is in a 'lower-risk environment' and doesn't resemble a standard road marking. NZTA Waka Kotahi's Handbook for Tactical Urbanism in Aotearoa says road art may be used to create a sense of place, highlight pedestrian crossings, encourage slower vehicle speeds, show support for a community, or enhance the streetscape by contributing to liveability and vibrancy. Justice Jason McHerran found that Dixon Street was a 'lower risk environment' based on the 85th percentile vehicle speed of 24km/h. On the matter of whether people inaccurately believed the rainbow crossing to be a legal pedestrian crossing, a Stantec report showed that the vast majority of pedestrians crossed during the green light, showing they understood it did not function as a zebra crossing. McHerran ruled that the rainbow crossing was allowed under the 2020 rules and also would have been acceptable under the previous rules. It was a win for the council and the LGBTQ+ activists who requested it in the first place. It also helps to set a precedent that should give councils far more confidence to do creative stuff with their streets. The rainbow crossing case was only marginal because of its horizontal stripes. Any roadway art with vertical stripes, geometric shapes, patterns or pictures can be safely assumed to be legal, as long as it is in an appropriate location. Riddiford Street in Newtown could use a spruce-up. Some roadway art at the pedestrian lights on the corner of Constable Street wouldn't hurt. The same goes for Bay Road in Kilbirnie, Aro Street in Aro Valley, or countless other streets in suburbs and towns across New Zealand that might want a splash of colour in their community.
The Spinoff
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Spinoff
Our reviews from week one of the NZ International Comedy Festival
Pooftas, dicks and bog women filled our nights in week one of the biggest comedy event of the year. Viki Moananu – Poofta Viki Moananu reckons it should come as no surprise that the word 'poofta' – 'harder than queer, but softer than f*****' – originated in the worst place in the world: Australia. But rather than let the label, first gifted to him by his older sister, get him down, the comedian sees the silver lining in it all: being able to disrupt the alt-right pipeline and spread the gay agenda. In a nearly full-hour comedy set, Moananu muses on being a Samoan atheist who is also a younger brother to five sisters, the up and down career of Roseanne Barr, and that time Destiny Church tried to recruit him until they realised he was gay. In other moments, he's bathed in green and pink lights and singing 'No One Mourns the Wicked' (but replacing the w-word with 'poofta') alongside a two-woman band, or considered a philosophical statement posed by Yoko Ono: 'You see a chair as it is. But when you burn the chair, you suddenly realise that the chair in your head did not burn or disappear.' He ruthlessly ribbed the audience. He almost fooled us into following along with him in saying 'brown people are inherently violent'. He clocked a fellow gay in the front row within two minutes of her sitting down. He had me walking back home after a particularly 'meh' day thinking everything wasn't so bad and serious, after all. / Lyric Waiwiri-Smith Alayne Dick – Purple is the Gayest Colour Yes, there is a solid five minutes of material on the fact that Alayne Dick's last name is Dick. Including the important reminder that journalists use last names to refer to people so this review would potentially include lines such as 'Dick always disappoints' or 'Dick was not worth the price of admission'. But despite being largely unfamiliar with both versions of the word, I found Dick to be a curious delight. On opening night, she was performing to a small but warm room upstairs at The Basement, and felt in control of it. Musing on her life growing up gay in Blenheim, having ADHD and working as a librarian, the show was an easy watch, if not one to leave you clutching your side. Dick was at her best when she was responding organically to moments – whether riffing on a surprise laugh from the crowd or her own stumble in a joke delivery. In those moments she felt like a pro trying out new material. At other times, follow-up jokes delivered too fast felt like foregone conclusions, where the journey was better than the destination. But overall, as someone who gets extremely stressed when watching comedians perform live, I felt safe in Dick's hands. / Madeleine Chapman Sean Hill – Did you know I'm a DJ?! Sean Hill is a funny guy. You can tell he's got some jokes, and also some pretty solid comic timing (which I assume you can hear on his regular gig as a host-slash-DJ on The Edge). Sean Hill is also charming! He can ingratiate himself to a crowd, even one as warmly quiet as his opening night crowd was, and also manage that tricky balance of confidence and self-deprecation. It's a blend that, in general, I find bewildering as stand-up comedy is very much an 'opt-in' kind of a gig. Unfortunately, Sean Hill doesn't have an hour of stand-up yet. His material varies from street jokes – we do know the conundrum of Mickey Mouse having one dog as a friend and another as a pet, yes – to observations that go right past being relatable and straight to being pretty damn obvious. It makes up around 60 minutes, sure, but it's absolutely the sum of its parts rather than a structured hour. His best bits are his material about being a DJ, and the weird situations that gig puts him in. When he's in the flow of a story, he has the audience securely on the hook, and he's flying. Given how prolific he is in his other work, there's definitely an hour of comedy in that, ready to be mined. / Sam Brooks Johanna Cosgrove – Sweetie Johanna Cosgrove is at her best when paying tribute to her first lesbian love, the bog woman: perfectly preserved for thousands of years, no one knows who she was, no one knows where she came from. Cosgrove meets the bog woman at the end of a breakup that took her to the other side of the world, and comes to a sobering realisation – that this 1,000+ year-old corpse is actually really fucking disgusting, and her twink friend's psychic might be right in projecting that Cosgrove is carrying 'kilograms' of burdens from being dumped every year of her adult life. My preferred comedy style is when someone who has gone through something horrific (ideally a really terrible breakup rather than something truly life or death) is able to exploit their pain for my own laughter and personal learning experience, so kudos to Cosgrove for having me giggling, gagging and going 'mmmhhhhmmm' with every love-related truth bomb dropped. She never lost her energy or flow, and she also looked really fucking fabulous doing it. Sure, there was one weird them/they gag, but I'll forgive that for the rest of Cosgrove's 57 minutes on stage being an absolute hoot. / LWS Florence Hartigan – Me, My Mother and Suzy Cato Nostalgia never dies. When the present day lacks material, you dig around in the past. In this solo show, more theatre than stand-up, Florence Hartigan flings us back into the Y2K era – the era of flip phones, 'Kiss Me' and Suzy Cato herself. She plays Rachel, a 17-year-old who would rather be dealing with the woes of first love than the weirdness of her doomsday prepper dad, as well as a handful of other characters that populate a life that feels much higher stakes from the inside than from the outside. So, you know, like most teenage lives. Hartigan's an immensely watchable and likeable performer, and she gives Me, My Mother and Suzy Cato an urgency that it otherwise lacks; the material is often so gentle and lovely that it feels lightweight, but Hartigan keeps it from floating away. It's definitely a show that is lighter on laughs than you would expect from a Comedy Festival show, but what it lacks in punchlines, it makes up for in charm. Memory lane is a popular destination for a reason. / SB Tim Provise – The Kapahaka Dropout Safe to say that when Tim Provise walked out onto the stage with a can of Woodys in hand, I knew we were going to be in for a show. The show's 'Kapa Haka Dropout' twist on Kanye West's The College Dropout album was enough to indicate to me that I was the target demographic for this one. There were a couple of prefaces from Tim Provise – the first being that it was his third time doing stand-up in such a setting and the second was a Matrix-like choice between the blue pill or the red pill. If you chose the blue pill, you could 'fuck off'. Red pill it was. Tim Provise said his show would be like drinking in the garage with him, and it certainly felt that way. The proud South Aucklander has now moved to Taranaki, but his show is rooted in Manurewa – where he draws on his experiences as a white-passing Māori growing up in the hood. This show is not for the easily offended, covering everything from addiction, race relations and sexuality through to disabilities. That being said, its self-deprecating 'red pill humour' certainly appealed to me. There were moments that felt all too relatable and I couldn't help but burst out laughing. With shades of Dave Chapelle and Bernie Mac, Tim Provise is a diamond in the rough who can only get better as he continues to perfect his craft. Certain lines and jokes could benefit from some refinement in their delivery, while other parts probably hit better than Tim Provise was expecting. While he did walk relatively close to the overly-offensive edge, I feel as though Tim Provise held punches where he could have unleashed. That is the diamond I believe needs to be uncovered. All-in-all, it was a funny show that I would recommend. I would happily pay to see him again. / Liam Rātana
Scoop
05-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Scoop
Critically Acclaimed Actor And Director To Helm Black Faggot
Press Release – The Court Theatre Fresh off her critically acclaimed performance in the cinematic triumph Tinā, powerhouse actor and trailblazing creative Anapela Polata'ivao takes the director's seat for Black Faggot — the fearless and hilariously unfiltered play making its debut at The Court Theatre this month. Audiences are in for a raucously funny and emotionally raw ride, as Polata'ivao brings her signature insight and fierce compassion to this landmark production by award-winning playwright and producer Victor Rodger. Black Faggot was born from a moment of painful clarity. After witnessing a group of young people marching in a Destiny Church rally against same-sex marriage, Rodger reflected, 'At least one of those kids will be gay and feeling quite wretched about himself.' From this, he penned a series of (mostly) comedic, sometimes heartbreaking monologues that capture the kaleidoscope of queer Pasifika experiences in Aotearoa. Characters range from a closeted, flamboyant Destiny Church member reluctantly marching against civil unions, to a staunch and unashamedly proud gay man; from a fastidious Samoan lover distressed over a stained bedspread, to an award-winning fa'afafine artist boldly unpacking the meaning behind her newest piece, Cracker Wanna Poly. With razor-sharp humour, fearless honesty, and deep cultural resonance, Black Faggot is funny, filthy, tender, and unflinchingly real. A breakout hit at the Edinburgh Fringe, the show has enjoyed multiple sold-out seasons in New Zealand and Australia. This new production stars Gideon Smith (Grafted, Camp Be Better) and Court Theatre favourite Jake Tupu (Palu (Ē Toru), Fresh Off the Boat, O Le Malaga Fa'a'Atua), promising an unforgettable experience packed with comic brilliance and heart. Anapela Polata'ivao is no stranger to telling powerful Pasifika stories. As a director, actor, and creative leader, she has long been a champion for Pacific voices on stage and screen. In 2024, she was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for her outstanding service to the arts. Her recent role in Tinā — the debut feature film by Miki Magasiva — further cemented her status as one of Aotearoa's most compelling performers. Tinā, a love letter to Samoan culture and the transformative power of choral music, follows the journey of Mareta (Polata'ivao), a mother reeling from the loss of her daughter in the 2011 Christchurch earthquake. Taking a teaching job at a wealthy, predominantly Pākehā school, Mareta finds herself connecting with a group of students who, like her, are searching for healing. Her journey leads them all the way to the Big Sing National Choir Competition. Polata'ivao's performance was universally praised — a complex, emotional tour de force that anchored the film and underscored her extraordinary range. Now, with Black Faggot, she turns her focus to the stage once more, ready to deliver a production that is as provocative as it is profound.
Scoop
05-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Scoop
Critically Acclaimed Actor And Director To Helm Black Faggot
Fresh off her critically acclaimed performance in the cinematic triumph Tinā, powerhouse actor and trailblazing creative Anapela Polata'ivao takes the director's seat for Black Faggot — the fearless and hilariously unfiltered play making its debut at The Court Theatre this month. Audiences are in for a raucously funny and emotionally raw ride, as Polata'ivao brings her signature insight and fierce compassion to this landmark production by award-winning playwright and producer Victor Rodger. Black Faggot was born from a moment of painful clarity. After witnessing a group of young people marching in a Destiny Church rally against same-sex marriage, Rodger reflected, 'At least one of those kids will be gay and feeling quite wretched about himself.' From this, he penned a series of (mostly) comedic, sometimes heartbreaking monologues that capture the kaleidoscope of queer Pasifika experiences in Aotearoa. Characters range from a closeted, flamboyant Destiny Church member reluctantly marching against civil unions, to a staunch and unashamedly proud gay man; from a fastidious Samoan lover distressed over a stained bedspread, to an award-winning fa'afafine artist boldly unpacking the meaning behind her newest piece, Cracker Wanna Poly. With razor-sharp humour, fearless honesty, and deep cultural resonance, Black Faggot is funny, filthy, tender, and unflinchingly real. A breakout hit at the Edinburgh Fringe, the show has enjoyed multiple sold-out seasons in New Zealand and Australia. This new production stars Gideon Smith (Grafted, Camp Be Better) and Court Theatre favourite Jake Tupu (Palu (Ē Toru), Fresh Off the Boat, O Le Malaga Fa'a'Atua), promising an unforgettable experience packed with comic brilliance and heart. Anapela Polata'ivao is no stranger to telling powerful Pasifika stories. As a director, actor, and creative leader, she has long been a champion for Pacific voices on stage and screen. In 2024, she was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for her outstanding service to the arts. Her recent role in Tinā — the debut feature film by Miki Magasiva — further cemented her status as one of Aotearoa's most compelling performers. Tinā, a love letter to Samoan culture and the transformative power of choral music, follows the journey of Mareta (Polata'ivao), a mother reeling from the loss of her daughter in the 2011 Christchurch earthquake. Taking a teaching job at a wealthy, predominantly Pākehā school, Mareta finds herself connecting with a group of students who, like her, are searching for healing. Her journey leads them all the way to the Big Sing National Choir Competition. Polata'ivao's performance was universally praised — a complex, emotional tour de force that anchored the film and underscored her extraordinary range. Now, with Black Faggot, she turns her focus to the stage once more, ready to deliver a production that is as provocative as it is profound.
