Latest news with #Rongomaiwahine
Scoop
05-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Scoop
From Whitney Houston, Sci-Fi Epics, To Supernatural Cabaret: C. Penrose Returns Home To Bring Monster Songs To Toitoi
Auckland-based performer Caitlin Penrose is heading back to her Hawke's Bay roots this August, starring in the supernatural cabaret Monster Songs at Toitoi – Hawke's Bay Arts & Events Centre as part of the Laugh Your A** Off Festival. Performing for one night only on Friday 15 August at 7.30pm, Monster Songs invites audiences into a dark and dazzling world of cabaret where Bowie meets Britney and Rocky Horror meets Moulin Rouge—a high-energy and hair-raising musical theatre spectacle, celebrating the misfits of music through explosive pop vocals and theatrical flair. For Penrose, who grew up in Napier, bringing the production home is a full-circle moment. 'Coming back to Hawke's Bay with a show like this with its killer score of musical theatre hits is a dream come true.' says Penrose (Ngāti Kahungunu ki Te Wairoa, Rongomaiwahine). 'I performed at Toitoi as a teenager with my school choir, so it feels very special to be returning to the iconic venue with Monster Songs. We made this show as a love-letter to the theatre kids, misfits and of course, the pop iconic of individuality like Gaga and Bowie who lit the way. I can't wait for audiences to feel as exhilarated and joyful as we do on stage.' Penrose has toured internationally with Showtime Australia singing Whitney Houtston, Lent voice work to the film Dune Part II, and she recently graduated from The Actors' Program. With a growing list of stage and screen credits, including an upcoming Netflix series, her return to Toitoi represents not just a homecoming, but a hometown star on the rise. Glen Pickering, Presenter Services Manager at Toitoi, says audiences are in for something truly unique. 'Monster Songs is an incredible show and with its powerhouse vocals, big energy and a lot of heart is going to be epic in the Opera House.' he says. 'And having Caitlin return to her home region for this performance makes it even more special. We're thrilled to showcase a local talent making big waves across the globe.' Monster Songs blends musical theatre with saucy cabaret, featuring everything from freakishly fun showtune bangers to gut-wrenching pop ballads. It's a genre-bending, high-octane show for anyone who's ever felt like an outsider—and everyone ready to howl along.
Scoop
04-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Scoop
From Whitney Houston, Sci-Fi Epics, To Supernatural Cabaret: C. Penrose Returns Home To Bring Monster Songs To Toitoi
Press Release – Toitoi – Hawkes Bay Arts And Events Centre Auckland-based performer Caitlin Penrose is heading back to her Hawke's Bay roots this August, starring in the supernatural cabaret Monster Songs at Toitoi – Hawke's Bay Arts & Events Centre as part of the Laugh Your A** Off Festival. Performing for one night only on Friday 15 August at 7.30pm, Monster Songs invites audiences into a dark and dazzling world of cabaret where Bowie meets Britney and Rocky Horror meets Moulin Rouge—a high-energy and hair-raising musical theatre spectacle, celebrating the misfits of music through explosive pop vocals and theatrical flair. For Penrose, who grew up in Napier, bringing the production home is a full-circle moment. 'Coming back to Hawke's Bay with a show like this with its killer score of musical theatre hits is a dream come true.' says Penrose (Ngāti Kahungunu ki Te Wairoa, Rongomaiwahine). 'I performed at Toitoi as a teenager with my school choir, so it feels very special to be returning to the iconic venue with Monster Songs. We made this show as a love-letter to the theatre kids, misfits and of course, the pop iconic of individuality like Gaga and Bowie who lit the way. I can't wait for audiences to feel as exhilarated and joyful as we do on stage.' Penrose has toured internationally with Showtime Australia singing Whitney Houtston, Lent voice work to the film Dune Part II, and she recently graduated from The Actors' Program. With a growing list of stage and screen credits, including an upcoming Netflix series, her return to Toitoi represents not just a homecoming, but a hometown star on the rise. Glen Pickering, Presenter Services Manager at Toitoi, says audiences are in for something truly unique. 'Monster Songs is an incredible show and with its powerhouse vocals, big energy and a lot of heart is going to be epic in the Opera House.' he says. 'And having Caitlin return to her home region for this performance makes it even more special. We're thrilled to showcase a local talent making big waves across the globe.' Monster Songs blends musical theatre with saucy cabaret, featuring everything from freakishly fun showtune bangers to gut-wrenching pop ballads. It's a genre-bending, high-octane show for anyone who's ever felt like an outsider—and everyone ready to howl along. Tickets are $50 and available now at
Scoop
30-05-2025
- Health
- Scoop
Can We Buy Time To Save Our Native Trees?
Press Release – University of Auckland Three documentaries exploring myrtle rust and kauri dieback disease will be screened at an Eco Film Festival in Auckland on 7 June. Myrtle rust poses a risk of wiping out New Zealand's Christmas tree, the pōhutukawa, and could harm manuka honey production, says Dr Mark Harvey from the University of Auckland. 'It's destroying whole forest areas and causing a decline in native insects and birds that rely on those habitats,' says Harvey. He's a senior lecturer in Te Putahi Mātauranga (Faculty of Arts and Education), and with Marie McEntee and Natasha Matamua-Tassell, was co-lead of Mobilising for Action in the National Science Challenge, a programme which funded artistic research into the threats posed by myrtle rust and kauri dieback. Harvey will introduce three documentaries created through the programme at a free Eco Film Festival at Auckland's Academy Cinemas on 7 June. He hopes the film screening might inspire people to take actions that 'buy time' for kauri and native myrtles to adapt, or for the development of treatments for kauri dieback and myrtle rust. The fungal pathogen myrtle rust was first spotted in Aotearoa in 2017 and has quickly spread through the North Island and parts of the South Island, says Harvey. The short documentary, Mate Tipu, Mate Rākau (2021), produced and directed by videographer Fiona Apanui-Kupenga (Ngāti Porou), zooms in on the threat myrtle rust poses to our 15 native myrtle species. The small native tree, ramarama, has already disappeared from the East Coast of the North Island, Department of Conservation ranger Graeme Atkins (Ngāti Porou, Rongomaiwahine), reveals in the film. 'Rōhutu and maire tawake are two other native myrtle species that are getting hammered by myrtle rust, so we're at risk of losing them. 'Our iconic pōhutukawa trees and manuka can be attacked too and that puts the manuka honey industry at risk,' says Harvey. With his collaborators he commissioned the short film Saving Our Myrtles (2024), produced by Apanui-Kupenga and directed by Kaea Hills. It focuses on an East Coast community myrtle rust surveillance project – Te Whakapae Ururoa. 'They're telling their success story and how it has mobilised them,' says Harvey. Re: news produced The fight to save our kauri with mātauranga Māori (2021), a short film exploring Māori solutions for kauri dieback disease in the Waitākere ranges in West Auckland. A rāhui imposed to close tracks with infected kauri has proved effective at stopping the disease from spreading in those areas, says Harvey. 'Pseudo-science has been circulating and some local people have been resisting the rāhui and refusing to clean their shoes, which is sad because it's working,' he says. Since kauri dieback was first found in New Zealand in the 1970s, it has killed about 11 percent of the giant native trees. Humans are the main vector spreading the disease, with approximately 71 percent of kauri dieback zones within 50 metres of a track in the Waitakere ranges, says Harvey. He hopes the films featured in the festival will raise awareness of the problems and the urgent need for more government funding for research that might help save New Zealand's native trees. The three documentaries highlight the importance of Māori voices in decision-making on environmental challenges, Harvey says. 'We can't ignore Māori voices. We're seeing successful solutions from combining mātauranga Māori and western science.' People can help prevent the spread of kauri dieback by respecting the rāhui, fencing off kauri on private properties, getting sick trees checked by Auckland Council, and bringing in experts to treat kauri dieback with phosphite injections. Recording sightings of myrtle rust on the iNaturalist app helps to map its spread. 'Lillypilly is an exotic myrtle and a super-spreader of myrtle rust, so it's wise to get rid of it,' says Harvey. Organised by the University of Auckland's Centre for Climate, Biodiversity and Society – Ngā Ara Whetū, the free Eco Film Festival is at Academy Cinemas in Auckland on 7 June. It features Aotearoa and Pacific films Mate Tipu, Mate Rākau, Saving Our Myrtles, Journey for Justice, and Seasick, at 11am; Thank you for the Rain at 1.30 pm; and Climate Refugees at 3.30pm. Register here.
Scoop
30-05-2025
- Science
- Scoop
Can We Buy Time To Save Our Native Trees?
Three documentaries exploring myrtle rust and kauri dieback disease will be screened at an Eco Film Festival in Auckland on 7 June. Myrtle rust poses a risk of wiping out New Zealand's Christmas tree, the pōhutukawa, and could harm manuka honey production, says Dr Mark Harvey from the University of Auckland. 'It's destroying whole forest areas and causing a decline in native insects and birds that rely on those habitats,' says Harvey. He's a senior lecturer in Te Putahi Mātauranga (Faculty of Arts and Education), and with Marie McEntee and Natasha Matamua-Tassell, was co-lead of Mobilising for Action in the National Science Challenge, a programme which funded artistic research into the threats posed by myrtle rust and kauri dieback. Harvey will introduce three documentaries created through the programme at a free Eco Film Festival at Auckland's Academy Cinemas on 7 June. He hopes the film screening might inspire people to take actions that 'buy time' for kauri and native myrtles to adapt, or for the development of treatments for kauri dieback and myrtle rust. The fungal pathogen myrtle rust was first spotted in Aotearoa in 2017 and has quickly spread through the North Island and parts of the South Island, says Harvey. The short documentary, Mate Tipu, Mate Rākau (2021), produced and directed by videographer Fiona Apanui-Kupenga (Ngāti Porou), zooms in on the threat myrtle rust poses to our 15 native myrtle species. The small native tree, ramarama, has already disappeared from the East Coast of the North Island, Department of Conservation ranger Graeme Atkins (Ngāti Porou, Rongomaiwahine), reveals in the film. 'Rōhutu and maire tawake are two other native myrtle species that are getting hammered by myrtle rust, so we're at risk of losing them. 'Our iconic pōhutukawa trees and manuka can be attacked too and that puts the manuka honey industry at risk,' says Harvey. With his collaborators he commissioned the short film Saving Our Myrtles (2024), produced by Apanui-Kupenga and directed by Kaea Hills. It focuses on an East Coast community myrtle rust surveillance project - Te Whakapae Ururoa. 'They're telling their success story and how it has mobilised them,' says Harvey. Re: news produced The fight to save our kauri with mātauranga Māori (2021), a short film exploring Māori solutions for kauri dieback disease in the Waitākere ranges in West Auckland. A rāhui imposed to close tracks with infected kauri has proved effective at stopping the disease from spreading in those areas, says Harvey. 'Pseudo-science has been circulating and some local people have been resisting the rāhui and refusing to clean their shoes, which is sad because it's working,' he says. Since kauri dieback was first found in New Zealand in the 1970s, it has killed about 11 percent of the giant native trees. Humans are the main vector spreading the disease, with approximately 71 percent of kauri dieback zones within 50 metres of a track in the Waitakere ranges, says Harvey. He hopes the films featured in the festival will raise awareness of the problems and the urgent need for more government funding for research that might help save New Zealand's native trees. The three documentaries highlight the importance of Māori voices in decision-making on environmental challenges, Harvey says. 'We can't ignore Māori voices. We're seeing successful solutions from combining mātauranga Māori and western science.' People can help prevent the spread of kauri dieback by respecting the rāhui, fencing off kauri on private properties, getting sick trees checked by Auckland Council, and bringing in experts to treat kauri dieback with phosphite injections. Recording sightings of myrtle rust on the iNaturalist app helps to map its spread. 'Lillypilly is an exotic myrtle and a super-spreader of myrtle rust, so it's wise to get rid of it,' says Harvey. Organised by the University of Auckland's Centre for Climate, Biodiversity and Society – Ngā Ara Whetū, the free Eco Film Festival is at Academy Cinemas in Auckland on 7 June. It features Aotearoa and Pacific films Mate Tipu, Mate Rākau, Saving Our Myrtles, Journey for Justice, and Seasick, at 11am; Thank you for the Rain at 1.30 pm; and Climate Refugees at 3.30pm. Register here.
