Each August, New Plymouth hosts the Taranaki Arts Festival. Musicians, theater groups, dancers, and other wonderfully talented and creative performers come to town and awe audiences with their
unique skills. Historically I’ve been out of town, working overtime, or otherwise unable to attend any
shows. So this year, making it to at least one show was on my to-do list. I lucked out and made it to 3
shows, each more different than the last.
The festival offers a wide range of shows, to appeal to just about any audience. This year there were
potluck house concerts, lunchtime concerts, and three venues for stage shows. The headline act was called Velvet and was a disco circus from Australia. Although I did not see the show, there were rave reviews all around town. Other highlights were a David Bowie show, a theater show commemorating Anzac Day, a Michael Houston concert (New Zealand pianist), and an Irish band.
The first show I attended was called Chef: Come Dine With Us. The show was a non-stop action spoof on cooking shows, put on by a South Korean comedy group. The act included rappers,
break dancers, opera singing and a bit of audience participation (luckily yours truly was not chosen
for that!). Throughout the show they made sushi, pizza, Chinese chicken noodles and Korean
Bibimbap. The group never missed a beat, kept you guessing on what was coming next, and had
constant action combining dancing, cooking choreography and special sound effects done by the
rappers.
The third show I went to (the second was my favorite so saving it for last) was called Perhaps
Perhaps Quizas. It was a solo theatre act by a Mexican comedian. It was not in the least what I had
expected, but I was impressed by her talent, attention to detail, and effectiveness in conveying her
message, particularly emotion. She did not speak a single word during the show, but used body
language, hand gestures, and facial expressions to take the audience on a journey through
loneliness, finding love, and then losing it.
My favorite of the shows I attended was Anatomy of the Piano. This was a multimedia stage show by
a UK performer. The artist took the crowd through the story of his piano adventures, intermingled
with the history of the piano and the personality of some classic composers. We learned how as a
boy he had asked Father Christmas for a spaceship to get to the moon and instead received a piano.
He talked of boring piano lessons and how he tried to use a piano to fly. This led us to his adulthood,
where he shared experiences that happened because of the piano, and how he realized with music
you really can fly. Throughout all this, we were able to appreciate his skill as a pianist as he
accompanied his own storytelling and displayed the various characteristics of baroque, romantic,
and jazz eras.
It is back to work Monday morning now, but the last couple of weekends have been a nice change
from the daily routine, with opportunities to appreciate the many talents in this world.
