Stories

Fresh from his own hit Las Vegas show, UK comedian and magician John van der Put, aka Piff the Magic Dragon, will flame Christchurch audiences as part of Bread & Circus – World Buskers Festival. He tells Cityscape about his magic life and performing with a diva chihuahua. What did you do before Piff the Magic Dragon came along? I was a regular human magician doing weddings, bar mitzvahs and corporate dinners and getting fired everywhere for being too grumpy. How much do you know about New Zealand? Never been. My only knowledge comes from those Hobbit movies. On that basis, I’m looking forward to towering over the inhabitants but terrified I’m going to get shot in the face by a dwarf. What has been the most surreal experience of your career? Penn Jillette (half of the top US magic act Penn & Teller) becoming Pop the Magic Dragon. How hard...

Danielle Casey is the creative force behind this season’s heritage-drenched Ballantynes Christmas window displays. Cityscape talks to her about her gig with a little shop in London called Harrods, and how she got to do what she does. How did you get to be designing Christmas windows for Ballantynes? I arrived back in New Zealand this time last year after seven years in the UK. While I was there I worked with some amazing production and design agencies where I produced campaigns for the likes of Nike, Bacardi and Harrods. Naturally I was excited to come home but also a little apprehensive about how my experience would stack up in the New Zealand job market. I knew of Ballantynes so applied for the advertised visual merchandiser role and after two interviews was hired as their visual merchandising manager. What has been your biggest gig so far (apart from Ballantynes of course)?...

One of the world’s most loved reggae bands, UB40 will be performing in Christchurch on Waitangi Day, which is also Bob Marley’s birthday. Cityscape talks to one of the originals, Astro, about the thrill of performing live and the downside of fame. Congrats on your 40th anniversary and the success of A Real Labour of Love – what was it like getting back in the recording studio? Thank you. It was great to finally get back in the studio to record A Real Labour of Love. They are a collection of songs that we used to sing on the tour buses while touring in the 1980s. Did you have any idea it was going to be so well received? No, we had no idea because as always it’s the public that decide if it is a hit or not! Obviously we hoped people would love it but nothing is guaranteed. You’re...

By her own admission, Betty Grumble comes from a long line of humanoid and mythical sex clowns. She shares her womanifesto with Cityscape before her appearances in Bread & Circus – World Buskers Festival. How did you break into this industry? I wouldn't call it a break. I was always a creature of theatre and shows. I didn't want to tell stories that didn't make my heart sing, I didn't want to compete and be treated like an object. I was lucky enough to train and persist within arts schools and experiment in the realm of the nightclub. Installation performance, drag, strip and storytelling all got smashed together as I honed full-length shows. It was a maturation, a slow burn, a thick tree trunking that is now bearing fruit. I didn't compromise my radical heart and people have respected that. How did your persona Betty Grumble come to fruition? Betty Grumble...

Cityscape has a yarn with New Zealand R ’n’ B queen Ladi6 on her music plans for 2019, getting her judge on in Project Runway and her funky fresh style ahead of her January gig with Fat Freddy's Drop in Hagley Park.  Who will be joining you for this gig? My band, the usual suspects and maybe a couple of special guests... one will have to see won’t we... lol. What are your musical plans for 2019? Oh man, new life, new life, new life... we are in dream mode now for what will be a creative killer of a year... 2019 is already blowing my mind! What’s the state of hip hop in NZ these days? Man, as far as I can tell... damn good! Of the new crop of artists, who are you a fan of? Oh man, I’m a fan of pretty much everybody coming out right now,...

Life just keeps getting busier for the super-talented Estère, who will bring her ‘electric blue witch-hop’ to the Electric Avenue stage in February. Cityscape falls under her spell. You’ve had a whirlwind of a year performing globally. How does performing abroad compare to performing on home soil? I think when you perform abroad there's an extra layer of anticipation and uncertainty in the emotions that come with touring. When you're going somewhere for the first time and you know all your friends and family are on the other side of the world, you can feel a great sense of vastness. I enjoy touring wherever I go but playing in New Zealand has a special feeling of warmth and familiarity. Before you went solo, you were in the collective Brockaflowersaurus-Rex & The Blueberry Biscuits, which is a rad name – how did that name come to be? We all had studied either...

The Christchurch Symphony Orchestra will mark its return to the Town Hall by reuniting with Shapeshifter, who they performed with in 2007. Cityscape asks keyboardist and guitarist Sam Trevethick what the audience can look forward to. Shapeshifter back in the Town Hall with the CSO after 11 years – how exciting is that? It’s very exciting to be reopening my favourite venue. I'm so happy it was able to be saved from destruction. The night we played with the CSO was incredible so it’s great to be able to repeat it. What will the playlist look like – a mix of old and new? Pretty much a song or two from every album we've made, plus one or two we haven't yet. For the Christchurch band members in particular it must be great to be part of the return to the Town Hall? It’s my favourite venue in the world, and...

In March, the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra will return to the city’s beloved and rebuilt Town Hall. As well as regaining an auditorium that is regarded as one of the best-designed concert halls in the world, the CSO will also get a permanent home in a new wing built just for it. Part of that new wing is the Ron Ball Studio, which the orchestra will use as a main rehearsal room and small performance venue. Cityscape asked CSO chief executive Gretchen La Roche about the significance of the return, and what plans the organisation has for its new home. How important to the CSO is the return to the Town Hall? Like many people we are really looking forward to it. The Town Hall is a very special place, with its acoustics and revolutionary design putting it among the top concert halls in the world. It’s a significant building not only...

The CSO’s celebrations of the reopening of the Christchurch Town Hall include the first concert of the 2019 Lamb & Hayward Masterworks Series. Pianists Michael Houstoun and Tony Chen Lin will perform Mozart’s Concerto for Two Pianos. Cityscape asked Chen Lin about his journey from Christchurch music student to the Town Hall stage, and the responsibility of choosing the new Steinway piano for the auditorium. You made your debut with the CSO this year – what were some memorable moments from that? The whole experience was a very memorable one. I especially enjoyed working with Benjamin Northey, who is a wonderful musician and conductor. In addition to that, it is always a joy to play for a warm and appreciative home crowd with my family and friends sitting in it. But this amiable feeling wasn’t just in the audience; it was lovely to see so many familiar faces in the orchestra too, many...

From our friends at Universo, here’s a perfect cocktail for a languid summer afternoon or as a sundowner at the bach or barbeque. Ingredients 3 lemon wedges30ml Tanqueray Gin30ml Pimms30ml Monin blackberry syrup15ml lemon juicecucumber ribbon (for rim of glass)cucumber ribbon stick40ml soda water Method 1. Add lemon wedges to a highball glass and muddle. Add all liquid except the soda water, fill the glass to halfway with normal ice and stir.2. Place cucumber ribbon around the rim of the glass then top with crushed ice.3. Top with the soda water and garnish with the cucumber ribbon stick, a slice of lemon and mint leaves. Edible flowers are also a garnish option. universo.co.nz  

Take a leaf out of restaurateur Francesca Voza’s new cookbook to prepare this taste-bud tempter, inspired by her visit with chef James Stapley to a Sicilian fish market. Serves 6 - 8. Prawn Bisque  INGREDIENTS 1kg of prawns, shells on 1 carrot1 red onion1 fennel bulb1 celery stick8 cloves fresh garlic1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil1 sprig fresh rosemary, picked1 tsp fresh chilli flakes2 cups white wine1L Napoli (see recipe below) or a good quality passata2 cups watersalt to taste METHOD 1. First remove the heads and shells from the prawns. Keep these to one side; they will give your bisque its punchy prawn flavour! Refrigerate the prawn meat until needed (see ‘To Serve’).2. Roughly chop the carrot, onion, fennel, celery and garlic cloves and add to a saucepan with the olive oil, rosemary and chilli flakes. Sweat this down on a low heat until soft but without colour – about 10...

The Great Kiwi Beer Festival returns to Hagley Park on January 26 for another celebration of sun and suds set to a rock and dub backbeat. Epic Beer will be among the breweries keeping the punters happy, so Cityscape asked owner and founder Luke Nicholas what he has in store. What’s new at Epic Beer? This summer we have a new lineup of cans. We have been a little slow to jump on the can train but that was because we wanted to make sure we could continue to deliver the consistent high quality that we are known for. We also have our new mixed six-pack. This not only includes our Armageddon IPA but also Hop Zombie. Also, every beer in the pack has won a gold medal. What’s your beer and food match for this summer? It definitely has to be spicy barbequed spatchcock chicken and our new Epic Shotgun XPA....

Paul Donaldson calls cider-making a hobby but that doesn’t stop him growing his own orchard of apples to give his Scoundrels and Rogues label its own special flavours. And it certainly doesn’t get in the way of winning gongs at the New Zealand Cider Awards. He tells Cityscape what he has on the go for this summer. Are you pleased with how your orchard is going? I got enough for a couple of test batches, to see what it is going to deliver, but it’s hundreds of litres rather than thousands. I only make 6,000 litres a year over five or six ciders. I’m one of the smallest producers at the awards. The ethos is to make a high-end boutique product rather than a volume product. The way I make cider it’s more like a wine – it spends 1½ years in the barrel. I’m bottling the 2017 vintage now. I put...

Tracy Banner and her team at Sprig & Fern Brewery continue to ride the craft beer wave, picking up another swag of medals in September at the 2018 Brewers Guild of New Zealand Awards, including the coveted Morton Coutts Trophy for innovation and service to the industry. She shares with Cityscape the beers trending this summer, and why Kiwi customers keep brewers on their toes. What’s your beer and food match for this summer? At the moment it’s our limited-edition Dry Hopped Pilsner, which has beautiful floral and fragrant aromatics. It’s lovely with some fish and chips. What are some interesting trends in beer? The IPAs and APAs were a hit a couple of years ago and we are still seeing growth in that market. Also session IPAs and XPAs are still very trendy. Sour and flavoured styles are also growing. They are a step for women from wine to ciders...

Fancy dropping in to Three Boys Brewery for a beer and a chat? Ralph Bungard tells Cityscape about their plans for offering customers just that, and what his picks are for the best beer and food match this summer. What’s new at Three Boys? We had a relatively good winter amongst all the hard work in hospo in the city, and now we’re looking forward to a great summer. We have a little bit of a buffer because of home consumption. It tends to be that people don’t stop buying what they like, they just choose where they buy it. In Christchurch there’s a bit of a lull because we are through the rebuild so there is less money sloshing around with consultants and contractors and now the second wave of hospo is starting up. But the city is starting to look cool, people are realising they can go out again....

A 40-year veteran of the Christchurch hospo scene, Richard Sinke has been instrumental in getting healthier food on the city’s menus, through the influence of the original Dux de Lux and the restaurant‘s more recent iterations. Cityscape finds out how he has done it. As a pioneer of healthy eats and vegetarian fare in Christchurch, do you feel the world is catching up with you? I feel that it is and I am so thrilled to see that people are recognising the importance of diets and eating healthy, fresh, clean food, and to know the everyday health benefits of their diets. How would you describe your own diet of choice? And has that changed over the years? My diet has drastically changed from when I was a young lad, from eating steak and lamb chops every day to being a pescatarian. I haven’t eaten meat for many, many years now. Dux...

Aim to get the jackfruit slightly black – that’s how you get that wonderful charred flavour. Recipe by Tom Riley, Green Dinner Table. Ingredients 300g new potatoes1 red onion4 cloves garlic1 tin green jackfruit in brine1 carrot1 medium beetroothalf a cucumber3 large pita breads80g souvlaki spice100g spiced ketchup120g tzatziki  Souvlaki Spice 50g tomato spice10g soy sauce15g brown sugar1 tsp cumin seed1/2 tsp oregano 1/2 tsp ground cloves1/4 tsp ground cinnamon 1/4 tsp dried thymepinch of salt Spiced Ketchup  80g tomato sauce20 - 30g sriracha Tzatziki 100g coconut yoghurt 3 cloves garlicjuice and zest of 1 lemon20g fresh mintpinch of salt Method 1. Bring a small pot of salted water to the boil.2. Scrub the potatoes in cold water – you don’t need to peel them.3. Combine all the ingredients for the souvlaki spice in a small bowl; set aside.4. Combine all the ingredients for the spiced ketchup. Taste and add more sriracha as needed;...

Cityscape talks to breakthrough hip-hop artist JessB before her appearance at February’s Electric Avenue Festival. What was the turning point for you to pursue a career in the music industry? When P-Money came across some of my older music on Soundcloud and decided to hit me up. Bloom is a phenomenal album – what was the creative process like for that and how was it collaborating with P-Money? Thank you! The creative process was a journey of me finding my feet as a musician, but also as a person. All the music I write is representative of a time in my life. So the songs in the EP are all things that I was experiencing/seeing/exploring as I was writing them. Collaborating with P-Money is a hip-hop artist’s dream come true! And he is very in tune with the sort of sounds and music I am drawn to, so it makes the...