Stories

Cityscape and the Cinema Italiano Festival take you on a journey through Italy in film. We begin our trip on the far northwest, at the village of Castel Vittorio near the French border. Io Sono L’Amore / I Am Love was shot in this mountainous town, as well as just down the road in coastal Sanremo and in the northern city of Milan. The film centres on a wealthy Milanese family and the heir’s Russian wife, Emma Recchi (Tilda Swinton) who appears to be a static part of the family’s ‘collection’, but awakens herself through a developing relationship with a talented chef. The film contains magnificent demonstrations of Milanese architecture, including the Villa Necchi Campiglio, designed by celebrated architect Piero Portaluppi. Heading south, we hit the tourist hotspot of Tuscany – heart of the Renaissance and home to unending beauty in its cities, landscapes dotted with vineyards and olive groves, and...

Paul Roper-Gee from Canopy Landscape Architects has some practical tips for creating a garden that looks great all year round. Winter can be a quieter time in our gardens but that provides an opportunity to plan ahead and think about how the garden can look good in all four seasons. In garden design, as well as three-dimensional space, we can also play with the fourth dimension of time. In the winter months the ‘bones’ of the garden become obvious. Hard landscape elements including paths, pergolas, walls and boundaries provide structure that remains important throughout the year. Evergreen plants including New Zealand natives provide strong form and texture that give a garden weight and provide a backdrop to set other ‘flashier’ plants against. The winter skeletons of trees, ornamental grasses and selected perennials can also provide ‘good bones’. Gardens need not be static but can change and flex through the seasons, taking...

Anna Dick from Anna Margaret Interiors talks deluxe home décor and how to get that luxury retreat feel in your own home. Everyone deserves to have elements of luxury in their home every day. And yes, it is attainable. First of all, you need to work out what luxury means to you. It might mean having a matching set of hand soap and moisturiser in your bathroom or that wine fridge you have been longing for, a beautiful view from your kitchen window, or the softest curtains you pull at the end of the day. It can cost the earth, or be modest, because you define what luxury means for you. Luxury is when you like what you see, smell, feel, touch and taste. Luxury is when all your senses feel loved and catered to. A warm blanket or a smooth bench; scented candle or your fave wine; a beautiful view...

Comedian, actor, director and reluctant writer Dan Bain talks theatre, standup and the concept of octopus strangling. What have been some highlights of learning to wing it professionally? I made my living as an improviser for 20 years, which is more than half of my life and it’s all a bit of a blur. But a moment that I found truly wonderful was in rehearsal for a play, backstage with Judy Douglas in her final show at the Court Theatre. She leant over to me and said “I’m never worried in the scenes with you, because you are an improviser and if I make a mistake I know you’ll fix it.” I never had to fix anything, because even at seventy-something she was a total professional, but that still sticks with me. I was terrified because I had to remember to say the same things every night. She was terrified she’d...

Arts crowdfunding platform Boosted has just launched a spate of one-month fundraising drives for awesome Christchurch art projects. Cityscape takes a gander. Rātā Foundation has given each of these projects $3000 of matched funding to get them on their way to their targets. Each needs to hit its target by the end of June to keep the donations. Check out the pitches and donate online – every little bit helps! SCAPE Public Art is permanently relocating the Conduct Cumulus public sculpture by Seung Yul Oh from its temporary home at The Arts Centre to Hillmorton Hospital grounds. Target: $6000. Donate here Royal New Zealand Ballet is purchasing a sprung floor for Isaac Theatre Royal so dancers can give their all at this beautiful venue without risk of injury. Target: $10,000. Donate here Movement Art Practice is fitting out the new home of MAP – a studio in Hawdon Street where the...

Before sharing his expertise at Winetopia in July, Master of Wine Bob Campbell sat down with Cityscape to talk favourite fizz, top shelf wines and the best budget drops. Can you tell us about a lesser-known wine region that’s captured your heart? Waitaki. It's a small, wonderfully scenic region on the border of Otago and Canterbury, and it’s capable of producing great wines given the right vintage conditions. What interesting things are coming out of the big-hitting regions this year? Expect top Chardonnay and Syrah from Hawke's Bay, intensely flavoured Sauvignon from Marlborough and high quality Pinot Noir from Otago. What’s exciting you in the world of Canterbury wine at the moment? Cabernet Franc. It makes amazingly ripe, intense wines, but there is not much of it so keep an eye out. How much do you need to spend for a bottle of New Zealand méthode traditionelle that goes toe-to-toe with a French...

Master of Wine Emma Jenkins is presenting at Winetopia this winter, and she sat down with Cityscape to talk grapes, wine regions and excellent bubbles. Can you tell us about a lesser-known wine region that’s captured your heart? Well, I kind of hope there are no lesser known wine regions in New Zealand these days! But if I had to nominate somewhere that people often overlook, it’s the sub-region of Alexandra, in Central Otago. It’s a little bit further-flung and there aren’t as many well-known names as its mostly very very small producers, but the unique and sometimes extreme conditions can produce some of the region’s most expressive fruit. Worth having on your radar, plus it’s a lovely place to visit. What interesting things are coming out of the big-hitting regions this year? We’ve just had two fantastic vintages, so both 2020 and 2021 will deliver some excellent wines to the...

The Glow Show artistic director Sarah Burren talks to Cityscape about the value of teamwork, and keeping the attention of toddlers. So you’re the Glow Show puppet master? Well, there’s a huge team of people who make this happen. I came up with the idea of The Glow Show, and I make the puppets myself. Tell us a bit about the show. It’s been a five-year project getting this far, and this is the fourth year doing the show. Matariki 2017 was the first year. It’s ultraviolet puppetry with blue sky thinking. The show is very mesmerising for children, they think “How do they do that, how do they make it happen?” This year’s show is very loosely themed on wonderland. It’s wacky as, and very uplifting. What’s the highlight this year? The eight-metre caterpillar. And the music is going to be epic. How did you come to this idea? I...

Ah, the burger. Is there a simpler, yet more versatile and universally loved food around? It’s Burger Day and we’re celebrating by sharing our picks of some the most delicious burgers around Christchurch – get your drool bibs at the ready. Black Burger Where: 172 St Asaph Street What: LA-style burgers made with premium Japanese black Wagyu beef. The Classic Burger is just what it sounds like – an absolute classic, done right. Burgers & Beers Where: Eats on Oxford, 32 Oxford Terrace What: Simple, good burgers, big in size, big on flavour. And of course, cold beer to wash it down. Burger Station Where: 96 Riccarton Road or 3/249 Stanmore Road What: These gourmet burgers will hit whatever spot you want, with flavours such as the Mumbai Indian or Shroom Bomb that you’re unlikely to find anywhere else. Slick Burgers Where: 254 Ferry Road What: Loaded burgers stacked sky high...

Move over, Land Rover, the Land Doughver is here. What’s like a Land Rover, but pumps out delicious woodfired pizzas? Fire & Slice’s new mobile pizza truck, the Landdoughver! It’s a modified, ex-army 1982 Series III Land Rover, V8 petrol beast with an Italian-made pizza oven on the back. A sister vehicle to the Series II mounted over the pizza oven in the Sumner restaurant, the Landdoughver is a roving pizza machine that will be gracing festivals, community events, weddings and private gigs all over Canterbury. It’s got upgraded suspension springs, braking and power steering to incorporate the 900kg oven on the back. The oven sits on a custom-engineered frame with in-built fireproofing, and the concrete coating on the oven has layers of fireproofing built in so even when its burning at 400 °C inside, it’s just warm to the touch on the outside. But the most important part is the...

There’s nothing quite like a woodfired pizza, and there’s no woodfired pizza quite like Fire & Slice in Sumner. Since its launch in August 2018, Fire & Slice has become a Sumner pizza legend. It’s a buzzing joint, and on any given evening you’ll find takeaway customers hanging out in the front watching pizzas fly in and out of the oven, while diners enjoy a beer over their pizza at the tables down back. Fire & Slice isn’t faffing round with pasta or desserts. This restaurant knows what it does best and sticks to its guns: pizza, chips, beer and wine. And when it comes to the pizza, there’s nothing else quite like it in Christchurch. The dough is hand-made with fresh yeast – not the instant stuff you get from the supermarket. It takes two days to rise, giving it its signature flavour and light texture – it digests easy,...

A nurse and a drag king walk into a bar... and they are shaking (and stirring!) up the local theatre industry. Georgie Sivier has dreamt about creating her own theatre company since she was eight years old. She studied performing arts at Whitireia in Wellington and quickly dove headfirst into the worlds of acting, standup comedy, directing and drag. But Georgie says her theatre company Play Space was never intended to be a solo project. “Ever since I set up Play Space in 2017 I’ve been looking for someone who challenges and inspires me, someone who is as passionate as I am.” Kat Forrester is a nurse who turned her hand professionally to performing arts in 2018 after a long flirtation with community theatre. “I studied with Hagley Theatre Company, after taking a breather from nursing and focussing on something more creative for a couple of years. I’d never seriously thought...

The Great NZ Toastie Takeover is back, and judges are deliberating on which cafés, restaurants, bars and eateries are behind Aoteatora's best toasties. In the meantime, you can get the recipes direct from the source. THere's notinh like a good cheesy toastie for a classic Kiwi meal. The Great NZ Toastie Takeover is an annual competition to find the best one in New Zealand. The criteria are that the toastie has to be sandwiched between two slices of bread and able to be eaten by hand if necessary. Each toastie must also contain cheese and McClure's Pickles. We highly encourage you to get out and try some of Christchurch's entrants in the competiton (see below), and if you're a home toastie maestro you can check out recipes for previous winners and chef-designed toasties on the Great NZ Toastie Takeover website. Recipes include mushroom toasties, lamb toasties,  grilled sourdough with chicken paremsan,...

All our pop dreams are coming true this winter as the sonic sounds of Drax Project head our way, along with Mitch James and special guest AACACIA. From humble beginnings as music students busking on the street, Drax Project have grown into an exceptional band who've won over crowds at every single one of their recent performances, from their own headline shows to international festivals and opening for such household names as Ed Sheeran, Christina Aquilera, Lorde and SIX60. With catchy tracks that have any audience bopping along, this is one of New Zealand's most-watched groups and one of the world's must-see live acts. Singles from their self-titled debut album have been streamed over 300 million times and have collected 18 platinum certifications to date. Mitch James is a Kiwi-born, Australian-based singer songwriter whose star is rising fast. After multiple headline shows across New Zealand and winning Best NZ Act at...

If you’re looking for some entertainment next weekend, NZ Opera is bringing world-class Baritone Phillip Rhodes to Christchurch to sing in a one-off concert at The Piano with Dame Malvina Major Foundation studio artists Katherine Winitana and Katie Trigg as well as pianist Mark W Dorrell. Phillip tells Cityscape about some of his top picks from the evening's varied programme. I'm keen on getting down to Christchurch and being in The Piano, which will be a new venue for me. It’s been a year away from the stages, so I'm really looking forward to it. I’ve had one show, and I’m just ready to get into it. We’ve got a lot of time to make up for. Mozart – 'Soave sia il Vento' I’m doing a couple of Mozart numbers, because I've got the studio artists Katherine Winitana and Katie Trigg involved. Mozart should never leave you in your career. It's...

After 17 wondrous years of Open Air Summer Shakespeare in Mona Vale Gardens, Top Dog Theatre has come indoors to tread the boards of the magnificent Isaac Theatre Royal and perform Twelfth Night, one of Shakespeare’s best-loved plays. Twelfth Night is Shakespeare’s brilliant fast-paced romantic comedy, brimming with interwoven plots of romance, mistaken identities, drunken songs and dances, farcical fights and practical jokes to delight and entertain the audience. Separated from her twin brother Sebastian in a shipwreck, Viola disguises herself as a boy and becomes a servant to Duke Orsino. So begins this whirlwind tale where music is the food of love and anything is possible for these romantic castaways. Come and revel with some of Shakespeare’s most notorious characters – Malvolia, resplendent in her yellow stockings, the wise jester, Feste, and of course the drunken rogue, Sir Toby Belch. “A performance as never seen before,” says director Derek Doddington....

Pegasus Bay Winery, one of the original and definitive North Canterbury wineries, released its first wines in 1991. But its story starts in the 1970s with some of the first grape vines in Canterbury. Ivan Donaldson and wife Christine were behind those early vine plantings. Ivan was a consultant neurologist who started making wine as a hobby in the garage at their Christchurch home. At that point they had no idea that wine would become the family's business and passion. A decade later, in 1986, Ivan and Chris purchased some land in the Waipara Valley of North Canterbury with a vision of creating what is now Pegasus Bay. Their four sons, aged 8 to 14 years, helped plant the vineyard which is now 35 years old. All the Donaldson boys are still involved in the business today: eldest sn Mat is the winemaker, Mike is the Canterbury sales manager, Paul is...

We've got the deets on the media you're going to want to check out this month, from great shows to hot new albums. Bingewatching The One Finding your predestinate, biological soulmate through DNA testing might sound like a sweet and heartwarming premise, but from the first episode of futuristic thriller The One, there’s a slight sense of dread and forboding that suggests happy endings might not be so easily found. Brimming with complex, flawed characters whose choices infuriate as much as compel you, The One is a gripping, dark look at relationships and what might prove most important to people when they are forced to choose. Watch on: Netflix. Creamerie It could have been a bit awkward in a post-Covid world to make a series about a world in which all the males on the planet have been killed by a mystery virus, but through empathetic characters, a great script and...