The Kiwis in Hamilton (the musical)
Does being in the hip hop stage show leave them Satisfied?
Kia ora and welcome to the Weekend. I’m in India at the moment and have been buying myself magazines as treats – the mental currency conversion is a hell of a drug – and it’s making me feel inundated with reading material in the absolute best way. The time difference also means I can wake up and feast on all the New Zealand journalism that’s been posted while I sleep. I’m basically having my Hannah Montana moment (living in the best of both worlds). This week, we’re contemplating not saving theatres, but loving Hamilton; mourning Aotearoa’s discontinued kai, and catching pests humanely. Pour yourself some Coffee Supreme and read on.
-Shanti Mathias, staff writer
The New Zealanders in Hamilton (the musical)
New Zealand actors George Henare, Gareth Reeves, Matu Ngaropo (right) and Akina Edmonds
After what could safely be called a “Hamiltrash” phase as a teenager, I now feel somewhat ashamed of the tote bag I embroidered for my friend with the lyrics of ‘Wait For It’ and the notebook I plastered with quotes from the hit musical about one of the key figures of the US revolution. But all these years later the opening notes of ‘It’s Quiet Uptown’ still reach deep into my emotional core. Say what you will about the show’s ahistoricism, its soundtrack makes for ridiculously compelling listening. The Spinoff’s Sam Brooks recently had the opportunity to see Hamilton in Melbourne, and spoke to its New Zealand stars (and the Kiwis in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, also on stage in Melbourne) about the realities of performing in a show this big.
Does the St James theatre need saving?
Coffee Supreme: the fuel for a perfect summer roadie
If you’re about to pop on the out of office and hit the tarmac towards your Summer vacay, let Coffee Supreme be your travel companion. With cafes across Aotearoa (and Aussie, if you’re jumping the ditch), you’ll never be far from a cup of Coffee Supreme. Filled up the car, but forgot to fill your mug? Coffee Supreme’s Locator will see you right – just pop onto the website and your cup will be filled in no time. Find your nearest Coffee Supreme cafe here.
Pharmac plays media games
For thousands of patients and families, the decisions made by Pharmac are vitally important. What gets chosen to be funded can quite literally mean life or death. Emily Writes has been intimately involved in patient advocacy for years. So when she received a press release about the funding of Trifakta, which can dramatically extend the lives of those with cystic fibrosis, she was delighted – but she had some questions. Watching Newshub that evening, in which Paddy Gower appeared to be privy to exclusive information, only made things more unclear. Meanwhile, Today FM had covered the same story on Friday, but was swiftly “blacklisted” by Pharmac after publishing details that were later shared in the press release. Confused? So was Emily. So what went on?
Caring for our oceans and shores
Every time I link to something about the ocean in this newsletter it reminds me that New Zealand is a series of small islands, and there’s a lot of sea around us. Flying many hours over that sea in the last week has been another visceral reminder. The striking images in this cartoon by Toby Morris expand our idea of what Aotearoa is, in a geographical sense, and remind us that the ocean connects us to so much – making caring for the moana all the more important.
More on sustainability: how an ingenious, humane trap helps protect against damage from pests like possums, rats and the cute but deadly hedgehog
40 years of Narcotics Anonymous in Aotearoa
In November, addiction recovery group Narcotics Anonymous (NA) marked 40 years since its launch in New Zealand. Toby Manhire attended the celebration and talked to some of the people who have walked with the programmed for many years. Addiction is now more broadly understood as a health problem, not a moral failing. NA groups are a support structure for people trying to step away from the habit that harms them, and though the programme doesn’t work for everyone, every small achievement along the way is something to celebrate. NA helps, attendees say, because there’s a reason to keep coming back.
The rise and stall of SIS
Spinoff editor Madeleine Chapman looks into what went wrong with SIS, a comedy series made largely by Pasifika creators. After an acclaimed pilot episode released in Aotearoa and internationally in 2019, SIS received funding for a TV series from New Zealand On Air. It was scheduled to be released in 2021, but was pushed back to this year. Here’s where it gets weird: Hanelle Harris, SIS’s creator, released the entire show on Vimeo, saying that the show’s distribution isn’t what was originally agreed, and is asking her Instagram followers to help pressure NZ On Air into a meeting. It seems to come down to whether public funding should make a show available to all Pacific people everywhere, or just to audiences in Aotearoa, and raises complex questions about how media representation is bound by national borders.
Elsewhere in media funding: We Are Indigo is still getting contracts, is Labour going to kill the media merger, and a book that analyses why creatives always get the short end of the stick.
Everything else
Every wild thing that happened on Shortland Street this year
Does the personal essay industrial complex lend itself to untrue generalisations?
The millennial furniture company which couldn’t last
Everything you need to know about Christmas tree decoration and also Virgos
A good read on the “robodebt“ scandal in Australia and how the most vulnerable were punished in the name of bureaucracy
Why getting sunburned is harder than it used to be
“Insects have much more fantastic ideas of growing up”: transformation and transitions, in science and self
Superstar Sarah Hirini has always been determined
How the cost of living affects Pasifika families
Wayne Brown: could the Auckland mayor consider doing away with some golf courses and parking buildings, rather than the airport or art gallery?
The art of improvisation that makes Educators such a hilarious and chaotic show
Volunteering is great, actually
If you’re planning to watch Avatar: The Weight of Water in the next week, here are some (somewhat delirious) recollections of the first instalment, and an insight into the huge computing power which creates the movie magic.
And finally, it’s “word of the year” season. This weekend might be a great time for going goblin mode before the holidays.
