Cirque du Soleil Totem, Alexandra Park, Friday
If you like watching ridiculous feats of physicality, particularly when performed in elaborate costumes with a tailor-made soundtrack, I hope you're heading along to the giant yellow and blue-striped Big Top to check out Totem. Sure, the dazzling set and eye-popping costumes (think frogs, monkeys, birds, tribal inspirations, crystals and lots of stuff that glows in the dark) are a big part of what makes a Cirque du Soleil show magical, but it's watching these incredible performers and athletes do things no normal human should attempt that will make your hair stand on end. Watch out for the rings trio, the unicyclists, the Russian bars team, and the mad scientist with his fluorescent balls. The show runs until September 28.
20,000 Days On Earth, in cinemas now
If you missed it at the NZ International Film Festival, now is your chance to see this cinematic creation, which blends fiction and documentary in a portrait of Nick Cave. Weaving two narrative threads, it simultaneously takes a surreal look at both his 20,000th day on Earth, and his creative process from writing to recording, rehearsals to performance. He writes, he draws, he cracks jokes, he drives around Brighton in his low-rumbling Jag. He drinks tea, reminisces with bandmates, and talks about his family. It gives fans a chance to see inside his head in an entirely different fashion.
