Forward Thinking: Heart vs art

Taylor Mac. Photo / Supplied

Who knew old shipping containers could be so artsy? Aotea Square looks quite sexy as the industrial-chic hub of the biennial Auckland Arts Festival. Punters sipping wine in the garden and listening to free pre-show tunes have been overheard saying they could have mistaken the set-up for Berlin or London. Supposedly all that is missing is the heaving crowds.

The mighty Pacific Crystal Palace Spiegeltent - a variation on last year's venue, if you look carefully at the stained glass - has hosted flamboyant acrobats, cabaret musicians and pornographic puppets for the past two weeks. Unfortunately they have not always filled as many seats as the festival organisers might have anticipated. Still, the smartly turned-out TV stars hired to arrange the chairs between shows looked suitably flustered. It's the arts fest's fifth year and the line-up is bigger than ever.

Said our mayor Len Brown, via Twitter last week: "Out my Town Hall window, great to see the Auckland Festival humming away in Aotea Square. This is our festival, Auckland. Check it out."

It seems that message did not reach the masses.

New York's Taylor Mac, who performed The Ziggy Stardust Meets Tiny Tim Songbook last week, made light of the fact that there were only 30-odd paying patrons in the venue that could hold 350 if it wanted to.

"This is so intimate, I feel like I should pass around cheese and crackers," he cooed.

Mac was most appreciative of the fact that donating to Christchurch rated higher up most people's spending agendas than heading out to watch a cabaret. Remember that attending the arts festival will cost a couple at least $100 - that's without parking, and buying a drink (served in a plastic glass), and perhaps grabbing a spot of dinner and maybe even getting a babysitter. So it's no wonder that guilty consciences reigned supreme in the festival's first week, and that charities won the pennies.

Of course they should have.

But it was a bit of a shame that even the shows that did pull big audiences to venues like the ASB Theatre and Town Hall for Jack de Johnette and Martha Wainwright weren't at capacity. Was it that everyone was at home watching the news? Or that the organisers overestimated the popularity of the artists? Or are people putting off weaving through the roadworks barriers that border the hub of the Supercity only to then find they have to pay for the privilege of parking their car?

After all, The Opera, the Waterpuppets and the Philharmonia Orchestra have all been pulling healthy crowds. There is no doubt that Auckland does have the potential audience numbers needed to support events as diverse and enriching as festivals like these.

By all accounts The Fringe Festival, which crossed over the Arts Festival for 10 days, and offered wackier, and cheaper thrills, did quite well despite competing with music shows, the arts festival and earthquake coverage. And the weekend arts festival events also pulled healthy crowds - thousands attended white night, and family day.

Meanwhile, Pasifika hummed away at Western Springs all weekend, and the Summer Series claimed its own possie of the arts-loving population up in Albert Park. I joined 70,000 red-faced Aucklanders to run Round the Bays. That $15 entry fee went to giving kids healthy kidneys, so I didn't have the guilts for tuning out of the world's disasters for a few hours. And nor will people who attend one of the myriad plays or gigs being held over the next few weeks to raise money for Christchurch. After all, what better way to support both the arts and the relief effort than heading along to see a struggling performer?

This week the comedy festival booklet landed on my desk, heralding about 100 new shows that kick off at the end of next month, and I am also circling my picks for the World Cinema Showcase starting in April. You can't say there's nothing to do in Auckland. You just need to get the bums on seats.

-TimeOut