By Michele Hewitson
Let's get that kiwi out of the way first.
When New Zealand Festival 2000 unveiled its logo - a jaunty kiwi with nikau palm leaves for a tail - some people did a double take.
It looked, they said, like a kiwi with its bum on fire.
Joseph Seelig, the festival's artistic director, unsurprisingly begs to differ. "I think it's lovely - cheeky and cheerful and strong - and that people will get to like it a lot."
That said, Seelig is not averse to any small controversy that gets people talking about the festival.
Since, there has been another little spat of the sort that causes a festival director's pulse to quicken with excitement at the prospect of a bit of scandal.
The Society for the Promotion of Community Standards called for British band the Tiger Lillies to be banned from the festival. The upset was caused by the cover of the band's latest album, which featured a sex doll on a crucifix.
And there was the little matter of the Italian theatre company Societas Raffaello Sanzio's production of Giulio Cesare, which features an actor with a tracheotomy, a vastly overweight actor and anorexic women.
Controversy in a festival, says Seelig, is just shorthand for providing "things for people to debate. I think that this time we've got various shows people are going to have to come to with an open mind."
He'd like that to happen. He would also like Aucklanders to stop calling the festival the "Wellington" festival of the arts. It's unlikely to happen: they have it and we don't.
The concept of simple city envy is not one that Seelig is likely to easily understand. The London-based director calls a number of cities, including Wellington, home. He's the international programme consultant for the Hong Kong Arts Festival and has close relations with festivals in Adelaide and Sydney.
The best job in the world? "I guess it's better than a lot of other jobs; going to the theatre every night and seeing a pile of poo. Believe me, every show that ends up here is the result of my having had 250 boring nights somewhere. And if it's boring in the south of France, it's the same as being bored anywhere else."
As jobs go, this one has its particular perils. If Seelig has had any spectacular crises of taste, he's not particularly interested in revisiting them. All he'll admit to is having honed an inbuilt censoring device, which means that he "usually errs on the side of caution. Nobody's going to thank me for trying out my taste on them."
A sampler of Seelig's selections Theatre Dedale, by Compagnie Philippe Genty. Aucklanders get to crow a bit about this one - we get it first, at the Edge from March 8 till 11. It's at the festival from March 15 to 19. Using puppets, dance, theatre and mime, Dedale takes the Greek myth of Daedalus (the father of Icarus, who flew too close to the sun) who created the legendary maze of Crete and turns it into a fantasy land of illusion and spectacle.
Haruru Mai, a new play by New Zealand playwright Briar Grace-Smith. George Henare plays Silas, a Second World War Maori Battalion soldier who returns home to Pukerata after 30 years of wandering. March 3-11.
Woman Far Walking, the first play by writer Witi Ihimaera. A 160-year-old Maori woman looks back on 160 years of New Zealand's political history. March 17-26.
Giulio Cesare, a political thriller based (loosely) on Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, from Italian director Romeo Castelluci. "Hauntingly horrible and horribly haunting," said the Guardian of a production whose cast includes the world's fattest actor, two anorexics and a fluffy stuffed cat with a spinning head. March 16-19.
Bufaplanetes, by Pep Bou, described as the "Catalan soap wizard," this is theatre where the characters are soap bubbles. March 3-12.
Music Simon Boccanegra, by Guiseppe Verdi - Marco Guidarini conducts, with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and the chorus of the National Opera of New Zealand. March 4-12.
The Genius of J. S. Bach - the year 2000 will be the 250th anniversary of Johann Sebastian Bach's death. The festival marks the occasion with a series of concerts from England's New London Consort. March 17-19.
Ellington at 100 - Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Centre Jazz Orchestra will draw from almost 100 Ellington compositions to celebrate the 100th anniversary of his birth. March 3.
Orphee et Eurydice - the Berlioz version of Gluck's 1762 opera. With Welsh mezzo soprano Ann Taylor, New Zealand sopranos Jenny Wollerman and Andrea Creighton. March 14-15.
Dance Multiplicity, from Spain's national dance company, is inspired by the life and music of J. S. Bach. Choreographed by Nacho Duato. March 9-11.
Cool Heat Urban Beat - hip hop, jazz tap, a celebration of Afro-American dance culture. March 1-18, then at the Edge in Auckland March 22-26.
Iets Op Bach - dance theatre from Alain Patel with a cast of dancers, actors, fairground artists and children. March 3-5.
The Royal New Zealand Ballet performs a new work by Douglas Wright, Halo; Drifting Angels by Eric Languet and Drink To Me Only With Thine Eyes. March 23-26.
* See the festival programme for full listings.
Little scandal only lifts the interest
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