NBR New Zealand Opera's The Marriage of Figaro is as engrossing a night of theatre as one could wish for.

Michele Hine is revelling in a trio of rich maternal roles _ from Go Girls' downtrodden parent, to fading theatrical star, to hell-bent control freak in the Auckland production of The House Of Bernada Alba.

Dame Pat Evison, a much-loved stalwart of New Zealand radio, television and theatre who died at the weekend, will long be remembered for her colourful contribution, colleagues say.

A vivid portrait of a time and a place, I can see exactly why UK author Amanda Craig's sixth novel was longlisted for the 2010 Orange Prize.

Liz Caughey has curated an affordable exhibition to raise money for her Braveheart Youth Trust.

Art gallery listings.

There was a buzz and a bustle in the Town Hall foyer as punters collected tickets for Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra's Happy Hour concert.

There's something buttoned up and restrained about Charlotte Grimshaw's writing, something as middle class as the characters whose stories she tells and, I imagine, as the people who tend to read them.

The complicated and sensitive world of artists is explored in Sarah Thornton's new book. She talks to Stephen Jewell.

Opening with the eternal question - 'what do you do with a BA in English?' - Avenue Q dispenses a bright and breezy antidote to the pressures of life in the big city.

This memoir by New Zealand children's author William Taylor is, I am delighted to report, an endearing collection of his experiences.

Poets of their Age presented three first-generation Romantic composers coming to terms with the expressive potential of the symphony orchestra.

A near-full house of fans greeted Australian writer Thomas Keneally when he walked on stage at the ASB Centre yesterday morning for an hour of soul-baring revelations and a great deal of humour.

Lionel Shriver and Charlie Higson tackle the sensitive topic of death in very different ways.