More festival fare — grab a second helping

Held every two years since 1986, Aotearoa New Zealand Festival of the Arts (ANZFA) has celebrated performance in all its forms for four decades. The thrill of a big festival is finding a hidden gem, an artist you didn’t previously know, or a breakout performance. Here is a selection of upcoming shows that you might not have considered. As always, with the ANZFA, the pedigree is excellent.

Here’s an adrenaline-fuelled celebration of sweat, strength and skill. Ten Thousand Hours is the brainchild of Australian circus company Gravity & Other Myths. It is a whānau -friendly spectacular involving eight world-class acrobats. They explore physical skill and how it’s perfected. Accompanied by live percussion, each leap, hold, and fall tells a story of discipline and discovery. It offers a rare glimpse into the countless hours needed to achieve the extraordinary.

Theatre news website Broadway World declared this show “…impossible not to take note and listen.” Nowhere is an intricate solo show by acclaimed British-Egyptian actor and activist Khalid Abdalla. He takes the audience on a journey through his own life against a cartography of seismic world events. It traces a path from colonialism and decolonisation, friendship and loss, protests and uprisings, to the ongoing violence in Gaza. Abdalla asks how we get here amidst the mazes of history.

With humour, honesty and a quiet, powerful presence, Samoan musician and disability advocate Fonotī Pati Umaga shares his remarkable story. In 2005, a fall left Fonotī a tetraplegic. It led to years of challenge and self-made darkness before he found renewed purpose and healing in unexpected places. Backed by a powerhouse Pacific creative team, the show blends live music, storytelling and striking visuals to honour a man who continues to rise.

Stars of the literary world descend on Wellington for two days during the Aotearoa New Zealand Festival of the Arts. Verb Wellington has partnered with the festival for the Writers Weekend. From abroad, Simon Winchester (UK/USA) and Natasha Brown (UK) speak about new novels. A powerhouse lineup of Aotearoa writers also takes to the stage, including Poet Laureate Robert Sullivan, Elizabeth Knox, Lili Wilkinson, Nadine Hura and Bill Manhire.

Part choreography, part ritual, Mythosoma is a visceral new dance work that explores how shock and trauma live on in muscle, voice, and silence. It’s shifting forces rippling through time. Through loops, breathwork, disoriented timelines, and suspended gestures, the performers create a live landscape where the body flickers between presence and absence, control and release. Director Kelly Nash has created a bold and uncompromising work.

Here’s one of Aotearoa’s most exciting new artists. Rapper and singer-songwriter MĀ brings her genre-blending sound to a Wellington audience. Her raw and poetic work seamlessly fuses neo-soul, jazz, and hip hop. Expect a set featuring early works, highlights from her sophomore album Blame it on the Weather, award-nominated waiata , and a taste of brand-new material from her upcoming release.