Although a wonderful Festival of Colour week has ended some experiences will stay in our memories for much longer. Here are just some of the Wanaka App’s favourite moments from the 2021 Festival Of Colour.

Owls Do Cry

When I was a teenager a teacher recommended I read Janet Frame’s novel Owls Do Cry, so I did, and its imagery blew my mind.

Red Leap Theatre’s show Owls Do Cry in the Lake Wānaka Centre on Friday evening (April 16) blew my mind once more. This was theatre at its best, with the audience engaged (and involved) from the first moments and kept engaged by the imagery, dance, music, humour and drama.

No movement was wasted; each scene conveyed an emotion (or suppressed emotion) precisely, beautifully and with impact. As performer Hannah Lynch said, in relation to Janet Frame’s 1957 book which inspires the performance, “the soft meat” falls away, and you’re left looking at “the bones”.

This was the sort of performance you hope to experience in theatre, but seldom do. Bravo. 

A Turkish Dog

Barnaby Olson with Helena, the dog he brought back from Turkey. PHOTO: Wanaka App

A Traveller’s Guide to Turkish Dogs, performed in the Hāwea Flat Hall, was another piece of (gentler) theatrical magic.

The show follows Barney’s OE to Turkey, where we meet his clever shapeshifting fellow actors. Together they weave a tale of marina life, Turkish mythology, and the power of a relationship with man’s best friend.

The blurb promised “heartwarming dog content”, and the show provided it throughout 70 minutes with a cardboard box as the dog, but (spoiler alert) the impact of real life Helena’s appearance at the end left few dry eyes among the audience. 

The Artist

Despite not uttering a single word, circus performer Thomas Monckton had the audience heaving with laughter during his physical theatre comedy performance about an eccentric artist with a creative block. 

Performing onstage with an easel, a table and not much else, Thomas took the ‘oh-so-serious’ scene of an artist at work and turned it into dorky, hilarious comedy gold.

The light-hearted show, a welcome break for the brain after the many intellectually stimulating events during the week, was brilliantly simple.

The Locals

Lily Shaw PHOTO: Ray Tiddy

Wellington-based musicians and former Mount Aspiring College (MAC) Rosie Spearing and Lily Shaw returned to Wanaka for performances at the Pacific Crystal Palace. 

Singer and guitarist Rosie performed with her band Alba Rose, which featured a second local, Rory Johns. Alba Rose brought soul, R&B, and indie-pop influences, thoughtful lyrics, and plenty of banter, for the packed event. 

Rosie Spearing PHOTO: Ray Tiddy

Up second at ‘The Locals’ was Lily, who showcased her impressive vocal range and skills on multiple instruments alongside her band. The young musician, who recently graduated from jazz school in Wellington, was singled out by tutors as a great composer. She brought the Wanaka audience a sophisticated jazz performance with a modern, R’n’B edge; long, slow songs and plenty of saxophone playing added to the ethereal feel of the performance.

The festival organisers promised to bring back “some heart and soul, some creative joy” to Wanaka audiences after a difficult year, and they certainly delivered. Thank you once again, Festival of Colour.