Jack McGee
Te Auaha, which is currently set to host over 35 shows this Fringe, is at serious risk of being closed. Mayor Tory Whanau has asked the government to intervene, but considering this is likely a consequence of the coalition's plan to dissolve Te Pukenga, it’s unlikely we’ll see them come to the rescue.
Lift Off! is a project that has existed in some form or another since 2019. It’s a vehicle for Te Auaha to platform two or three of their recent graduates and give them the resources to create a short work. It’s got a strong track record. Past subjects include Adriana Calabrese of Sense and Sensibility fame (who’s onstage sister Lily Tyler Moore pops up in a small role this time around), Beth Alexandra Sammons, whose dance show Paradox blew me away in 2023, and Aria Leader-Fiamati who played Little Red Riding Hood in WITCH’s staging of Into The Woods.
Lift Off! is the kind of project that keeps the art industry alive. It helps bridge the gap between student and working artist, and offers people an opportunity at the exact right time in their life to take advantage of it. If it’s not clear, I’m fairly distraught that this might get lost in the budget trimming crossfire, and that heavily affects how I view these two shows.
The first piece, The Butterfly Effect, is a dance work choreographed and performed by Emma Taylor, along with an expansive ensemble. It’s a strong first piece of choreography. Taylor weaves in recurring motifs well, musing on the ripple effects of human action. It’s far from groundbreaking, but Taylor takes good advantage of the scale of her ensemble. Michael Trigg accentuates Taylor’s striking images well with his lighting design. It uses colour well, coming off moody and tasteful - with the exception of a few uncalled for gobos.
Ultimately, Butterfly Effect feels like a great proof of concept for Lift Off!. It gives Taylor the opportunity to choreograph a work with a large team, something that’d be difficult to pull together without Te Auaha’s support. While her dancers are clearly still in training, she comes out of the project as an artist to watch.
The second piece, The Leftovers, is created by Maya Gatling. It’s an original jukebox musical inspired by the experiences of African American’s in 1800s New Orleans. Its soundtrack is primarily made up of gospel music (with a little Lin Manuel sprinkled in). As a play, similarly to Butterfly Effect, it’s a strong first effort. While it has a beautifully composed closing monologue, the script as a whole feels broad. Alongside this, the dark nature of its subject matter is occasionally too much for its young performers to handle with grace. None of this matters. The only thing that matters, is Maya Gatling and her voice.
Maya Gatling can sing. She can play it big, hit the hard notes, fill a room. It’s spectacular to watch. But the thing that really makes her a star, is the fact that she can under-do it. She can sit in a note, and let it hang soft. She can take her time to get where she’s going. There’s confidence and maturity there.
If you could gamble on Wellington Theatre, I’d put money that Gatling will be following her co-star Lily Tyler Moore onto the Circa Main stage within a couple of years. It feels like a sure bet. If we lose Lift Off!, if we lose Te Auaha, I’m worried we will lose the next Maya Gatling. The next Adriana Calabrese, alongside all the people who do the less flashy jobs behind the scenes, the people who make our industry tick. This was the sixth instalment of Lift Off!, and we can only hope it won’t be the last.