15 May 2017

Get ready for a burst of culture and entertainment in spring – the Arts Festival has announced three of its upcoming shows.

The 2017 Christchurch Arts Festival is still a few months away – opening on August 30 - but tickets for three shows go on sale today.

They are: Hudson & Halls Live!, a play about the flamboyant chefs who starred in a popular television cookery show in the 1970s and 80s; Matai  - part of the festival’s EMERGE: Works in Development programme; and Scriptless: First Class, featuring the alumni of Scared Scriptless, New Zealand’s longest-running comedy show, for one night only.

Tickets for Hudson & Halls Live! at the Christchurch Arts Festival go on sale th

Tickets for Hudson & Halls Live! at the Christchurch Arts Festival go on sale this week.

The shows are all presented as part of the 2017 Festival in association with The Court Theatre.

Hudson & Halls Live! is a Silo Theatre Production work co-created by Kip Chapman who directed the hugely successful That Bloody Woman for the 2015 Festival.

 As well as winning rave reviews from seasons in Auckland, Wellington and Wanaka, Hudson & Halls Live! scooped four major awards at last year’s Wellington Theatre Awards.

Arts Festival Director Craig Cooper says there is great fondness for the place Peter Hudson and David Halls hold in local history.

“They were New Zealand’s original great gay love story and this show captures the period so well – the days before Masterchef and social media. We’re delighted to have Hudson & Halls Live! as part of the festival.”

Cooper, who was one of the original Court Jesters, says when The Court came to him with the idea of gathering together the ‘first class’ of early improvisers together for the new Scriptless: First Class show he knew it had to happen.

“It’s been a few years since I’ve been back on stage and I’ve been invited, so I may just have to make an appearance that night.”

Tulou Productions’ Matai explores the journey of a young man trying to find a balance between traditional Samoan culture and modern life.  

The biennial Christchurch Arts Festival runs this year from August 30 to September 17 and features more than 50 shows, performances and events. The full programme will be announced on June 19 and tickets go on sale on June 21.

Tickets for Hudson & Halls Live!, Matai and Scriptless: First Class are on sale from today through The Court Theatre or 0800 333 100 or (03) 963-0870.