06 May 2010
ERUPT Lake Taupo Festival launchestoday with an explosive programme of entertainment that is expected to attract record sales at the box office.
Festival Director Drew James said “ticket sales to date are stronger than the recorded attendance for ERUPT 2008. The Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra, theatre show SALON and the Italian Cellar Dinner featuring writer Nicky Pellegrino have all completely sold out.Te Radar’s comedy Eating the Dog, and soul diva Whirimako Black are also proving very popular.”
Whirimako Black headlines two shows at ERUPT, Whirimako Sings at The Crater Room in Taupo and the first ever Jazz by the Lake at Little Waihi on the southern end of Lake Taupo.
“I love Taupo, I have roots,whakapapa to the Ngati Tuwharetoa iwi and I have waited over 10 years to be invited to come and sing to my people,and to sing to our New Zealand public that live in Taupo and are visitors to Taupo,” Whirimako said.
Hot tickets still available at ERUPT include circus act Adagio, Australian comedy show Joel Salom’s Gadgets, Taiaroa Royal and Taane Mete’s autobiographical dance show Tama Ma, Taki Rua Production’s latest show Mark Twain and Me in Māoriland and Jackie Clarke’s cabaret La Belle Jacqueline.
"La Belle Jacqueline is an extreme super-glamorous version of myself. Shes like a ball gown I truss myself into when I want to forget that Im a really a Grey Lynn mother of two who is frequently cleaning toilets and scraping congealed peanut butter off the kitchen table. Shes a fantasist who escapes the vicissitudes of life by diving into songs – that’s something we definitely have in common,” Jackie Clarke said.
For those simply journeying through Taupo during ERUPT in May there is a feast of visual arts to check out. Magpie - New adventures in jewellery features jewellery stars such as Lisa Walker in a showcase of works created from a diverse array of non-traditional materials. This exhibition is on throughout ERUPT at Taupo Museum. Underland Domain is a free interactive show being staged at the Taupo Cenotaph that invites visitors to trigger the forces that lie below the rich volcanic plateau. The multi-media show is a collaboration between choreographer and artist Shona McCullagh and musician Michael Hodgson. Underland Domain is one of three works specially commissioned for ERUPT Lake Taupo Festival 2010.
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