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Salient. Victoria University Student Newspaper. Vol. 35. No. 12. 7 June 1972

Previews

Previews

Once Upon a Planet one of the highlights of the recent Auckland Festival opens on Tuesday June 6th at Downstage.

Created by Theatre Action the French-trained theatre group that presented Gawayne and other Things at Downstage earlier this year Once Upon a Planet was described as "brilliant" and as "one of the cleverest and most adroit theatrical productions for many a year" by Auckland theatre critics.

The six members of Theatre Action have collectively produced Once Upon a Planet which tells of five clowns who decide one day to say farewell to this worn out planet and search for a new and untouched world, if such a place exists, and who, when they believe they have found it, try to start life anew.

Once Upon a Planet is having a limited season at Downstage which must end on June l7th.

The Coffee Powered Freak Show examines prejudice of all kinds, examines New Zealand attitudes to sport and racism, and shows some facets of life in South Africa.

Politics and sport? Sport and politics? These are familiar topics in New Zealand at the present time. Normally discussion of the relationship between New Zealand's national game and her international image takes the form of t.v. debates and protest meetings. Now Downstage will try to put attitudes into a theatrical perspective in The Coffee Powered Freak Show which opens a series of late night performances on June 11th.

In a series of sketches, some, debates, and plays The Coffee Powered Freak Show sheds new light on familiar themes. Donna Akersten, John Banas, Russell Duncan, Janice Finn and John Reid are the actors appearing in the show. They are assisted by Wellington singer and song-writer Val Murphy.

The Coffee Powered Freak Show has been devised by the cast with Sunny Amey, Robert Lord, Nonnita Mann, Phillip Mann, Richard Rothrock, Raymond Simenauer, and Chris Wainwright.

The first performance of the show will be on Sunday June 11th at 9pm. The show will be presented again every night from Monday June 12th to Friday June 16th at 11pm.

The Great Learning

The first chapter of the Confucian Classic with music in seven paragraphs by Cornelius Cardew (dedicated to the Scratch Orchestra)

Extract from paragraph 5.

"the Firelighting Component from the book of Kwang-Sze. "In the second part of the performance I made it describe the harmony of the Yin and Yang, and threw around it the brilliance of the sun and moon. Its notes were now short, now long, now soft and now hard. Their changes however were marked by an unbroken unity, though not dominated by a fixed regularity. They filled up every valley and ravine; you might shut up every crevice and guard your spirit, yet there was nothing but gave admission to them. — the sun and moon and all the stars of the zodiac followed their courses. I made (my instruments) leave off when the performance came to an end, and their echoes flowed on without stopping. — all amazed, you stood in the way all open around you, and then you leant against an old dryandra tree and hummed. The power of your eyes was exhausted by what you wished to see; your strength failed in your desire to pursue it. Your body was but so much empty vacancy while you endeavoured to retain your self-possession:- it was that endeavour that made you weary"

For the realization of the seven paragraphs 70 performers are required - untrained singers and musicians and trained musicians and singers - from inside or outside any institution.

Groups have been rehearsing in Auckland and Christchurch, and in Wellington each Monday at 7.30pm 77 Kelburn Pde. Each group will make their way to Auckland in August, Universities Arts Festival collaborating in the complete performance, as well as other activities. Those interested phone 57263 ask Graeme or arrive at rehearsals on Monday.