Gala Night
Saturday 14 August, 7pm - 10pm
Glen Eden Playhouse
15 Glendale Rd, Glen Eden, Auckland
With a new, hard hitting book traversing his Navy-barracks upbringing, the Fijian-born Daren Kamali took to the stage and trade poems with Tongan/Aotearoa poet Karlo Mila performing her politically charged work.
Award–winning journalist Simon Wilson was our orator for the evening, addressing the theme of Stranded in Paradise.
Singer-songwriter Charlotte Yates staged a significant literary/musical performance, traversing her four standout albums of New Zealand poetry-to-song. She was accompanied by multi-instrumentalist extraordinaire Show Pony and the golden voices of Julia Deans and Sandy Mill.
In between guests, Sandy Mill donned her DJ hat to tie the evening together with the best Aotearoa-only tunes. The evening was MCed by Pīta Turei.
Discover our Gala Night writers and performers
Simon Wilson is an award-winning senior writer with the NZ Herald, where he writes feature articles and a weekly column covering politics, climate change, the arts, transport, urban design and other matters. He has been editor of Metro magazine, Auckland editor at The Spinoff, editor of Cuisine and Consumer magazines and chief subeditor of NZ Listener. Simon is an occasional essayist, the author of a novel, The Age of Light (1994), and editor of the Journal of Urgent Writing (vol 2, 2017). In 2016 he chaired the non-fiction judging panel in the Ockham NZ Book Awards.
Daren Kamali is a Pacific poet and the Senior Pacific Curator at Auckland Libraries. His poetry books include Tales, Poems and Songs from the Underwater World (2011), Squid Out of Water: The Evolution (2014), and What Becomes of the Flying Squid? (2016). He has also released two albums, Story (2000) and Keep it Real (2005). Kamali is internationally acknowledged, being the Fulbright Pacific Writer in Residence at University of Hawai’i, Manoa 2012, and holding a residency at the International Writers Program in the USA in 2014. Photo by Raymond Sagapolutele.
Dr Karlo Mila (MNZM) is an award winning Pasifika poet of Tongan / Palangi descent. Her third poetry book The Goddess Muscle was released in 2020. Her first book won the First Best Book Award at the New Zealand literary awards in 2005. She is the Programme Director Mana Moana Experience at Leadership New Zealand and is the founder and creator of Mana Moana - aimed at elevating and harnessing indigenous Pacific knowledge for contemporary living and leadership.
Charlotte Yates is a singer songwriter who has released seven solo albums plus a catalogue of compilations and collaborative work. Over the last two decades, she has helmed four poetry- to- song projects with albums and concerts devoted to the poetry and lyrics by James K Baxter, Hone Tuwhare and Witi Ihimaera. Her latest project set poetry by Katherine Mansfield to music by a fine array of songwriters from all over Aotearoa.
Having first come to the fore as the sassy and beguiling front woman for Fur Patrol at the turn of the century, the past decade has seen Julia Deans transition from iconic rock chick to glorious songbird. Deans has delved into a long list of musical projects over the years. She’s worked with acts like The Adults, SJD, and Neil Finn, performed in an impressive array of arts festival shows and worked with the Auckland Philharmonia and Christchurch Symphony Orchestras. Photo by Brady Dyer.
Show Pony aka Emily Clemett is a highly sought after multi-instrumentalist who hails from Wellington with an enviable bag of musical tricks - trumpet, violin, backing vocals and a taste of percussion, making her the musical equivalent of the Swiss Army Knife. Returning to Wellington teaching, touring and performing throughout the UK and Europe, Show Pony currently performs with The Wooden Box Band, SkaPai, The Zimmermans and Charlotte Yates. Image: Charlotte Yates performing with Show Pony.
Sandy Mill is one of Aotearoa’s top vocalists, a songwriter, producer, and DJ, with bragging rights in collaboration with some of New Zealand’s musical legends, Pitch Black, Don McGlashan and Neil Finn.
Her 2018 debut solo EP ‘A Piece of Me’ reached NZ Top 20 charts; And she was a finalist in the 2018 Waiata Māori Music Awards for 'Best Female Solo Artist'.
Our MC and longstanding Going West supporter Pīta Turei (Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, Ngāti Pāoa, Nga Rauru Kiitahi) comes from a background in dance and theatre. He produces and directs independent kaupapa Māori documentaries for television and film. Turei is known as a kawa advisor, storyteller and orator connecting a new generation with the ancient histories of Tāmaki Makaurau. Photo by Liz March.
Getting there
Our Gala Night is at the Glen Eden Playhouse Theatre, 15 Glendale Road, Glen Eden, Auckland 0602
The theatre is wheelchair accessible, with two seating spaces for wheelchairs. Book your space at iTICKET.
Glen Eden is accessible by public transport, situated on the Western train line and serviced by the 154 and 172 Buses. On Saturday buses and trains run til midnight. Use at.govt.nz/bus-train-ferry/ to plan your night.
Parking is available at the rear of the theatre and at the Glen Eden Shopping Mall
Stranded in Paradise, Going West’s 2021 Live season
The world has shifted. A pandemic has altered the way time and geography work here in Aotearoa, changing our physical connection to the world. Are we stranded in Paradise? Or are we reweaving the strands of our reality into something new? It’s a conversation ripe with possibility — and we’re inviting you to join it.
Going West Live brings four truly unique events to Lopdell House, Te Uru Waitākere Contemporary Gallery and the Glen Eden Playhouse. Across these iconic west Auckland venues, our most potent storytellers, musicians and performing artists will engage in oratory, discussion and performance.