20 February 2025
It’s always an exciting time when our friends at the New Zealand Fringe Festival bring artists across multiple disciplines into the spotlight to showcase new ideas and works in development. This year, a number of familiar #WellJazzFest faces are taking the stage with new and evolved projects, bringing a mix of genres, storytelling, and experimentation to the stage.
Here are a few shows you might enjoy from the extensive Fringe programme.
The Nature Project: Iris Little
Te Whanganui-a-Tara, singer-songwriter and storyteller Iris Little brings The Nature Project to the Hannah Playhouse this Fringe Festival.
Told in five parts, this emotionally rich cycle of songs, poems and ambient interludes explores our relationship with, and disconnection from, the natural world.
Blending a fusion of indie-folk, jazz, and neo-soul with emotionally honest voice and stage presence, experience Iris’ spellbinding story-telling ability as they guide the audience through feelings of departure, birth, and the pain of separation, towards reconnection and acceptance with time, love and recognition.
28 February, 8pm, Hannah Playhouse
https://tickets.fringe.co.nz/event/446:6115/446:23566/
Waypeople: Jake Baxendale
After a standout 2023 Wellington Jazz Festival premiere performance, commissioned artist Jake Baxendale returns with Waypeople, a musical journey through the Tao Te Ching – an ancient Chinese text of great philosophical and spiritual importance.
With lyrics from Ursula K. Le Guin’s Tao Te Ching translations, this work fuses contemporary jazz with ancient Chinese wisdom. Featuring the vocals of Auckland-based Chelsea Prastiti and anchored by the guzheng (Chinese string instrument) played by Jia Ling, this unique listening experience will linger long after leaving the theatre.
1 March, 7pm + 9pm, Hannah Playhouse
https://tickets.fringe.co.nz/event/446:6112/
The Chasm Where We Fall Into Each Other: Louisa Williamson
APRA Award-winning composer and 2024 Wellington Jazz Festival commissioned artist Louisa Williamson returns with an evolution of The Chasm Where We Fall Into Each Other. This sell-out show at last year’s Wellington Jazz Festival left audiences in a trance, exploring the complexities of connection, vulnerability and discovery through a fusion of jazz, hip-hop, soul, classical, and electronic sounds.
Engaging with the idea of ‘the divide’, the music is crafted to each musician’s strengths, creating a landscape built on musical authenticity and honesty, exploring the boundaries within the divides of genre and sound.
7 March, 7.30pm + 9.30pm, Hannah Playhouse
https://tickets.fringe.co.nz/event/446:6109/
Deva Mahal
Closing out the Festival is soulstress Deva Mahal.
A rare combination of masterful songwriting and breathtaking vocal talent, Deva Mahal was born with blues in her blood. From gracing some of the world’s greatest stages including Carnegie Hall, Bonnaroo, the Montreal Jazz Festival, and many more, Deva now takes to the Hannah Playhouse with a brand-new show.
With new music on the way, this performance promises to be a multi-disciplinary experience featuring some of Deva’s closest collaborators.
8 March, 7.30pm + 9.30pm, Hannah Playhouse
https://tickets.fringe.co.nz/event/446:6114/
Known as the craziest, most vibrant and bizarre time in our city, the Fringe Festival 14 February - 8 March is a great opportunity to support local artists and venues and experience something new. Check out the full programme.
