January Newsletter 2026

The year is underway, and all theatre and music projects from last year are rolling over and going into new phases of development.

In December ’25, Ali and I trialled our Colour & Song concert at Earth Song, and we are scheduled to present another concert on Jan 24th.   Ali paints watercolours while I play guitar, sing and tell stories. 

This format allows me to experiment; I’m able to do spoken word over a pre-recorded track on the loop pedal or sing to pre-recorded backing tracks from the studio, as well as play instrumental guitar. On the 24th, I’ll premiere two new songs, and I’m working on more sophisticated backing tracks. The character of this format is liberating in a quiet, unhurried way. There are moments when I finish a piece of music, and there is applause, but then silence as I prepare the next track, and in that moment, the audience is just sitting with us, going through time as we are going through it. I prepare the iPad, perhaps change instruments, but no chat, no banter, just quiet. Ali may tinkle her brush against the side of the glass as she washes the paint. Perhaps she will stand and clip a completed painting to the growing collection on the line, and then, when I’m ready, I resume playing. It’s all about letting there be time for the time that’s needed. I like this living through the liminal space, the transition; Ali and I are each in our own worlds, but together. The presence of one another is an intimacy that the audience becomes part of. We do this for 1hour and 20 minutes, and everybody in the audience goes home with a little watercolour.

Then on 31 January, I will direct a programme presented by the Auckland Opera Studio; the Matakana Opera Picnic. This year, there are two baritones, two tenors, three Sopranos and a piano on a multilevel stage: just big enough to allow some stage action and storytelling dynamic. The programme is an interesting collection of opera arias and musical theatre pieces. The finale is a 26-minute-long medley of songs from Les Misérables, for which I’m going to try and get everybody into costumes of the 1832 revolution and see if we can’t create a semblance of a staging of this amazing work. I’m sure a visit to my mates at First Scene Costume Hire will scare up some sartorial touches.

On February 3, rehearsals start up with the Glass Ceiling Arts Collective. Our knockout show from last year, The Village of 12 Nights, is going to have a repeat season in May, and we then go on to create a new work which will premiere in 2027. The work that we did last year has created a wonderful momentum, and with new people joining the company and strong ideas for the new work, it’s going to be a fun year. Their ideas can be off the wall, but often strangely profound.

Then, somewhere in March/April, I’ll begin my Teaching Fellow position at the University of Waikato and begin classes and rehearsals, working towards a showcase in October. This is always a highlight due to the calibre of the students and the strength of the programme run by my good mate Kristin Darragh, who drives us all along with affection and high standards!

Then, at the end of the year an extraordinary opportunity I really hope comes off, the premiere of Michael Williams’ new opera, Du’a-Prayer for Broken Shelter. This will be in Christchurch and will be a semi-staged affair (which has its own set of compromises), but a sublime new work and any involvement will be an absolute treat for me.

That’s a sketch of how the year is looking. I will check in again with some juicy (and gritty) details.

best wishes

John.