Lost & Found #28: The Arrival, New Zealand International Arts Festival 2010

The Arrival at the New Zealand International Arts Festival 2010

Today's Lost & Found is an image from the 2010 New Zealand International Arts Festival, and as was so often the case, was something that just happened in front of me when I found myself in exactly the right spot.

I was the Festival's first (and only!) photographer from 2004 - 2012, so being the only one covering 24 days of shows, social functions, venue setups and rehearsals often meant I only got to see something for the first time when I was there to cover it; and what I learned over the years is that it's usually best in that situation to just trust my instincts completely.

It's hard to explain, but sometimes I would just find myself moving from one side of the theatre to the other, without there being anything on stage that would obviously motivate me to do that; and more often than not, once I got there I could see why I did it - perhaps it's a matter of getting in sync with the choreographer or director's own rhythm of staging, and just anticipating what they would do next without knowing why; or, maybe it's just a hunch.

Either way, this was a perfect example - I managed to drift right to the spot I needed to be for this moment in Red Leap Theatre's marvellous show, The Arrival. I didn't know much about the show - just what was in the brochure - but I was really impressed with the production, and very glad it went on to more success elsewhere after the season in Wellington!

As with many of the shows I photographed for the Festival, the company licensed my images to promote the show elsewhere, so perhaps this one has seen the light since then, I'm not sure - but there are so many more to choose from, it's quite possible it hasn't! See the gallery below if you're interested in some others...