Community Halls
Amongst the general chaos of what it is to be human, there are days when it almost makes sense. One moment you’re being asked to reflect on the state of our arts sector, the next you’re literally rubbing shoulders with all your creative friends in a massive venue, then a day later you’re watching the same thing play out on a different scale in a tiny rural hall.
I love community halls. One of the delights of my working life has been touring small town New Zealand and playing a myriad of gorgeous rooms in Balcairn, Reefton, Picton, Wairoa, Putāruru… I reckon I’ve seen most of the halls and theatres from Kaitaia to Rakiura / Stewart Island. At least, the ones that have survived.
Dame Lynda Topp talked about these places in her impassioned speech at the Aotearoa Music Awards this May, just a few days after Dame Jools had died.
"When we performed 40 years ago there were hundreds of venues in this country,” Dame Lynda said. “We played in cafes and pubs, rural halls, woolsheds, house parties, and now we've lost so many of those places for young artists to perform in.”
She said we need support for artists in this country, and that “we need a government that says the arts is more important than a defence budget.” And she urged artists to, “Never give up. Play your instrument loud and sing at the top of your lungs, and remember that music makes us human."
Three weeks later in that same big room, the Viaduct Events Centre, over a thousand of us gathered to celebrate Dame Jools’ life. I woke that morning looking forward to seeing so many friends, some of whom I’ve known for decades from television in the 80s, comedy from the 1990s, and just from scraping by as creative worker.
It was a beautiful celebration, and Dame Lynda continued to be what the Topp Twins have always been – funny, kind, political, honest, uncompromising and filled with love for the whole community of Aotearoa.
And the very next day I was immersed in yet another creative community, in one of the country halls that has survived. Survived because passionate locals have made sure they did.
Fran and Ian Farrant are the volunteer administrator and chair of the Buckland Community Centre in Franklin District on the edge of the Bombay Hills.
There has been much fundraising for sound and lighting, and now there’s an annual talent show, an opportunity for local tamariki and rangatahi – and those from further afield – to come and shine as singers, dancers and actors.
I had the privilege of MCing this year’s “Franklin’s Got Talent” – a veritable feast of show tunes, original songs, an acapella choir, a touch of Puccini, some Disney and just enough Johnny Cash.
Some of these performers could absolutely turn professional – there is certainly the talent to make it work.
Others might choose to keep performing as a sideline to another career – there is a lot of truly excellent amateur theatre being made in this country. I think about my mother who gave up professional acting to have a family and then got endless joy out of being involved on and off the stage at our local theatre.
But for these things to happen, we need to keep the buildings, save the spaces where we can go be a performer and an audience. That takes more than local fundraising. It requires encouragement and support from our arts leadership. We don’t want to be the last ones to have known these rooms.