What's Going on...
 

Harlequins Rugby League
Come along and experience some top class rugby league in London, as well as local talent, with Aussie & Kiwi players Mark McLinden, Scott Hill and Henry Paul. Home games are played at Twickenham Stoop Stadium on the following dates:
7 SEPT Vs Catalan Dragons 3pm
Tickets East Stand Tickets are £10 Adults, £5 Children under the age of 16 years & students or Season Ticket Offer are £65 Adults, £25 Children under the age of 16 and students (more info)

Special screening of the seminal film: Sleeping Dogs
Tuesday 2 September 2008
with The New Zealand Society
Special screening of the seminal film
Sleeping Dogs (1977, Roger Donaldson, 107mins)
To be introduced by C.K. Stead
Based on the novel Smith's Dream, by C.K. Stead, Sleeping Dogs depicts an imagined near-future New Zealand. Predating the 1981 anti-apartheid demonstrations, the film depicts a state of emergency, revolutionary action, and civil division.
This event is in association with the New Zealand Society.

Shaky Isles Theatre
is the UK's only New Zealand theatre company presenting cutting edge work in London. Shaky Isles Theatre is dedicated to presenting culturally diverse and innovative theatre in the UK and giving New Zealand theatre artists and playwrights a platform for their work in the UK and abroad
(more info)

SHEBANG THEATRE
The Company was founded in February 2008. It is based in London and dedicated to presenting New Zealand, Australian and Pacific work.

Now showing...
KATE & MRS JONES
by Lorae Parry
When two high-flying women find love, there's a long way to fall...
Francesca Jones is a first-time candidate for parliament, contesting a seat held by an arch conservative. She's the wife of a former All-Black and the mother of a dope-smoking teenager.
Kate Lawrence is a high-profile TV journalist, single and sexy, with a private past. She's angling for a top new current affairs job, with an ambitious young man as her rival.
Set in the run-up to the 2008 elections in New Zealand, "Kate & Mrs Jones" is a comedy, alove-story, and a reflection on the problems women face on the path to power.
Season: 27 September to 18 October
Tuesday - Saturday 8pm
(more info)

Now showing...
The Pioneers
Pioneers tells the story of the people who chose to leave Victorian England and Ireland to settle in the wilderness that would have been New Zealand 150 years ago. On the way they encounter hardship and uncertainty, freedom and love, but, most importantly, the prospect of a new beginning full of possibility.
In Pioneers, David Leahy, Angeline Conaghan and Ben Brewer tell the remarkable story of three of their ancestors who travelled the oceans of the world to discover a very different New Zealand from the one they had imagined. Using original acoustic music based on texts by leading New Zealand poets plus story-telling and character portrayal, the three musicians bring the poignant, personal journeys to life. The show also incorporates a visually stunning backdrop of New Zealand scenery and images mixed in with rarely seen digitally reproduced archival images of Magic Lantern slides.
Pioneers presented by seethrewmusic (www.seethrewmusic.com)  at the Pacific Playhouse 
Sundays 2pm: 28th September, 5th & 12th October

Photo exhibition : New Zealand’s centenary as a dominion
Beehive hair ‘dos’, the grand opening of New Zealand House and Kiwi trade and lifestyle from the 1950s all feature in a photographic exhibition opening 26 Sept to 26 Sept 2008 to mark the centenary of New Zealand becoming a dominion.   The exhibition highlights the NZ-UK relationship since 1907 and New Zealand’s evolving national identity through a range of historic snapshots from the High Commission’s photo archive.
Rt Hon Jonathan Hunt ONZ, New Zealand High Commissioner, says that while many New Zealanders in the UK might not realise the significance of the first Dominion Day - 26 September 1907 - it was an important date in terms of our national story. “The move from being a colony to a dominion within the British Empire had considerable symbolic significance in New Zealand’s development.  It signalled New Zealand was a country in its own right and also reflected our own growing sense of maturity,” says Mr Hunt.
New Zealand was proclaimed a dominion on 26 September 1907 when Prime Minister Sir Joseph Ward made the announcement from the steps of Parliament.  Commemorations of the centenary in Wellington on 26 September 2007 (NZ time) included a re-enactment of the proclamation and a symposium, opened by the Prime Minister Rt Hon Helen Clark, to debate the concepts of nationhood.
The High Commission’s exhibition includes snapshots from the opening of New Zealand House, the carving of Te Pouihi, trade and lifestyle pictures from the 1950s/60s and sporting, defence and royal links. It finishes with images from recent events such as the 2006 dedication of the New Zealand memorial. 
“There is something for everyone in this exhibition and while providing a walk down memory lane, it reminds us of the growth and the future of the NZ-UK relationship,” says Mr Hunt.  
2007 is also the 60th anniversary of New Zealand’s adoption of the Statute of Westminster which gave the New Zealand parliament full legislative powers from Britain.
The exhibition opens on 26 September and runs until 26 September, 2008.
Open: 9am – 6pm. Mezzanine floor, New Zealand House, 80 Haymarket, London SW1Y 4TQ.

Pre-Season Cup
Saturday 30th August 2008
Barn Elms Sports Grounds, Putney
The Pre-Season Cup is a one-day rugby and netball tournament designed to solve your pre-season coaching needs and team bonding all in one!
All teams are guaranteed a minimum of four 20-minute games before the knockout stages, with a maximum of six games all up. This is your chance to try old and new players alike in different combinations, with breaks between your games for the opportunity to make changes and reflect on performances.
There will also be Rugby Union coaching and referee sessions, focusing on the new ELV rules for the 2008/09 season, with top quality RFU-qualified personal.
The tournament will end with an official after party which is the perfect chance for pre-season team bonding. All players get free entry! (more info)

Enjoy Everything Kiwi at TOAST 2008
Friday 26 September 2008 Kensington Olympia
Toast Festival’s 2008 is the largest celebration of the Southern Hemisphere within the UK. This year Australia will be kicking off the festivities on the Friday afternoon at 3pm until 10pm at the Grand Hall Kensington Olympia. Weather-friendly this year, and with all the wine and food from previous years, it is set to be the best annual Antipodean festival the UK has ever seen.
Jimmy Barnes will be arriving in London this September to play just for you. He's tasted glory as Australia's favourite rock singer for more than three decades. In the 21st century, he has climbed back to the top of the charts and to the top of his game.
Tickets start at £30 and it is advised to book early as previous years have sold out fast! A 2-day pass is available at £55 (more info)