CHOP CHOP HIYAAA!
18/03/2017 - 18/03/2017
Capital E National Arts Festival
Production Details
Created and performed by Anika Moa
Renowned Kiwi musician presents live show for children Performed by Anika Moa.
Much-loved Kiwi musician and provocateur Anika Moa is to perform a live show for children as part of Capital E’s National Arts Festival, hot on the heels of the release of her Songs for Bubbas 2.
Although Anika is best known for her many hit singles and chart-topping albums, she has also released two albums aimed at kids, which parents have become hooked on. Songs for Bubbas has been described as ‘one of the very best’ albums for children by Stuff.co.nz, and her second album for bubbas has also met critical acclaim. Anika’s children’s’ albums are inspired by and tested on her own kids, who have given her releases their own stamp of approval.
Anika, an award-winning recording artist who has topped New Zealand charts numerous times since 2001, will perform the world premiere of Chop Chop Hiyaaa! at Wellington’s Opera House on Saturday 18 March. The show is part of the public programme of Capital E’s National Arts Festival 2017, and she will also perform numerous shows for school students as part of the festival’s educational programme.
Chop Chop Hiyaaa! tells a terrific, wonderful and charming tale of little boys and girls, taniwha, witches, hungry animals and generally frightful fun in both English and Te Reo. Audiences are likely to cry tears of joy during this 45-minute show full of singing and dancing.
Festival producer Melanie Hamilton says “Capital E is thrilled to have Anika Moa as part of our National Arts Festival this year. She’s one of Aotearoa’s most loved musicians, and her children’s music is bursting with humour, charm and mayhem. We know families and children will adore the world premiere of Chop Chop Hiyaaa!.”
School students will also enjoy A Musical Conversation with Anika Moa as part of the Festival’s education component. This relaxed show will give students a glimpse into Anika’s creative process and inspirations, and a behind-the-scenes look at her as a professional musician. This stripped-back show, which will also feature Anika performing some favourite songs for young people, offers children candid insight into her career as a touring performer.
Public performance:
The Opera House, Wellington
Sat 18 March 2017
10am
For more information or to purchase tickets to Chop Chop Hiyaaa!, visit www.capitale.org.nz/portfolio-posts/chop-chop-hiyaaa
Theatre , Musical , Family , Children’s , Solo ,
45 mins
Fizzing with skill, energy and wit
Review by Anna Bate 18th Mar 2017
The world premiere of Chop Chop Hiyaaa!, a live music show featuring the work of Anika Moa’s second kids album Songs for Bubba’s Two’, took place at The Opera House in Wellington this morning. This was a highly anticipated event amongst some of the circles I hang out with. Exciting!
The cat (Anika Moa), the witch (vocalist) and the taniwhai (drummer), perform in front of a shimmering, tasselling, silver-foil backdrop to an audience of adults and under eights. As Anika points out the ratio of adults to kids is high, but it’s a sure sign of the success of this show that the adults are laughing, yelling, singing and dancing (almost) as much as the kids.
The flow of the show is well balanced, flicking between upbeat dance tracks (‘A Haka Ma’, ‘Oma Rapeti’), songs with audience participation (‘Colours Are Beautiful’, ‘Taniwha, Taniwha’) and narrative tunes (‘My Nana’s Farm’ and ‘The Witch of Maketu’). All three performers are in fine form, fizzing with skill, energy and wit. I was mighty impressed with, not only the stunning vocals and clever songs, but the lighting, staging, character portrayals and effortless humour that punctuated the show.
I had wondered how The Opera House would work as a venue for young kids, they tend to want to move. No problem. I look down the row during the ‘Chop Chop Hiyaaa!’ song, and there are myriad limbs cutting the air with precision. Turns out these seats (and songs) are made for dancing.
And there is plenty of dancing, in seats, aisles and in front of the stage. It fills me with glee to witness the uninhibited dance moves that catchy tunes like ‘If I Had a Little Girl’ produces in the bodies of these children. Fun, funny and fancy free. We venture to the designated dance floor for the final two songs. A stimulation overload perhaps (for the three year old), but I’m pleased to experience the volume, see the sweaty stars up close and be amongst the dancing diehard fans as they literally rock out to ‘Tahi, Rua, Toru, Wha’.
Bravo!
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