Fringe handicapped

Press, 31 January 1986, Page 18

Fringe handicapped

The Flying Kiwi Fringe Festival is well down on its target of $lOO,OOO to fund its programme. The programme co-ordinator, Brett Harston, says that major sponsorship for the fringe festival is not forthcoming. The organisers are hoping instead for small contributions from several sponsors. They are still awaiting results from applications to the Wellington City Council and the Arts Council.

“We want to run the programme as a fully professional one, with the festival meeting the performers’ expenses,” Brett Harston says. The fringe activities are being organised and run by the Wellington Arts Centre as a separate

programme from the main festival. The centre’s staff has been boosted by Labour Departmentsponsored workers to organise the eight-day festival. Mr Harston says the Flying Kiwi programme is 98 per cent New Zealand in content. “We are very happy with the people we have. They come from all over the country. The fringe is essentially all New Zealand. One of two have come back for the festival.”

The Flying Kiwi will run from March 15 to 23, based at the Wellington Arts Centre.

Another festival within the festival is the Writers’ Week, which brings together overseas authors with New Zealand writers. Dur-

ing five days from March 12 the writers will give public readings of their works.

The international contingent includes David Lodge, claimed to be the funniest novelist currently writing in English, the controversial British poet, Craig Raine, and African poet, Felix Mnthali, a Samoan, Albert Wendt, an avant-garde French novelist, Alain Robbe-Grillet, Australians David Malouf and Tom Shappett, and a Canadian, Tim Findlay. Fleur Adcock, of New Zealand, is returning, and other New Zealanders taking part are Keri Hulme, Allen Curnow, Hone Tuwhare, C. K. Stead, Yvonne du Fresne, Janet Frame, Murray Edmond, and Margaret Mahy.