Category: Arts & Culture

May 11
Bree Tomasel: A Kiwi at Heart

ZM radio host Bree Tomasel speaks to express about quietly coming out as bisexual on-air, being an Australian in NZ, embracing Maori culture and why she loves dating Kiwis. Bree Tomasel calls express from her uber, heading to Auckland Airport, where she will fly to her parent’s Queensland house for the first time in 18 […]

May 04
What A Queer Sense of Humour!

Tom Sainsbury and Chris Parker are two of the most successful gay comedians New Zealand has ever produced. Here, they discuss whether sexuality affects what we find funny.  Do you believe as gay men you have a specifically queer sense of humour? Chris: Well, I wouldn’t say I feel a responsibility to make all my […]

Apr 27
Graham Norton Speaks Out About “Toxic Cabal” Of Drag Race Fans

British television personality Graham Norton has hit out at what he describes as the “toxic cabal” of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK fans. Following recent moves by queens such as A’Whora and season two winner Lawrence Chaney to distanced themselves from social media, Norton who appeared as a judge on the show has raised his concern […]

Apr 16
Classical Music: The Radical, Revolutionary Romantic

Ludwig van Beethoven was baptised on 17 December 1770 and thought to have been born just a few days earlier. To honour his 250th Anniversary the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra (APO) will be performing all nine of his symphonies, plus his only opera – over five concerts! APO Music Director Giordano Bellincampi sits down with express […]

Apr 13
The Rialto Channel Doco That’s Steeling Our Hearts

For filmmaker Eammon Ashton-Atkinson, releasing his first feature-length documentary Steelers: The World’s First Gay Rugby Club during a pandemic has been a labour of love. He sits down with the NZ Falcons’ Karl Wilshire, ahead of the film’s NZ television premiere on the Rialto Channel to discuss the unique circumstances of his film festival successes […]

Apr 08
Competing For New Zealand On Drag Race Down Under

On the 30th of December express was the first media outlet in the world to report that the ‘Australian’ edition of RuPaul’s Drag Race would be filmed in Auckland with a cast that would include Kiwi queens. After months of wild rumours, the cast for Drag Race Down Under was officially confirmed to included Aotearoa […]

Mar 23
New Zealand International Film Festival Confirms 2021 Dates

The New Zealand International Film Festival has confirmed its 2021 dates with the festival all set to take place from late October. The film festival, which normally opens in July/August will now be held slightly later in the year in light of the severe impact of Covid-19 on live events. As anticipated, the 2021 festival […]

Mar 16
Having A Ball At Auckland Arts Festival

The Legacy Vogue Ball will see Aotearoa’s three major ballroom houses: Aitu, Coven-Carangi and Iman, battle it out for supremacy. But this event is about more than winning. It gives a platform to trans people of colour (POC) and celebrates a queer art form that nurtures lives in South Auckland. House Mothers Falencie Filipo (Aitu), […]