Oscar Kightley
Oscar Vai To'elau Kightley (born 14 September 1969) is a Samoan-New Zealand actor, television presenter, writer, journalist, director, and comedian. He acted in and co-wrote the successful 2006 film '' Sione's Wedding''. Biography Kightley was born in 1969 in Apia, Samoa, the youngest of eight children, and was raised in his father's village of Faleatiu. He came to New Zealand after the death of his father, when he was 4 years old and was adopted by his aunt and uncle, who lived in West Auckland. He attended Rutherford College, where writing was his favourite subject. After leaving school, Kightley was a cadet at the '' Auckland Star'', and worked as a journalist for four years. "I thought that was going to be me until I retired." He moved to Christchurch in 1991 to be a presenter for the children's television show ''Life in the Fridge Exists (L.I.F.E),'' where he met Tanya and Mishelle Muagututi'a, Erolia Ifopo, and Simon Small. Professional career Small had written hi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Apia, Samoa
Apia () is the capital and largest city of Samoa. It is located on the central north coast of Upolu, Samoa's second-largest island. Apia falls within the political district (''itūmālō'') of Tuamasaga. The Apia Urban Area (generally known as the City of Apia) has a population of 35,974 (2021 census). Its geographic boundaries extend from the east approximately from Letogo village in Vaimauga to the west in the newer, industrialized region of Apia which extends to Vaitele village in Faleata. History Apia was originally a small village (the 1800 population was 304), from which the country's capital took its name. Apia Village still exists within the larger modern capital of Apia, which has grown into a sprawling urban area that encompasses many villages. Like every other settlement in the country, Apia Village has its own ''matai'' (leaders) and ''fa'alupega'' (genealogy and customary greetings) according to fa'a Samoa. The modern city of Apia was founded in the 1850s ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Nathaniel Lees
Maiava Nathaniel Lees (born 20 July 1952) is a New Zealand theatre actor and director and film actor of Samoan descent, best known for film roles in ''The Matrix Reloaded'', ''The Matrix Revolutions'' and '' The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers'' and for starring in '' Young Hercules'' as Chiron the centaur. Career Lees was born in Auckland, New Zealand. He was brought up in an environment where Samoan was commonly spoken, so he grew up thinking of himself as being Samoan. He got his first acting job because of "being brown", as the theatre required brown people running around on stage killing Captain Cook. Part of the audition was him walking through the door, and upon doing so, he "had the job". He is known for his role as Captain Mifune in ''The Matrix'' trilogy and his role as "Uglúk" in ''The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers''. He has also had roles on the TV series '' Young Hercules'', '' Hercules: The Legendary Journeys'' and '' Xena: Warrior Princess''. He appeared ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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New Zealand Herald
''The New Zealand Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, and considered a newspaper of record for New Zealand. It has the largest newspaper circulation in New Zealand, peaking at over 200,000 copies in 2006, although circulation of the daily ''Herald'' had declined to 100,073 copies on average by September 2019. The ''Herald''s publications include a daily paper; the ''Weekend Herald'', a weekly Saturday paper; and the ''Herald on Sunday'', which has 365,000 readers nationwide. The ''Herald on Sunday'' is the most widely read Sunday paper in New Zealand. The paper's website, nzherald.co.nz, is viewed 2.2 million times a week and was named Voyager Media Awards' News Website of the Year in 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023. In 2023, the ''Weekend Herald'' was awarded Weekly Newspaper of the Year and the publication's mobile application was the News App of the Year. Its main circulation area is the Auckland ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Radio New Zealand
Radio New Zealand (), commonly known as RNZ or Radio NZ, is a New Zealand public service broadcaster and Crown entity. Established under the Radio New Zealand Act 1995, it operates news and current affairs station, RNZ National, and a classical music and jazz station, RNZ Concert, with full government funding from NZ On Air. Since 2014, the organisation's focus has been to transform from a radio broadcaster to a multimedia outlet, increasing its production of digital content in audio, video, and written forms, utilising rnz.co.nz and the RNZ app. The organisation plays a central role in New Zealand public broadcasting. The New Zealand Parliament fully funds its AM network, used in part for the broadcast of parliamentary proceedings. RNZ has a statutory role under the Civil Defence Emergency Management Act 2002 to act as a "lifeline utility" in emergencies. It is also responsible for an international service, RNZ Pacific, which broadcasts to the South Pacific in both ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Dave Armstrong (playwright)
Dave Armstrong (born 1961) is a New Zealand playwright, screenwriter, trumpet player and columnist for '' The Dominion Post''. His work has featured on stage, radio and television. His television writer credits include ''Spin Doctors'', '' Seven Periods with Mr Gormsby'', ''Great War Stories'', and script editor for bro'Town. Armstrong states: Just about everything I have learnt about literary and dramatic structure has a parallel in classical music composition. Good dialogue has a rhythm, so if you have a musical ear you can hear it when it works. ''Niu Sila'' In 2004 Dave Armstrong and Oscar Kightley co-wrote the play ''Niu Sila'', about the friendship between a Samoan and a Palagi boy in 1960s New Zealand. It premiered at Downstage Theatre, and went on to win the 2004 Chapman Tripp Theatre Award for Best New New Zealand Play. In 2006 Armstrong and Oscar Kightley received the Arts Foundation of New Zealand Award for Patronage, for ''Niu Sila'' which they co-wrote. In her N ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Dave Fane
David Rodney Fane (born 28 December 1966) is a New Zealand actor. Early life and education Fane was educated at St. Pauls College in Grey Lynn. Career Fane got into acting quite late and trained at the New Zealand Drama School Toi Whakaari, graduating with a Diploma in Acting in 1992, which he upgraded to a Bachelor of Performing Arts (Acting) in 2003. He first appeared on television in a sketch comedy show called '' SKITZ'' alongside future Naked Samoans, Oscar Kightley and Robbie Magasiva. He then did the sitcom spinoff ''The Semisis'', in which he played the father and the minister. In 2004 he performed in a play written by Oscar Kightley and Dave Andrews called ''Niu Sila''. The play won the Chapman Tripp Theatre Award for Outstanding New Zealand Play of the Year. Fane was a founding member of Naked Samoans. He played a leading role in '' Sione's Wedding''. Other roles include parts in ''The Tattooist'', ''bro'Town'', ''Outrageous Fortune'' and the lead role in ''Di ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Encyclopedia Of New Zealand
''Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand'' is an online encyclopedia established in 2001 by the New Zealand Government's Ministry for Culture and Heritage. The web-based content was developed in stages over the next several years; the first sections were published in 2005, and the last in 2014 marking its completion. ''Te Ara'' means "the pathway" in the Māori language, and contains over three million words in articles from over 450 authors. Over 30,000 images and video clips are included from thousands of contributors. History New Zealand's first recognisable encyclopedia was ''The Cyclopedia of New Zealand'', a commercial venture compiled and published between 1897 and 1908 in which businesses or people usually paid to be covered. In 1966 the New Zealand Government published ''An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand'', its first official encyclopedia, in three volumes. Although now superseded by ''Te Ara'', its historical importance led to its inclusion as a separate digital reso ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Bruce Mason Playwriting Award
The Bruce Mason Playwriting Award is an annual award that recognises the work of an outstanding emerging New Zealand playwright. The winner is decided by the votes of a panel of leading New Zealand artistic directors and script advisors. The award is named after New Zealand's playwright Bruce Mason CBE (1921–1982). Mason's best known plays are '' The End of the Golden Weather'' and the ''Pohutukawa Tree.'' The award was established by Independent Newspapers in 1983, the year after Mason's death, with assistance from Playmarket, for an amount of $2,000. It is currently a $10,000 award managed by Playmarket and has been funded over the years by the FAME Trust (Fund for Acting and Musical Endeavours), Downstage Theatre Society, Bruce Mason Trust and Rachel and David Underwood. Bruce Mason Playwriting Award recipients * 1983 Fiona Farrell * 1984 Simon O'Connor * 1985 Stephanie Johnson * 1986 Rosie Scott * 1987 Sarah Delahunty * 1988 Stuart Hoar * 1989 James Beaumont * ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Brisbane
Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a population of approximately 2.8 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of South East Queensland, an urban agglomeration with a population of over 4 million. The Brisbane central business district, central business district is situated within a peninsula of the Brisbane River about from its mouth at Moreton Bay. Brisbane's metropolitan area sprawls over the hilly floodplain of the Brisbane River Valley between Moreton Bay and the Taylor Range, Taylor and D'Aguilar Range, D'Aguilar mountain ranges, encompassing several local government in Australia, local government areas, most centrally the City of Brisbane. The demonym of Brisbane is ''Brisbanite''. The Moreton Bay penal settlement was founded in 1824 at Redcliffe, Queensland, Redcliff ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Auckland
Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and the islands of the Hauraki Gulf, and which has a total population of as of It is the List of cities in New Zealand, most populous city of New Zealand and the List of cities in Oceania by population, fifth-largest city in Oceania. The city lies between the Hauraki Gulf to the east, the Hunua Ranges to the south-east, the Manukau Harbour to the south-west, and the Waitākere Ranges and smaller ranges to the west and north-west. The surrounding hills are covered in rainforest and the landscape is dotted with 53 volcanic centres that make up the Auckland Volcanic Field. The central part of the urban area occupies a narrow isthmus between the Manukau Harbour on the Tasman Sea and the Waitematā Harbour on the Pacific Ocean. Auckland is one of ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Downstage Theatre
Downstage Theatre was a professional theatre company in Wellington, New Zealand, that ran from 1964 to 2013. For many years it occupied the purpose-built Hannah Playhouse building. Former directors include Sunny Amey, Mervyn Thompson, and Colin McColl (director), Colin McColl. History The Downstage Theatre Company was established in 1964 as a professional theatre company. The founders at the inaugural meeting in the Wellington Public Library on 15 May 1964 were actors Peter Bland, Tim Eliott and Martyn Sanderson, and restaurateur Harry Seresin. Sanderson believed in a small professional company in Wellington performing challenging works in an intimate venue. Seresin owned the ''Walkabout'' coffee bar on the corner of Courtenay Place, Wellington, Courtenay Place and Cambridge Terrace in Wellington, and the upper floor of the ''Walkabout'' is where the first Downstage Theatre productions were performed. Another founder was the Victoria University professor Donald McKenzie (acad ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |