Amanda Palmer and Limbo Unhinged Coming to Auckland Arts Festival 2020

Punk hero Amanda Palmer and boundary-pushing circus cabaret, Limbo Unhinged are the latest shows to be revealed for Auckland Arts Festival 2020. Announced today and on sale from 10.30am they bring candid storytelling and wildly-unhinged playfulness to next year’s festival line-up.

The unapologetic front-woman of The Dresden Dolls, US cult-musician Amanda Palmer, is bringing her critically acclaimed one-woman show to Auckland. Described as “painfully raw”, “wickedly naughty” and “dense and intense”, There Will Be No Intermission is a night of piano, pain and laughter.

Amanda Palmer: There Will Be No Intermission is the live performance of her third solo album, and her most personal yet, with songs tackling big questions: life, death, grief and how we make sense of it all. The show features Palmer on solo piano and ukulele for a night of honest and vulnerable story-telling and will be performed for two nights only at Hollywood Avondale.

At the other end of the spectrum, the hugely popular Spiegeltent returns to Aotea Square with international cabaret show Limbo Unhinged running for the duration of the festival. Unleashing pyrotechnics, sword-swallowing and vampy aerial displays audiences will be wowed with extravagant shenanigans set to a pulsating live soundtrack. This exciting new extravaganza from circus masters Strut & Fret pushes every boundary and has sold out houses, and gained rave reviews, everywhere it has toured.

These two exciting new shows are part of the Festival’s line up for March 2020 bringing world-class talent to awaken the imaginations of Aucklanders. Already announced and on sale is Ballet Preljocaj’s stunning darkly delectable Snow White choreographed by Angelin Preljocaj and featuring costumes by Jean Paul Gaultier, and the Auckland Philharmonia’s Beethoven 250, part of the worldwide celebrations marking the 250^th anniversary of the composer’s birth.

Auckland Arts Festival Artistic Director Jonathan Bielski says, “I am utterly delighted to announce such diverse and acclaimed performances to the festival line up. Amanda Palmer is an alt-rock icon who will bring something fresh and edgy to Auckland. I have no doubt her two shows will sell out. Everything she does has a raw touch, that people will find so relatable and uplifting.”

“We know how much Aucklanders love the Spiegeltent. It is the heart of the festival! So to bring it back with such a jaw-dropping, spine-tingling event like Limbo Unhinged, it’s going to pack a lot of punch. Audiences will be mesmerised; I know I was when I watched them perform. It’s going to be quite the party!” says Jonathan Bielski.

Tickets for Amanda Palmer: There Will Be No Intermission and Limbo Unhinged are on sale from 10.30am today via Ticketmaster.

Auckland Arts Festival is the biggest annual celebration of arts and culture in Auckland and takes place 11-29 March 2020 bringing exciting performance, art and music events from New Zealand and around the world. The full AAF 2020 programme will be announced on Wednesday 6 November 2019.