‘Cabinet of Curiosities: Tiny Lectures of the Weird and Wonderful' is a simple premise: each presenter has ten minutes to talk about one of their deep, dark obsessions. As I enter the cosy backstage room at the Isaac Theatre Royal, I’m not sure what to expect. The sold-out crowd is buzzing with conversation, but soon settles down as Naomi van den Broek warmly welcome us to the event. It's my first WORD event of the year and I'm excited to hear what these five creative, inspiring wāhine have to share.
First up, Claire Mabey, author of The Raven’s Eye Runaways, graces the stage in a green velvet robe (yes, I took notes of what people were wearing, I have robe envy). Her obsession is a literary one: the author Sylvia Townsend Warner. What started with innocently reading the novel Lolly Willowes during lockdown led to a four-day visit to the Sylvia Townsend Warner Archives in Dorchester, taking hundreds of sneaky photos and spending way too much money on first edition books. I have never experienced this level of obsession, so I admire her level of commitment and feel committed to reading at least one STW book to see what all the fuss is about.
Next up is Catherine Taylor, author of the recently published memoir The Stirrings: A memoir in Northern Time. Her obsession is also a literary one: Ghost stories. It turns out she basically grew up in a ghost story, in a creaky old house, attending a Victorian gothic school, and hanging out in cemeteries for fun. I personally hate anything too spooky, but I loved hearing her stories, especially about the ghost who looked like Boris Johnson. I suspect there are a lot of ghosts that look like Boris Johnson, something about the hair I think.
Vera Ellen has another outfit I admire (bright red sweater vest and patched pants). She is an accomplished songwriter with two award-winning albums under her belt (It’s Your Birthday and Ideal Home Noise), so it’s fitting that her obsession is a musical one. She introduces us to The Shaggs, a Sixties rock band created to fulfil a family prophecy. Their unconventional sound wasn’t particularly successful at first and they faded into obscurity until Frank Zappa discovered their album and proclaimed they were better than The Beatles. Other critics described them as 'hauntingly bad', so I guess it's a matter of taste. She finishes by playing us a recording of their song ‘Philosophy of the World’ which has everyone smiling, but also looking slightly dazed and confused. I highly recommend having a listen next time you need to clear your mind.
Saraid de Silva (author of Amma and co-host of the podcast/radio show Conversations with My Immigrant Parents) has a complete change in theme which leaves us feeling puzzled at first: ‘Best Combos: Food, Drink, Experience’. She goes on to explain that these are combinations that inject as much life as possible into an experience, with every element enhancing the other to create specific moods and feelings. Some examples include:
- Cereal and yoghurt in a room you’re not paying for
- Raw vegetables and a fight with your mother
- Baked beans and cheese on an English muffin during a hailstorm
- Two beers after a full workday on an empty stomach
The whole room is laughing along, both because her descriptions are hilarious, and we can relate to these very particular, very human experiences.
To close off the evening, Talia Marshall (Ngāti Kuia, Rangitāne o Wairau, Ngāti Rārua, Ngāti Takihiku, poet, author of Whaea Blue, wearing snakeskin boots) shares the final obsession: Her problematic taste in men. Her slideshow is filled with pictures of hunky dudes, but also photos of milk tankers driving past her desolate country house - It’s both deeply personal and deeply hilarious. Her talent for words shines through as she explains how ‘even though my politics are perfect, my taste in men is problematic’. Somehow, she runs out of time halfway through her presentation and leaves us all hanging (what happened with Pat?!!). But somehow instead of being a letdown, it’s the perfect, amusing ending to a fabulous night. My face hurts from laughing, I’ve learnt about some new weird and wonderful things, and I’m left wondering: What would my obsession be? Cabinet of Curiosities is a regular WORD event, so I highly recommend going next year if you have the chance.
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