Join Jackie Clarke on a whirlwind journey through Te Waipounamu (New Zealand’s gorgeous South Island), filled with unforgettable gigs, hilarious mishaps, and plenty of “Happy As” moments! This is an excerpt from Jackie Clarke’s Tour Diary on Facebook. Organised by the irrepressible Arts on Tour NZ group. We bring you this diary to our news page because Michelle Klaessens Rawstron was the Sound Engineer on the tour (weeks 1, 3 & 4), and The Rock Factory Provided Sound Equipment for the tour.
Part 1: The Southern Adventure Begins (and a Van-less Start!)
Our petite but mighty tour was set to kick off in Nelson, and oh, what a start it was! A small hiccup indeed – our trusty van, laden with all our precious gear, decided it preferred a scenic detour and would arrive in Nelson a day AFTER our first gig at The Boathouse. Damn those 150km winds in Wellington causing ferry chaos! But you know what they say: the show must go on. And it did, gloriously so, thanks to the incredible kindness of strangers supplying a piano and sound system, and family lending a car. Three of us flew down, frocks packed and ready for anything!
Photo: caption: “Calm skies belie the storms below… and the van dilemma!”
So, Nelson was conquered, and then the cavalry (i.e., the van, boyfriend, coffee machine, multi-cooker, and sound gear) arrived. It was then off to the charming Playhouse Theatre in Mapua, and finally, over the hill to the magical Mussel Inn. Bring it on, South Island!
Photo Caption: The Boathouse in Nelson, and the view from the footpath next to the Boathouse as the sunsets.
Part 2: Gigs, Gastronomy, and Glorious Humans
The first cluster of gigs? Absolutely done and dusted! The Boathouse in Nelson was a joy – a genuinely funny gig that ended with a standing ovation and my lovely merch tea towels heading home to dry dishes for various Nelson households. Turns out our JGPD tea towel is a serious hit! It’s great to be back in the sequinned saddle. The dresses might be slightly tighter, but the songs still fit me like a glove.
The Playhouse Theatre in Mapua was just gorgeous – a cross between Cappadocia and Hobbiton! Half the venue was filled with birthday girl Helen and all her friends, plus her young son, who shall forever be known as Beardie! Another great gig. We finally played the truly magical Mussel Inn, and it was everything I’d heard and more. Staying in the log house was like stepping into a fairytale, complete with friendly piwakawaka and weka. Jane and Andrew, the hosts, are true torchbearers for Aotearoa music, and their beer is top-notch too!
Photo Caption: Jackie sings at the Playhouse Theatre in Mapua, and the Mussel Inn.
The drive to Kaikoura yesterday via the splendid Piupiu Springs was simply beautiful. Life is good, and I’m ready for the Mayfair tonight. Grant is making braised beef short ribs for dinner, and we have enough apples and pears from Golden Bay to make a hundred crumbles. Living the dream, indeed!
Part 3: Happy As Diaries Continue – From Kaikoura to Fairlie
Tour life is just a continuous flow of happy moments! Kaikoura was so incredibly beautiful our eyes actually started to hurt. The Mayfair Theatre was packed to the gunnels on a Tuesday night, which felt miraculous! Audience participant Dan, sporting full Harley tats, bravely opted for a Prima Diva tattoo on his forehead – good choice, I thought, and so did his missus! I still wonder if he’s rocking it a week later. Michelle scored some fabulous new boots, and I found a pretty china bird at the Kaikoura op shop, which I’m told has raised over a million bucks for local charities – happy as!
Photo Caption: The Mayfair Theatre in Kaikoura, and a scenic shot of Kaikoura itself.
Balcairn was a triumphant return; a fantastic audience, a beautiful sounding wooden hall, the indefatigable Wim on lights, and lamingtons for supper. Again – happy as! Akaroa turned up in all their finery, and the Gaiety Theatre was the beautiful dame she always is – multiple standing ovations and belly laughs aplenty, but also those tender moments where you could hear a pin drop. Absolutely happy as! We’re now completely addicted to Akaroa fudge.
Photo caption: Photo of The Gaiety Hall Akaroa being setup.
We sent Michelle home for a week with the kids and picked up Jono Lauti on the way to Darfield. Two sound engineers who couldn’t be more different but both excellent humans with great ears – we are truly spoilt. Happy as! The Darfield show was at the local high school, complete with Cam, a local student who helped with absolutely everything (happy as!). Organizer Melissa even had a ‘Best Dressed’ competition for me to wrangle. The winner, Aunty Lynne, resplendent in leopard print and tiara, is the new moderator of 57 Presbyterian churches in the region – Darfield is in great hands with a woman who is truly happy as!
Geraldine hosted a fantastic champagne Mother’s Day show, where I debuted a lush new pink sequined gown that looked like an armadillo – so happy as! These songs and this Prima Diva energy have audiences absolutely enraptured, and I’m feeling both humble and incredibly proud. It’s exhausting, but we’ve settled into a pleasing rhythm now and are definitely feeling happy as. We’re currently settled into a cute little cottage in Fairlie, with famous Fairlie pies already scoffed. Ready for tonight’s show! Happy As!!!
Photo Caption: Jackie Clarke and black dress at Balcairn Hall.
Part 4: Deep South Delights & A Wild Encounter
More from the Happy As Diaries! As the song goes, “I’ve been to Oamaru, Waikouaiti, Cromwell, Queenstown, Gore,” and now, I’m happily chilling before my first-ever gig in Tokanui, in a farm cottage with about 200 sheep staring in my window as if to say, “You don’t look like your poster!”
Karl had never been to this neck of the woods before, so it was brilliant to show him around Oamaru’s old town, the majestic Moeraki Boulders, and introduce him to Dan the Creamoata Man in Gore. Last night, we played the gorgeous Little Theatre in Gore, marking the last day of the Eastern Southland Gallery’s 40th birthday celebrations, run by the splendid Jim Geddes. He doesn’t look a day older than when I played at their 10th birthday 30 years ago with When the Cats Been Spayed!
Photo Caption: he Moeraki Boulders. There was Grand Piano for Karl Benton to play in Cromwell!
We played the very boujee Sherwood in Queenstown (two standing ovations and a lot of tears shed, as well as joyous shouting from the rafters!). Cromwell was similarly ecstatic. In Waikouaiti, my diction got a serious workout because we were in a partitioned-off basketball court, but still, around 100 people turned out on a Thursday night! I’m astounded! Tonight in Tokanui, there are over 130 – simply incredible!
Photo Caption: Photo from the Tokanui farm cottage window with sheep in the background
A very early start tomorrow as we’re off to Rakiura/Stewart Island – fingers crossed for a gentle crossing! I haven’t been there for 30 years, so I’m really looking forward to it. The shows are getting barrels of laughs, lusty singing along, plenty of pin-drop moments, and a lot of love. Couldn’t be happier. Gotta go, our host Janice in Tokanui has just delivered a roast lamb shank pre-show dinner. Viva Prima Diva!!!
Part 5: The Grand Finale – From Rakiura to Motueka
The final entry in the Happy As Diaries! My feet have touched back down on terra firma, back in my own bed, delicates hand-washed, suitcases packed away, and a deep cleanse facial booked. The last chapter of our Arts On Tour of Te Waipounamu took us from Stewart Island to The Great Hall in Christchurch, then a promenade of the West Coast, and a grand finale in Motueka.
Highlights? Driving around a corner on Rakiura/Stewart Island on our way to the gig, only to spy a kiwi and a deer together in the middle of the road – guiltily scarpering to opposite sides as if we’d caught them in the middle of a dodgy tryst! It was like being in a CGI movie fantasy – only it actually happened! When we told Gwen Neave and the locals, they just scoffed, “Pfft pfft, nothing unusual around here.” The ferry crossing was memorable for its rock ‘n’ roll foaming roughness and a flotilla of green-faced schoolgirls gulping back hysteria and impending vomit… as was Karl – turns out the ocean is his kryptonite!
Photo Caption: Stuart the Policeman from Stewart Island is an expert photo bomber as he joined this photo of Jackie and Grant at the Stewart Island Ferry Terminal!
Being back singing in The Great Hall in the Arts Centre in Christchurch after a very long time was so special – it is a BEAUTIFUL room! It should be called the Absolutely Stupendous Hall, but those Cantabrians are so understated, except when they’re giving you a standing ovation!
Grant celebrated his birthday at a Monday night gig in Lincoln at the ridiculously groovy Laboratory – a great gig with lovely host Leigh. First time I’ve had a boutique cinema as a dressing room! The trip over Arthur’s Pass was spectacularly gorgeous, and the West Coast did not disappoint.
Photo Caption: The Great Hall in Christchurch – a special room & another grand piano, lucky Karl!
We made a bit of an entrance into Hokitika by having to jam on the brakes as we negotiated the roundabout right outside our venue, The Regent, as a car barreled towards us. The result? A foldback speaker went flying, and we left a mountain of shattered windscreen in the middle of the road. Kinda poetic, as we arrived showering the streets of Hokitika in ‘diamonds,’ as befits the glam of being in Prima Diva mode! Hokitika is blessed to have the Wahine Toa Hayley running The Regent – what a Wonder Woman! Another great gig with a gorgeous, boujee powder room downstairs to hang in. Plus, we experienced Two for Tuesday dinner at the lovely Woody’s pub on a night off and had fresh-off-the-pan whitebait fritters delivered to us for lunch by Anna and Peter Campion during soundcheck – just ’cause that’s how Coasters welcome you to town. Heaven!
Photo Caption: Tour Party standing on the beach in Hokitika – left to right; Karl, Michelle, Jackie & Grant.
Granity was next level. 200 people in the township, 120 at the gig. The theatre is a lovely art deco gem nurtured by Carlos and Annie and their team – another truly memorable gig. Back to Reefton and the legend that is Daisy Sawyer! How many places can you say a world-class cinematographer turns up to put a couple of lights for you? Thank you, Alun Bollinger! The Reefton Workingman’s Club probably still hasn’t recovered from the dose of Wahine Toa estrogen it got that night.
Photo Caption: The Regent Theatre in Hokitika, and Standing Ovation at the Granity’s Lyric theatre.
Finally, the lovely Memorial Hall in Motueka – a fittingly beautiful show followed by a supper of venison slow-cooked pasta (thank you, G!) and a bottle of bubbles. My cup runneth over from our lovely team: Karl on Keys – who met every challenge I threw at him with talent and determination; to Michelle Klaessens Rawston on sound, whose calm energy and nuanced ears are a joy to work with; to Jono Lauti for subbing for a week with inimitable aplomb; to Grant Lahood, who won the MVP award for his amazing cooking, turning himself into an excellent lighting designer/technician, merch selling, and chauffeuring. Hands off – he’s mine!
Conclusion
I’m incredibly proud of myself for getting through this gruelling itinerary and honouring these songs and these Divas in such a worthy way. This petite but mighty show is a source of huge pleasure in my life. Thank you, Nina, Peggy, Ethel, Gwen, Chita, Annie, Kate, Dolly, Sharon, Elizabeth, Allison, Barbra, Shirley, Cilla, Agnetha, Frida, Judy, Gaga, Alberta, Aretha, and Freddie. Until next time!
Photo Caption: A final team selfie, and a triumphant final stage shot from the tour in Motueka.
This post summarises Jackie Clarkes tour of the South Island in May 2025. A month-long tour of her petite but mighty show Jackie Goes Prima Diva and we were all pumped!!! In Jackie’s words: “My favourite divas will be celebrated from Golden Bay to Rakiura/Stewart Island (thank you ArtsonTourNZ and Creative New Zealand for making it possible). New songs rehearsed, new frocks planned, new soundie ( the wonderful Michelle from The Rock Factory) and new pianist ( the wonderful Karl Benton) up to speed. Boyfriend ready to come with, and take care of lighting, merch, a bit of driving and most importantly- tour catering.”
All dates are on Jackie’s website jackieclarke.co.nz/tour/
© 2025 Jackie Clarke’s posts on Facebook, a combination of direct quoting & paraphrasing for The Rock Factory’s website. All rights reserved.