"A shabby, fourth-rate theater, the Vulcan is not where Martyn Tarne hoped to work, when she moved from New Zealand to London in hope of a glittering acting career. But a girl has to eat, so Martyn takes a job as dresser to the Vulcan's leading lady. This provides her with a ringside seat to the backstage circus: the aging alcoholic actor, the waspish playwright, the ingénue on the make, the surprisingly gracious grande dame. There is, of course,...

Your writer, in conjuring this tale of murder, adultery, incest, ghosts, redemption, and remorse, takes you first to a daffodil-filled garden in Highgate, North London, where, just outside the kitchen window, something startling shimmers on the very edges of perception. Fluttering and chattering, these are our kehua-a whole multiplying flock of Maori spirits (all will be explained) goaded into wakefulness by the conversation within. Scarlet-a long-legged,...

"Self–styled" writer Grace Cleave has writer's block, and her anxiety is only augmented by her chronic aversion to leaving her home, to be "among people, even for five or ten minutes." And so it is with trepidation that she accepts an invitation to spend a weekend away from London in the north of England. Once there, she feels more and more like a migratory bird, as the pull of her native New Zealand makes life away from it seem transitory....

Two New Zealander friends experience life, love, friendship, all the usual stuff, while trying to make their lives as a rock band. Unfortunately, they're a rock band that can only schedule a performance at the local aquarium, and they have only one fan.

Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie -- a.k.a. Flight of the Conchords -- have been living in New York in the hopes of forging a successful music career. Unfortunately, despite their status as "New Zealand's 4th most popular fold parody duo," fame and notoriety continue to elude them. Helping them navigate the strange world of the Big Apple are Murray, their devoted manager; Mel, their obsessed (and only) fan; and Dave, a local pawn shop owner. Watch...