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Madeleine Crutchley

Madeleine Crutchley is a writer, journalist and creative based in her hometown of Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland. She has covered arts, music, fashion, food and culture for Viva, The New Zealand Herald, Metro, The Pantograph Punch and more. 

Recent Articles

NZ Herald •

Who are you calling a diva? The reclamation of a controversial figure

The origins of the term are Latin, and its use was popularised in Italy. In Roman mythology, diva refers to goddesses and is closely associated with divinity and heaven. French journalist and art critic Théophile Gautier was one of many in the 1830s who brought the word into popular parlance. He drew a connection between godliness and opera performers illuminated by the stage spotlight. “[It] was almost like detaching them from their creative power. It was sort of seen through a slight kind of p...
NZ Herald •

Booksellers and bookish types on their favourite books of 2025 (so far)

A high-stakes political novel set in 16th-century Mexico – a fictionalised version of events that led to the founding of Mexico City in the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan. The decisions of the characters mean life or death for themselves and the empires they represent. Despite the detail and consideration of the indigenous cultures contained in each chapter, no part of this is inaccessible, and no page wastes words. For added flair, the whole narrative is coated in the psychoactive drugs consumed by...

Metro — A QUIET STORM — How Iris G mixes mantra with music

Making her TV debut on Breakfast in June, Tāmaki Makaurau-based R&B artist Iris G performs her unreleased track “STORM”. The song is soft, sensual and intense. Perched on a wooden stool, she picks at her electric guitar with casual confidence. She appears to be a seasoned professional. She’s cheeky and cool and oh-so-secure in her earnest vulnerability. Even at the early age of 22, Iris has travelled a long road to make this premiere, carrying a much heavier load than her breezy performance mig...
Pantograph Punch •

Hybrid Rose's Hyperpop Fantasy

It’s not often that Sharpay Evans, Redfoo, Paris Dupree, Frida Kahlo and Paris Hilton are imagined within the same realm. Te Whanganui-a-Tara-based artist Hybrid Rose manages to bring together these figures with style on her new album HyperKunt,materialising her own unique, hyperpop vision. With no compromises on a sense of fun, she succeeds in creating an intensely danceable, hot new sound.The portmanteau title HyperKunt, Rose explains, encapsulates the genre, influences and tone of the album i...
NZ Herald •

This new NZ-made film slices and dices at harmful beauty standards

The genre has also been a fruitful launching pad for plenty of stars throughout Hollywood history. Jenna Ortega was a Scream queen long before playing Wednesday Addams. Anya Taylor Joy caught critics’ eyes for her role in The Witch. Maika Monroe had her breakthrough in It Follows (she’s also the lead in Longlegs, which is in New Zealand theatres right now).“Lee Murray, the writer I worked with, she seemed to think it wasn’t a coincidence that a lot of women were directing horrors. It seems to be...
NZ Herald •

Auckland Writers Festival headliner Celeste Ng on finding hope in dystopia

This contemplative approach has earned the novelist a loyal following of readers — many of whom will be first in line to see Ng expand on her stories at the Auckland Writers Festival in May.The author is set to speak on an array of panels at this year’s festival. One will explore writing Asian female rage with local creative Nahyeon Lee, writer Amanda Chong and horror author Lee Murray. It’s a topic Ng “cannot wait to talk about”.“I’ve never been on a panel with this topic before. I love the ide...
NZ Herald •

William Fitzgerald’s circular design is ‘shoddy’. Why that’s a good thing

“Being in the workroom at Zambesi was really cool. There’s a wall of more than 10,000 patterns. It was really interesting, going from being self-taught to then being in this really established, high-quality environment. I was like, ‘I know nothing’, and became quite quiet and just observed and learned as much as I could. I asked questions and I was digging through their archive and going ‘this is incredible’.”

“Being in the workroom at Zambesi was really cool. There’s a wall of more than 10,000...
NZ Herald •

Auckland Pride’s Julia Croft and Hāmiora Bailey are going beyond paradise

During one of their buzziest weeks of the year, Auckland Pride co-directors Julia Croft and Hāmiora Bailey take a moment of pause. The artists explain the journey to Ki Tua Beyond Paradise, elaborate on collaborating with care and highlight the upcoming moments they’re most looking forward to.

Julia Croft and Hāmiora Bailey have been busy.

The Auckland Pride co-directors have been in and out of meetings, collecting care packages for festival artists and collaborating with partners, to ensure t...

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