Ko Te Pou Whakamaharatanga mō Māui Tikitiki a Tāranga te tohu o te kaha, o te kōrero, o te whakapapa o tēnei wāhi, o tēnei whare.
Nau mai e te tī, e te tā ki te whare kōrero, ki te whare whakaari o ASB ki te tahatika o te moana.
Mauri tau, mauri ora!
Pouwhakamaumāharatanga mō Māui-Tikitiki-a-Tāranga
The Memorial Post of Māui the Topknot of Tāranga
Robert Jahnke ONZM (Ngāi Taharoa, Te Whānau a Iritekura, Te Whānau a Rākairo o Ngāti Porou) 2016
Laminated tōtara and Corten steel
Proudly commissioned by Auckland Theatre Company for ASB Waterfront Theatre
The symbols of support, of strength and of guardianship stand fast and proud.
The waters of Waitematā ebb and flow against the shores here at Waikōkota, the land upon which we stand.
The pou of remembrance to Māui Tikitiki a Tāranga stands tall as a beacon of courage, of stories passed down and of the history that connects us all to this place and to this space.
We welcome you all from near and far to this house of stories, to the ASB Waterfront Theatre.
Mauri tau, mauri ora!
AUCKLAND
17 JUN – 5 JUL 2025
CAST
Andrew Grainger — Dickie Hart
CREATIVE
Playwright — Roger Hall
Direction — Alison Quigan
Set & Costume Design —
John Parker
Lighting Design — Phillip Dexter
Sound Design — Sean Lynch
PRODUCTION
Stage Manager — Chiara Niccolini
Staging Coordinator — Molloy
Technical Coordinator — Tim Jansen
Technical Operator — Michael Goodwin
Audio Mix Engineer — Joel Orme
Set Construction —
Grant Reynolds — Zorp Creative
Fly Technician — T.J. Haunui
Show Crew — Thomas Chapman, Mathew Illek, Michael Keating, Max Manson, Aaron Mitchell, Joseph Noster
Accent Coach — Sarah Valentine
Publicist — Bridget de Launay (de Launay Enterprises)
This production of End of Summer Time by Roger Hall is the third play in Auckland Theatre Company’s 2025 season. Directed by Alison Quigan, it began previews on Tuesday 17 June and opened on Thursday 19 June 2025.
End of Summer Time by Roger Hall had its world premiere at Circa Theatre, Wellington, in a production directed by Ross Jolly, on Saturday 4 May 2024, featuring Gavin Rutherford as Dickie Hart. The production subsequently toured to Centrepoint Theatre in the Manawatū, opening on Saturday 1 March 2025.
This production is 1 hour and 50 minutes long, including interval. It includes offensive language. Please switch off all mobile phones and noise-emitting devices.
This is the third play charting the adventures of Dickie Hart, following C’mon Black and You Gotta Be Joking! C’mon Black premiered at the Fortune Theatre, Dunedin, on Friday 19 July 1996, in a production directed by Campbell Thomas, featuring Tim Bartlett as Dickie. You Gotta Be Joking! premiered at Circa Theatre, Wellington, on Wednesday 1 December 1999, in a production directed by Danny Mulheron, featuring Grant Tilly as Dickie. Dickie Hart has toured New Zealand in multiple productions.
Haere Mai
In End of Summer Time, Dickie Hart’s story is the story of Auckland. An unreconstructed man from the provinces, familiar to many of us, finds himself in the midst of our largest city, complex and intense, and Dickie is profoundly discombobulated. His initial responses are not always in keeping with progressive values but, steadily, this beautiful big city wins him over. Dickie falls in love with Auckland and it loves him back.
In these pages Joanna Wane charts Sir Roger Hall’s vital contribution to New Zealand theatre, from his breakthrough Glide Time in 1976 through to End of Summer Time, his 16th play with Auckland Theatre Company.
Hall always offers audiences an easy way into a hilarious story. We see and hear characters who are familiar. Then, he twists. He pokes our sensibilities. A brilliant social commentator, Sir Roger Hall has a catalogue of plays that speak to middle-class New Zealand values and skewer our manners and sensitivities.
There is no more experienced interpreter of Roger Hall’s work than Alison Quigan QSM. Over five decades, Quigan has been a favourite on our screens and on our stages and with this handsome production, created by John Parker, Sean Lynch and Phillip Dexter, we are in the presence of New Zealand theatre greats.
I asked Andrew Grainger to take on this role because he has both the rumpled charm I imagine Dickie Hart has, and the comedic chops to hold us all spellbound as he commands the stage alone. It is a tour de force.
With End of Summer Time, we welcome AA as a new Supporting Partner. Members of AA can now enjoy perks when they buy tickets to Auckland Theatre Company shows. Check out the benefits at the AA website.
Enjoy the show.
Jonathan Bielski Artistic Director & CEO
Dickie falls in love with Auckland and it loves him back.
Playwright Roger Hall
Sir Roger Hall’s first stage play, Glide Time, was produced in 1976 and was a smash hit throughout the country. Roger has been writing a stage play almost every year since then, along with musicals and pantomimes.
He has written more than 70 sitcom episodes for TV, from Gliding On to Spin Doctors and Conjugal Rites in the UK.
Recent plays have included Winding Up, Four Flat Whites in Italy, A Shortcut to Happiness, You Can Always Hand Them Back and Last Legs.
Roger has been awarded a QSO, a CNZM, an honorary doctorate in Literature from Victoria University of Wellington and a Prime Minister’s Award for Literary Achievement. He was named a KNZM in the Queen’s Birthday Honours, 2019.
Note from the Playwright
In 1995, I went with a friend to South Africa for the Rugby World Cup as an All Black supporter. I was intending to write a play about a group of supporters: a comedy, of course, because we were bound to win the Cup. Everyone said so. But no one reckoned with the AB’s getting food poisoning the night before the final, and losing in extra time.
Meanwhile, The New Zealand Listener had asked me to write a column for them about my experiences during the trip. While I was doing the first draft, I thought it would be interesting to write it not as from me but as from a persona. And so, Dickie Hart came into being, and expanded from a column to a full-length, oneperson play.
And the theme of the play turned out to be not winning as I had originally intended it to be, but losing.
C’mon Black premiered at the Fortune Theatre in Dunedin in July 1996 with
Tim Bartlett in the role of cow-cocky Dickie, before Grant Tilly took over the part at Circa in Wellington later that year. It became a huge hit and was then taken on tour.
Grant was around for the follow-up show, You Gotta Be Joking!, when Dickie has to move off the land and live in the heart of Wellington. There, he discovers many of the joys of city life, including being in Gilbert and Sullivan, and the dangers of ’the other woman’.
Shift to the present day and I was writing a play based roughly on my own circumstances: a shift to Auckland to be close to the grandchildren; moving from a large house to an apartment; and experiencing the diversity that a big city has to offer. And, it was while I was writing it that there was a knock on the door; it was Dickie waiting to come in.
And here he is.
Celebrating the work of Sir Roger Hall
These
By Degrees Market Forces
Hall of Fame by Joanna Wane
It’s almost 50 years since Sir Roger Hall’s first play, Glide Time, burst on to the stage. With his latest show about to open in Auckland, can the man with the Midas touch still spin box-office gold, asks Joanna Wane.
Over the past five decades, Hall has created a roll call of hit comedies for the stage, TV sitcoms, a pantomime version of Cinderella and a radio show for the BBC.
Of course, it’s his remarkable string of successes that people remember. No offence, I say, tongue-in-cheek, to the man typically described as New Zealand’s most successful playwright. But if you reckon you’re not good at plot or description, what exactly are you good at, then?
He pauses, considering the question seriously for a moment. ”Funny dialogue, really. And good characters.”
It’s easy to forget just how transformational Hall’s influence has been on the New Zealand theatre scene, creating an appetite for local productions at a time when quality was still equated with (often mediocre) British plays.
Next year, it’ll be half a century since Glide Time affectionately satirised Wellington’s public service bureaucracy. It sold out after the first night.
The late John Clarke wrote of Hall’s ability to identify ”the faults and follies that highlight small monsters in ordinary people”. Ironically, his knack for milling the angst and aggravations of the Kiwi middle class was shaped by his own childhood back in England.
Biffed out of school by his father for under-performing academically, he worked in insurance for a couple of years before setting sail for Wellington in the late 1950s to avoid being called up for compulsory national service. He’d just turned 19.
His life came full circle, 20 years later, when he won Comedy of the Year with a production of Middle Age Spread on London’s West End, starring Richard Briers and Paul Eddington from The Good Life.
Hall, who was presented with the award by Sir John Gielgud, thought the original Circa show was just as good.
Generally speaking, his foreign origins haven’t been held against him here. ”Max Cryer used to say, ’Of course, you’re English!’ I’d tell him I may be English, but I’m a New Zealand writer because all my writing was done here. And I don’t think like an English writer, I’m sure.”
By the time Hall released his 1998 biography, Bums on Seats, he’d already recorded $20 million in box-office sales.
According to Playmarket NZ, two of the most licensed plays in New Zealand this century were written by Hall: Four Flat Whites in Italy, about two retired couples on a late-life OE, and Social Climbers, where five high-school teachers get trapped in a tramping hut.
The title of his latest play, End of Summer Time, echoes the late Bruce Mason’s acclaimed one-man show, The End of the Golden Weather, which made a huge impression on Hall in the early ’60s.
Hall wanted to write about someone close to his age — Dickie is in his 70s. It’s also a love letter to Auckland, where he felt ”so very much at home” from the first day. ”It was warm, it was vibrant,” he says. ”Auckland is a wonderful arts city.”
Joanna Wane is a Senior Feature Writer for The New Zealand Herald.
Excerpt republished, with permission, from the editorial feature in Canvas, The New Zealand Herald, dated 17 May 2025.
Read the full article at nzherald.co.nz
Photography by: Dean Purcell
Director Alison Quigan
Alison Quigan QSM is a professional actor, director, writer and producer, with a career that spans 48 years. In that time, Alison has acted in and directed more than 150 plays.
She began training at Theatre Corporate Drama School in 1978. She spent three years doing classes and theatre in education tours, and was in the resident company. Her tutors included the late Raymond Hawthorne, John Givens, Paul Gittens, Linda Cartwright and Elizabeth McRae. In 1986, Alison was appointed the Artistic Director of Centrepoint Theatre in Palmerston North and remained in that role for 18 years.
Since 1994, Alison has directed nine productions for Auckland Theatre Company, including By Degrees, Who Wants to be 100?, The Twits, A Shortcut to Happiness, A Frigate Bird Sings, The Heretic, Pollyhood in Mumuland, The Lolly Witch of Mumuland and Heroes.
As a performer for Auckland Theatre Company, Alison’s credits include: Winding Up, The Heartbreak Choir, Last Legs, Calendar Girls, August:
Osage County, The Wife Who Spoke Japanese in Her Sleep, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Mum’s Choir and Taking Off.
As a playwright, she has written 20 plays, which have been produced throughout the country. Her plays include Mum’s Choir, Boys at the Beach, The Big OE and, most recently, Feilding Market Fiasco, which will debut at Centrepoint Theatre in November this year.
For 10 years, Alison was Performing Arts Manager of the Mangere Arts Centre - Ngā Tohu o Uenuku where she supported new work with emerging performers by creating regular children’s theatre productions, including Pigs on the Run, Mirror Mirror and The Wizard of Ōtāhuhu.
Screen credits include A Minecraft Movie, The Brokenwood Mysteries, Madam, Grafted, Sweet Tooth 2, Mystic 3, Ngā Pouwhenua and Ablaze, as well as eight years as a core cast member on Shortland Street. In 2001, she was awarded a Queen’s Service Medal for services to theatre.
Note from the Director
The first Roger Hall play I saw was Glide Time at Centrepoint Theatre in 1977. It was about working in a public service office. At the time, I was working in an office at Massey University and, as I watched the play, I was convinced that Roger had visited our office and recorded our conversations. He captured perfectly the obsessions we had with staplers, heaters and petty office politics.
Since then, I have produced, directed and acted in 15 different Roger Hall plays: a fraction of the total number he has written. Each play explored different parts of our lives and told the stories of generations of New Zealanders. From newly married in the ’70s through middle age in the ’90s, travel, grandchildren, our obsession with sport, share clubs, dancing and gardening to retirement and rest homes, Roger has made us laugh and cry. As Shakespeare said, he has held the
mirror up to nature, shown virtue her own feature and scorn her own image and the age and body of the time his form and pressure.
In End of Summer Time, we meet Dickie Hart: a man we’ve met before in two earlier plays – C’mon Black and You Gotta Be Joking! From his farm in Taranaki, Dickie followed the 1995 All Blacks tour to South Africa and discovered a lot about himself. In You Gotta Be Joking!, he left the farm behind – those cold mornings were just too tough on his joints –and moved to the big city for a bit of culture. And the wife said he had to or else. He still loved his rugby, although the Wellington team left a bit to be desired, but he made himself useful with some local kids.
Sir Roger Hall – a scholar and a gentleman. Thank you for your service.
Cast
ANDREW GRAINGER
Dickie Hart
Since relocating from the United Kingdom to Auckland in 2007, Andrew Grainger has established himself as one of Auckland’s most versatile and sought-after actors, with work spanning theatre, film, television, opera, and musical theatre.
Grainger’s performing career began on the West End at age 22 in 1987, when he played Benjamin in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers at the Prince of Wales Theatre, directed by Michael Winter. His early musical theatre credits include Lt. Buzz Adams in South Pacific (1990, directed by Roger Redfarm) and Dr. Orin in Little Shop of Horrors (1994, Oldham Coliseum Theatre, directed by Lindsay Dolan). Andrew also performed sketch comedy at the London Palladium with British favourite, Russ Abbot. Notably, Andrew performed in the Royal Variety Performance before Queen Elizabeth II.
Andrew has been a regular performer with Auckland Theatre Company over the past decade, most recently in Nightsong and Auckland Theatre Company’s Peter Pan. His extensive Auckland Theatre Company credits include multiple roles in North by Northwest directed by Simon Phillips (2022), and numerous collaborations with Colin McColl including The Master Builder (2020), Six Degrees of Separation (2019), Filthy Business (2018), The Cherry Orchard (2018), Nell Gwynn (2017), and in Anne Boleyn (2014). Other Auckland Theatre Company credits include Lysistrata directed by Michael Hurst (2015), The Ladykillers directed by Colin McColl and Cameron Rhodes (2015) and Once on Chunuk Bair (2014) directed by Ian Mune and Cameron Rhodes.
His musical theatre work with Auckland Theatre Company includes Billy Elliot: the Musical, Guys & Dolls, Jesus Christ Superstar and Oliver! Beyond Auckland Theatre Company, Andrew’s musical theatre credits include Jersey Boys (GnT Productions, directed by Grant Meese).
Additionally, Andrew collaborated with Nightsong in The Worm, directed by Ben Crowder and Carl Bland, 360 – a theatre of recollections, and Te Pō for Nightsong and Theatre Stampede. With Tadpole Productions, Andrew
has played Mike in Mike and Virginia, and Hugh in The Campervan, both directed by Simon Prast.
In television and film, Andrew’s more recent credits include playing Charles Mallory in the 2024 series A Remarkable Place to Die. He has also appeared in multiple episodes of Mysteries 2021 he featured as Frank in the Apple TV+ series also includes Netflix’s King, MTV’s Jane Campion’s Jackson’s Machine
His extensive film and television career in the UK includes roles in BBC’s and Prejudice Holby City
The Russ Abbot Show
In 2023, Andrew was a core cast member in New Zealand Opera’s production of The Unruly Tourists Murphy. The show was directed by Thomas de Mallet Burgess.
Creative
JOHN PARKER
Set & Costume Design
TRAINING:
MA, Royal College of Art (1975); Theatre Corporate Summer School (1983).
FOR ATC:
Winding Up; Six Degrees of Separation; Shortland Street – The Musical; Still Life with Chickens; Red Speedo; Polo; Heroes; Sons; The Good Soul of Szechuan; Niu Sila; The Glass Menagerie; Midnight in Moscow; A Frigate Bird Sings; Black Confetti; A Shortcut to Happiness; Red; Mary Stuart; Stepping Out; The Importance of Being Earnest; The Wife Who Spoke Japanese in Her Sleep; The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee; End of the Rainbow; Sweet Charity; Doubt; Equus; Caligula; The Bach; Middle Age Spread; The Rocky Horror Show; Waiting for Godot; Noises Off; Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead; Into The Woods; Serial Killers; Art; Cabaret; The Book Club; Julius Caesar; Dead Funny.
OTHER THEATRE:
Plumb Theatre: A Doll’s House, Part 2; Nicola Cheeseman is Back; Prima Facie; Collected Stories; Blonde Poison. Te Pou Theatre: The Handlers.
OTHER:
John has also designed for the Louis Vuitton Ball and the America’s Cup Ball, Bendon’s Next to Nothing, and, for Auckland War Memorial Museum, Bellsouth Pharaohs, The Precious Legacy and Gold & Sacrifice: Treasures of Ancient Peru. John was awarded a Waitākere City Millennium Medal for Services to the Community and, in 2010, he was honoured by being named as an Arts Laureate by the New Zealand Arts Foundation.
PHILLIP DEXTER
Lighting Design
TRAINING:
Master of Science degree in light and lighting from UCL, London.
FOR ATC:
The Heartbreak Choir; Polo; The Good Soul of Szechuan; Calendar Girls; Equus; Up For Grabs; Doubt; Le Sud; August: Osage County; Mary Stuart; Poor Boy; Four Flat Whites in Italy; A Shortcut to Happiness; In the Next Room (The Vibrator Play); The Gift; Anne Boleyn; Lord of the Flies; Midnight in Moscow; Trees Beneath the Lake; Other Desert Cities; Heroes; Rupert; The Ladykillers; You Can Always Hand Them Back.
OTHER THEATRE:
Circa Theatre: God of Carnage; Uncle Vanya; The Winslow Boy; Rock ’n’ Roll; Meet the Churchills; Our Man in Havana.
Downstage Theatre Company: Little Shop of Horrors; The Blonde, The Brunette and The Vengeful Redhead; The Goat; Dracula; The Graduate.
Fortune Theatre: Lucky Numbers; Don Juan in Soho.
The Court Theatre: Three Days of Rain; Vincent in Brixton; Suddenly Last Summer; Oliver!; Long Day’s Journey into Night.
Centrepoint Theatre: The Motorcamp; Stockcars: The Musical; At the Wake. New Zealand Opera: Lucia di Lammermoor; Turandot.
Other Theatre: Designs at: Donmar Warehouse; The Globe; Hampstead Theatre; Royal Opera House – Covent Garden; Opera Conservatory – Royal College of Music.
OTHER:
Director of Limeburner Design Ltd, specialising in theatre and architectural lighting design. Product designs include lighting instruments for film and television as well as commercial fittings used for architectural lighting.
SEAN LYNCH
Sound Design
FOR ATC:
Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express; Peter Pan; Long Day’s Journey into Night; Two Ladies; Grand Horizons; Rendered; The Audience; Winding Up; Black Lover; Jesus Christ Superstar; Once on Chunuk Bair; Lysistrata; Chicago.
OTHER THEATRE:
Nightsong: Peter Pan; I Want to be Happy.
Silo: Break Bread; The Wolves; The Book of Everything; Angels in America; Hir.
Court Theatre: Things I Know to be True; Everything After.
The Rebel Alliance: The Valentina; Watching Paint Dry.
Accessibility
Our mission is to make great theatre easy for all to enjoy. We welcome anyone with access needs, along with their friends and whānau, to our venue and we are on hand to help.
Audio Described Performance and Touch Tour
Sun 29 June – Touch Tour: 2:30pm, Audio Described Performance: 4:00pm
Audio described performances feature live commentary from Audio Described Aotearoa. They provide detailed visual descriptions between dialogue, relayed via complimentary earpieces to blind and low-vision patrons.
Touch tours, held 90 minutes before the performances, allow patrons to explore the sets, touch props and costumes, and meet actors. These free tours are designed for blind and lowvision patrons and their companions.
Supported by:
Assistance Dogs
Assistance dogs are welcome at the theatre. We can find a seat that’s comfortable for you and your dog or arrange for staff to look after your dog during the show.
Hearing Assistance
The theatre has a T-Loop radio frequency system to amplify the sound of the performance. If you don’t use a hearing aid or your hearing aid does not have a T setting, there is a listener unit available on request from the box office.
Relaxed Performance
Tue 1 July 7:00pm
Relaxed performances are inclusive, welcoming environments for neurodivergent individuals and anyone seeking a less formal theatre experience. They offer a flexible approach without changing the show. Audiences can expect pre-show resources, brighter lighting, an open attitude to movement and noise, and a dedicated breakout space. An optional pre-show demonstration invites patrons to enjoy theatre on their own terms. Everyone is welcome.
NZSL
Interpreted Performance
Fri 4 July 8:00pm
NZSL interpreted performances feature trained interpreters from Platform Interpreting New Zealand. These professionals work closely with Auckland Theatre Company to translate the play into NZSL. The interpreter performs on stage, providing realtime interpretation for d/Deaf patrons. We reserve great seats for interpreter viewing.
Wheelchair Access
ASB Waterfront Theatre has three wheelchair spaces and eight companion seats in the auditorium. There is step-free, level access to all levels of the building and to seating in the stalls. Wheelchair-accessible toilets are located on the ground floor; accessible parking is available on Madden Street.
HOW TO BOOK ACCESS TICKETS
Access tickets are available for $20 for Deaf or disabled audience members attending an accessible performance. One companion ticket per theatre-goer is also available for $20. Access tickets for the relaxed performance can be purchased online, via email or over the phone. For tickets to all other accessible performances, to reserve wheelchair seating or for assistance with your booking, email boxoffice@atc.co.nz or call 09 309 3395.
Audio Described Performances – Audio Described Aotearoa Ltd
NZSL Interpreted Performances – Platform Interpreting New Zealand Deaf Community Engagement Advisor – Rachel Walker
Relaxed Performance Consultants – Miriama Ashby, Stacey Francis, Gabby Hogg, Christopher Michael Thanks to Katie Querin and Arts Access Aotearoa for your support and guidance.
Sign up to receive news about the accessibility programme: atc.co.nz/access
Acknowledgments
Auckland Theatre Company would like to thank the following for their help with this production:
Andrew Lees, David Lintott, Rob Malone, Kirstie O'Sullivan.
Toi Whakaari: New Zealand Drama School Stage Management Placement – Abigail Fricker
Toi Whakaari: New Zealand Drama School Placement – Ayush Aditya Singh
University of Auckland Industry Internship – Manita Opoku
Absolute Kitchens, Dave Lintott Photography, Fabrication Specialists, Sharp New Zealand, SuperGold, The Civic and Auckland Live, Theatrelight New Zealand, Theatrical Solutions, Xytech.
Peter Bush, Colin Meads jumping for ball, Unaccessioned IM32 and Colin Mead passing a ball, PB0037/01/62, Collection of Te Manawa Museum, Courtesy of the Bush Family
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In Focus: Auckland Theatre Company’s The Engine Room Programme
First established in 2016, and running again from 2020/21, The Engine Room is an intensive development programme, supporting the careers of early to mid career theatre directors.
We are delighted that Nī DekkersReihana (Ngā Puhi, Te Rarawa, Ngāti Porou) and Katrina George (Malie Sāmoa, Pākehā) are The Engine Room residents across 2025. Selected from 83 applicants from across New Zealand and around the world, these directors participate fully in the working life of the company.
”Such a rich tapestry of artists make up this programme and I’m deeply honoured to work alongside them”, shared Nī, whose residency included serving as Assistant Director on a mixtape for maladies and Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express
”The chance to work alongside some of Aotearoa’s talented creatives is an incredible privilege”, says Katrina. Her residency will see her assistant direct William Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet, MARY: The Birth of Frankenstein and Tiri: Te Araroa Woman Far Walking.
Nī and Katrina have reached an exciting transition point in 2025; Nī recently concluded their residency, and while Katrina begins her journey. The two directors crossed paths during a recent wānanga for Auckland Theatre Company’s upcoming production, Tiri: Te Araroa Woman Far Walking by Witi Ihimaera, where they passed the metaphorical baton from one artist to another.
The Engine Room’s impact is evident in Auckland Theatre Company’s 2025 season. Ahilan Karunaharan (2016 resident) wrote a mixtape for maladies, and while Benjamin Kilby-Henson (also a 2016 resident) is directing Romeo & Juliet with current resident Katrina George as Assistant Director.
”The Engine Room residency programme represents an essential investment in the future of theatre in New Zealand,” says Artistic Director & CEO Jonathan Bielski. ”We aim to support directors who are ready to immerse themselves in the creative life of a busy theatre company.”
With the generous support of the Friedlander Foundation, Excellence Partner of Auckland Theatre Company, The Engine Room continues to strengthen the theatrical ecosystem of Aotearoa. Supported by:
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WHAT’S ON
BOX OFFICE
Email boxoffice@atc.co.nz
Phone
09 309 3395
Visit atc.co.nz
@TheATC
@aucklandtheatreco
138 Halsey Street
Wynyard Quarter
Auckland
Auckland Theatre Company presents William Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet
15 JUL – 9 AUG
The greatest love story of all time, set in 1960’s Verona.
Recast as a fast-paced thriller, Shakespeare’s timeless masterpiece brims with passion and unravels at breathtaking speed while Death lurks in every corner. A story of aching young love and brutal family rivalry, which is as potent today as it was when it was written more than four centuries ago, this starcrossed tragedy celebrates the triumph of love over hate – but at what cost?
Auckland Theatre Company presents MARY: The Birth of Frankenstein by Jess Sayer
19 AUG – 7 SEP
A terrifying re-imagining of the night Mary Shelley became the mother of horror.
Award-winning playwright Jess Sayer builds on the bones of history to re-imagine the events of the infamous night that birthed Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Co-created and directed by Oliver Driver, who brought you Amadeus, MARY is a bloody phantasmagoria like you’ve never seen before. Kill to get a ticket.
Auckland Theatre Company presents TIRI:
TE ARAROA
WOMAN FAR WALKING by Witi Ihimaera and Maioha Allen
4 – 23 NOV
An extraordinary mapping of Aotearoa through the eyes of Te Tiriti o Waitangi Mahana. Her story, our history.
Creator of the acclaimed The Haka Party Incident, Katie Wolfe (Ngāti Mutunga, Ngāti Tama) directs this new adaptation of the epic tale of Tiri Mahana, a 185-year-old matriarch, from her birth at the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi to present-day Aotearoa. For the first time, the play will be performed in both English and te reo Māori, with both versions capturing the enduring spirit of Te Ao Māori.
Thank You
Auckland Theatre Company Supporters
ATC PATRONS GROUP 2025
Co-Chairs The Hon Justice Anne Hinton KC and Lady Dayle Mace MNZM
Patrons Margot & Alastair Acland, Margaret Anderson, John Barnett CNZM, Betsy & Michael Benjamin, Louise & Mark Binns, Patrick Bourke, Stephen Brown, Barbie & Paul Cook, Jacqui Cormack & Matthew Olde, Jane & Tiff Day, Kim & Annette Ellis, Jan & Trevor Farmer, Antonia Fisher KC & Stuart Grieve KC, Virginia Fisher & Stephen Fisher QSO, Sir Michael Friedlander KNZM, Andrew Gelonese & Michael Moore, Anna Gibbons, Dame Jenny Gibbs DNZM, Stephanie & Michael Gowan, Joséphine & Ross Green, Sue Haigh, Georgiana Harper & Tim Olphert, The Hon Justice Anne Hinton KC & Peter Hinton, Michael Horton CNZM & the late Dame Rosie Horton DNZM, QSO, QSM, Sally Jackson, Katie Jacobs & Chris Aughton, Stella Johnston, Judy Jordan & Trevor Bayly, Heather & Len Jury, Anita Killeen & Simon Vannini, Philippa Smith Lambert & Chris Lambert, Margot & Paul Leigh, Antonia & Tim MacAvoy, Lady Dayle Mace MNZM & Sir Chris Mace KNZM, Peter Macky, Charlotte & Ian McLoughlin, Pip Muir & The Hon Kit Toogood KC, Christine Nolan & Derek Nolan KC, Prue Olde, Heather Pascual, The Hon Dame Judith Potter DNZM, CBE, Robyn & Malcolm Reynolds, Fran Ricketts, Julie & Russell Tills, Louise & Karl Von Randow, Joan Vujcich, Susan Walker & Gavin Walker ONZM, Lynne Webber & Priscilla McGirr, Ian Webster, Dona & Gavin White
YOUTH COMPANY SUPPORTERS 2025
Co-Leaders Peter Macky and Joan Vujcich
Saints Aaron Boonshoft, Cynthia Braithwaite, Peter Macky, Joan Vujcich
Angels Paul Boakes & Andy Eakin, Elías & Sam, Dame Jenny Gibbs DNZM, Charlotte & Ian McLoughlin, Jane & Mark Taylor, Ian Webster
Cherubs Peggy & Richard Greenfield, Coriamber Hogan & Martin Kunz, Michael Synnott Charitable Trust, Keiko Pulin & Graham Astley
Friends Brenda & Stephen Allen, Margaret Anderson, Denese Bates KC, Jonathan Bielski, Susan Buckland, Rosey Eady & David Nicoll, Ron Elliott & Mark Tamagni, Virginia Fisher & Stephen Fisher QSO, Karen Fistonich, Prue & John Gilbert, Martin Gillman, Alexandra Goldkorn & Craig Birch, Kallie Goulding, Conor Greive, Deb Haworth, Helen & Hamish, Wayne Hughes, R Inder & R Bergs, Sally Jackson, Judy & Andrew Jarvie, Joy Keith, Margot Leigh, Louise Pagonis, The Hon Dame Judith Potter DNZM, CBE, Annette Stewart, AD Swinburn, Kerry Underhill & Daan van Gulik, Joanne & Rob Wills, Anonymous (10)
30TH ANNIVERSARY FUND
Visionary Dame Jenny Gibbs DNZM, Jan & Trevor Farmer
Lead Nicole & Guy Domett, Prue Olde
Ensemble Barbie & Paul Cook, Andrew Gelonese & Michael Moore
Curtain Call Anne Hargreaves, David Inns, Rosemary Langham, Caroline List, Rob Nicoll, Shona & Barry Old, Anonymous (2)
Take A Bow Dale Bailey MNZM, Sir Roger Hall KNZM, QSO, Jan Hilder, Sue & Murray Lee, Judy & Allen McDonald, The Hon Dame Judith Potter DNZM, CBE, The Hon John Priestley CNZM, KC, Sarah Sinclair, Georgia Smith, Anthea & Peter Springford, Anonymous (2)
Applause Britta Christiansen, Trish Clapham, John Dwyer, Marilyn Eales, Jane Hanley, Jan Hilder, Christine King, Giri Mahadevan, Shona McCullagh MNZM, Dawn & Peter McEniery, Jan Milne, Fay Pankhurst, Janette Partington, Jennifer Price, Maxine Priestley, Brigitte Richards, Deb Shepherd, Jenny & Andrew Smith, Suren Surendran, Isaiah Tour, Kerrin Vautier CMG & Noel Vautier, Debbie & Mike Whale, Jenny Whatman & Kerry Harvey, Anonymous (3)
Auckland Theatre Company Partners
ASB Waterfront Theatre Supporters
AUCKLAND THEATRE COMPANY
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Vivien Sutherland Bridgwater MNZM (Chair, on leave)
Ngāti Whātua
Bronwyn Bradley
Nathan Joe 周润豪
Tony Larsen
Derek McCormack (Acting Chair)
Graeme Pinfold
LEADERSHIP
Artistic Director & CEO: Jonathan Bielski
ARTISTIC
Artistic Associate & Casting Director:
Benjamin Kilby-Henson
Youth Arts Coordinators:
Dan Goodwin, Acacia O’Connor Ngāti Porou, Beatriz Romilly, Munashe Tapfuya
ARTISTIC OPERATIONS
Director, Artistic Operations & Deputy CEO: Anna Cameron
Director, Production: Kathryn Osborne
Producer: Sums Selvarajan
Head of Learning & Participation:
Sam Phillips
Operations Manager: Lucy Gardner
Production Coordinator: Paige Pomana
Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Rakaipaaka, Rongomaiwahine
Participation Coordinator: Kalia Regan
The Engine Room Resident: Katrina George
MARKETING & TICKETING
Director, Marketing: Joanna O’Connor
Marketing Manager: Kate Shapiro
Graphic Designer: Wanda Tambrin
Marketing Executive: Maxene London
Marketing Assistant: Hazel Oh
Ticketing Manager: Bruce Brown
Box Office Team Leader: Gary Hofman
Ticketing Assistants: Ella Blake Brislen, Elliot Blakeley, Molly Curnow, Merlia De Ridder, Amy Henwood, Talia Pua, Toby Swann, Sophie Watson, Tom Webster, Rachael Yielder, Daphne Zondag
FINANCE & ADMINISTRATION
Director, Finance: Alice O’Connor
Finance Officer: Dina Abramova
Accountant: Reena Mudliar
Head of Strategy: Natasha Pearce
Archives Assistant: Kalia Regan
ASB WATERFRONT THEATRE
Director, ASB Waterfront Theatre: Sharon Byrne
Co-Front of House Managers: Billy Blamires, Dario Kuschke
Events Coordinator: Amy Robertson
Venue Technical Manager: Johnny Chen
Senior Venue Technician: Nathanael Bristow
Technical Team: Tayla Brittliff, Dominic Halpin, T.J. Haunui, Luuk Heijnen, Mathew Illek, Michael Keating, Max Koenig, Dario Kuschke, Max Manson, Louis McKendry, Dave McSmith, Patrick Minto, Aaron Mitchell, Nick Mulder, Joseph Noster, Finlay Pinkerton, Mitchell Rayner, Benny Sarten
Front of House Supervisors: Ella Blake Brislen, Billy Blamires, Jack Clarkson, Nat Dolan, Lucie Everett-Brown, Gary Hofman, Sofi Issak-Zade, Vena-Rose Lennane, Pearl McCracken, Rachael Yielder
Front of House: Ella Blake Brislen, Elliot Blakely, Ruben Cirilovic, Molly Curnow, Merlia De Ridder, Nat Dolan, Shannon Freeman, Eugene Garry, Mary Grice, Lara Grozev, Shayla Hann, Amy Henwood, Kirsty Leggett, Vena Leanne, Emre Logan, Michaela MacFarlane, Prakritik Mal, Isla Mayo, Demos Murphy, Carla Newton, Joseph Noster, Finlay Pinkerton, Talia Pua, Tema Pua, Manunui Rainey, Ailsa Scott, Emily Smith, Mandy Smith, Mikaela Stroud, Toby Swann, Hanah Tayeb, Geo Tughushi, Sophie Watson, Tom Webster, Xanthe Werder, Daphne Zondag
CONTACT ATC
487 Dominion Road, Mt Eden PO Box 96002
Balmoral, Auckland 1342
P: 09 309 0390 atc@atc.co.nz atc.co.nz
CONTACT BOX OFFICE
ASB Waterfront Theatre 138 Halsey Street
Wynyard Quarter, Auckland
General Box Office: 09 309 3395 boxoffice@atc.co.nz
