Marking 30 years of productions, Auckland Theatre Company has announced its season for 2023.
The programme of six shows includes works by New Zealand playwrights, world premieres, a mighty Shakespeare, exciting new writing, an international thriller, collaborations and a heartfelt comedy.
With large-scale plays featuring Aotearoa’s top creative and acting talent, the new season celebrates three decades of theatre-making in New Zealand.
“In 1993 the world premiere of David Geary’s Lovelock’s Dream Run, directed by Raymond Hawthorne at the Watershed Theatre, heralded the arrival of the newly minted Auckland Theatre Company,” Artistic Director & CEO Jonathan Bielski says.
“It was an emphatic statement by a collective of theatre artists and supporters who were determined our city would have a professional theatre company.
“Founder Simon Prast and his comrades willed the company into existence. To now present our 30th anniversary season is a testament to the passion and skill of a generation of artists and makers who we have been privileged to work with.”
Learn about the six shows being presented in 2023 below:
The Heartbreak Choir by Aidan Fennessy
14 Feb – 4 Mar | ASB Waterfront Theatre
Auckland Theatre Company kicks off 2023 with the New Zealand premiere of comedy The Heartbreak Choir by award-winning Australian playwright Aidan Fennessy. Starring some of New Zealand’s funniest actors in full voice, this effervescent, hilarious and big-hearted summer comedy makes a big noise.
Director: Lara Macgregor, Musical Director: Jason Te Mete, Design: Sean Coyle, Phillip Dexter
Cast includes: Esmay August, Jodie Dorday, Kate Louise Elliott, Mufrida Hayes, Levi Kereama, Munashe Tapfuya
Witi’s Wāhine by Nancy Brunning
2 – 20 May | ASB Waterfront Theatre
Here, some of Witi Ihimaera’s most memorable characters, from works like The Parihaka Woman, The Matriarch and Pounamu Pounamu, step onto the stage. A collaboration with Hāpai Productions, Witi’s Wāhine places the wāhine Māori worldview front and centre in a rich, poetic and immersive theatrical experience.
Directors: Ngapaki & Teina Moetara
Design: Penny Fitt, William Smith, Sandra Tupu
Cast: Awhina-Rose Ashby, Roimata Fox, Pehia King & Olivia Violet Robinson-Falconer
King Lear by William Shakespeare
13 Jun – 1 Jul | ASB Waterfront Theatre
The centrepiece of the year is a return to the work of William Shakespeare for Auckland Theatre Company, for the first time in eight years. Michael Hurst, one of Aotearoa’s greatest exponents of Shakespeare, takes the crown in a majestic and powerful large-scale production.
Directors: Benjamin Henson & Michael Hurst
Design: John Gibson, Vanda Karolczak, John Verryt, Elizabeth Whiting
Cast includes: Fasitua Amosa, Michael Hurst, Andrew Laing, Colin McColl, Cameron Rhodes, Beatriz Romilly, Jennifer Ward-Lealand
Basmati Bitch by Ankita Singh
11 – 23 Jul | Q Theatre
Audiences are advised to strap-in for a wild ride as Basmati Bitch takes to the stage at Q Theatre for its world premiere. This inventive action-comedy about an illicit world of futuristic rice-dealing follows hot-on-the-heels of the successful Scenes from a Yellow Peril by Nathan Joe produced this year by the same collaborators; SquareSums&Co, Oriental Maidens and Auckland Theatre Company.
Director: Ahi Karunaharan
Design: Te Aihe Butler, Rachel Marlow & Bradley Gledhill – Filament Eleven 11, Imuy Teav
Cast: to be announced in 2023
Things That Matter by Gary Henderson, adapted from the memoir by Dr David Galler
11 – 26 Aug | ASB Waterfront Theatre
Another world premiere ensues in August with the much-awaited Things That Matter, adapted from Dr David Galler’s best-selling memoir Things That Matter: Stories of life & death. For more than 30 years, Dr David Galler has worked on the frontlines of New Zealand’s health system at Middlemore Hospital and in its highest reaches as an advisor to the Ministry of Health. The original production was directed by Anapela Polata’ivao and is restaged by director Troy Tua’a (Dawn Raids), as Aotearoa’s healthcare system gets a much-needed check-up.
Original Director: Anapela Polata’ivao
Remount Director: Troy Tu’ua
Design: Rachel Marlow & Bradley Gledhill – Filament Eleven 11, Poulima Salima, Nic Smillie
Cast: David Aston, Jen Huang, Ian Hughes, Margaret-Mary Hollins, Vaiari Ivirangi, Greg Johnson, Nicola Kāwana, Shaan Kesha, Donogh Rees, Elsie Ropati, Aleni Tufuga
Switzerland by Joanna Murray-Smith
Presenting Partner MiNDFOOD
In a nail-biting finale, presented in partnership with MiNDFOOD, riveting psychological thriller Switzerland is the sixth play for 2023. Patricia Highsmith, the famous but reclusive and acerbic novelist of The Talented Mr. Ripley fame will be performed by acclaimed New Zealand actor Sarah Peirse who originated the role at the Sydney Opera House. Audiences are in for a gripping and enthralling night out, in a battle of wits and intellect with a dash of black comedy.
19 Sep – 7 Oct | ASB Waterfront Theatre
Director: Sarah Goodes
Design: Steve Francis, Michael Scott-Mitchell
Cast includes: Sarah Peirse
Subscription packages for the new season are on sale now. Single tickets for The Heartbreak Choir go on sale 29 November 2022. To subscribe or book visit www.atc.co.nz or phone 0800 ATC TIX.
