Pōneke performing arts Feb 19-25, 2024
Nau mai, haere mai to my weekly round-up of every public performing arts event in Pōneke/Wellington (that I know of). I list the next 4 weeks of shows below, and also keep a chronological spreadsheet for the rest of 2024.
Recently announced
NZIFF confirms its return - to four cities only this year. Wellington festival dates are July 31 to August 11.
Submissions to Circa Theatre’s 2025 programme are now open, till May 31.
This week
NZ Fringe is in full swing, and joining it are NZ Festival of the Arts and Performance Arcade. It’s the busiest week of the performing arts year!
Non-festival things this week are Stagecraft’s A View From the Bridge, Sam Brooks’ Lads on the Island, and KAT Theatre’s Puss in Boots.
* = continuation of season
Advisory: Please double check the dates/times/venues of events when you book tickets!
Mon 19-Sun 25 February
Not a festival:
*Tue 20-Sat 24 Feb, various times - A View From the Bridge | Stagecraft @ Gryphon Theatre
*Tue 20 Feb-Sat 2 Mar, 7:30pm (4:30pm Sun) - Lads on the Island | Sam Brooks @ Circa Theatre
*Sat 24 & Sun 25 Feb, various times - Puss in Boots | KAT Theatre @ Khandallah Park
NZ Festival & Performance Arcade:
Tue 20-Sat 24 Feb, various times - Hatupatu | Kurungaituku: A Forbidden Love | Taki Rua @ Tāwhiri Warehouse
Wed 21-Sun 25 Feb, various times - Walking Scores | Noel Meek + Elliot Vaughan @ Wellington Waterfront
Wed 21 Feb, 6:30pm - Te Aro Pa Poets | Rachel Buchanan, Debbie Broughton, Hana Buchanan @ Wellington Waterfront
Thu 22-Sun 25 Feb, various times - The Drifting Room | Stephen Bain @ Wellington Waterfront
Thu 22-Sat 24 Feb, various times - Our Own Little Mess | A Slightly Isolated Dog @ Circa Theatre
Thu 22-Sat 24 Feb, 7:30pm - Dance as Document | Amaara Raheem @ Wellington Waterfront
Fri 23-Sun 25 Feb, various times - Jungle Book Reimagined | Akram Khan Company @ St James Theatre
Sat 24 Feb, 1pm & Sun 25 Feb, 2pm - Koki Ake Te Oro | Debbie Broughton @ Wellington Waterfront
Sat 24 Feb, 8pm - Meow Meow’s Pandemonium | Meow Meow @ Michael Fowler Centre
NZ Fringe:
Mon 19 & Tue 20 Feb, 8pm - Goody Goody Glam Pop | Bethany Miller, Logan Hunt, Megan Connolly @ Circus Bar
Tue 20-Sat 24 Feb, 6pm - Icky | Viki Moananu @ BATS Theatre
Tue 20 & Wed 21 Feb, 6:30pm - Punsing Up | Wordplay Productions @ Cavern Club
Tue 20-Fri 23 Feb, 7pm - A Year and a Day | Raising Cain Productions @ Hannah Playhouse
Tue 20 & Wed 21 Feb, 7:30pm - Ben Pope: Holy Cow | Ben Pope @ Fringe Bar
Tue 20-Sat 24 Feb, 7:30pm -Nga Tai Kaha - The Strong Tides| Hearty Ngati Productions @ BATS TheatreTue 20 & Wed 21 Feb, 8pm - Fever Dream | Rao Morusupalli @ Cavern Club
Tue 20-Fri 23 Feb, 8pm - Have You Tried Audacity? | David Stuart @ Pow Wow Room
Tue 20 Feb, 9pm -Praise Thon!| Chris Prosser @ Thistle HallTue 20-Sat 24 Feb, 9pm - Whore’s Eye View by Kaytlin Bailey | Kaytlin Bailey @ BATS Theatre
Wed 21-Sat 24 Feb, 6pm (& 3pm Sat) - Lick Off My Tears, Death is Also Dying | L!ick Dance Theatre (Sofija Milic) @ Te Auaha
Wed 21-Fri 23 Feb, 6pm - The Whack Attic Variety Hour | A Bunch of Hacks (George Fenn) @ Whisky & Wood
Wed 21-Sat 24 Feb, 6:30pm - Death + Honey | Salty Lizard Productions @ Te Auaha
Wed 21-Sat 24 Feb, 7pm - Flow State | Gabby Anderson & Lesa Macleod-Whiting @ Circus Bar
Wed 21 Feb, 7pm - Loose Change Wellington Qualifier | Happyfeet & Projekt Team @ two/fiftyseven
Wed 21-Sat 24 Feb, 7:30pm (& 4:30pm Sat) - Hāpaitia | Parekawa Finlay & Raureti Ormond @ Te Auaha
Wed 21-Sat 24 Feb, 7:30pm - Mad, Innit?! | Alan McElroy @ Siglo
Wed 21-Sat 24 Feb, 8pm - Bars Behind Bars | Erin Bickley @ Ivy Bar
Wed 21-Fri 23 Feb, 8pm - Sexy Gold Boy | George Fenn @ Whisky & Wood
Wed 21-Sat 24 Feb, 8pm - The Myth-Adventures of Vincent Andrew-Scammell | Vincent Andrew-Scammell @ Te Auaha
Wed 21-Fri 23 Feb, 8:30pm - Hot Dog Time Machine | SAS Comedy (Aidan Hyland, Sam Howard, Summer Begalka) @ Hannah Playhouse
Wed 21-Sat 24 Feb, 9pm - Celebrity Trevor Island | Ruff As Gutz @ Te Auaha
Wed 21-Sat 24 Feb, 9:30pm (& 5pm Sat) - Happy Campers | The Awkward Company @ Te Auaha
Thu 22-Sun 25 Feb, 6pm - The Man from Gonville | Intrepid Weka @ Fringe Bar
Thu 22-Sun 25 Feb, 6pm - Twenty Minutes to Nine | Sticky Tape and Rust @ two/fiftyseven
Thu 22-Sat 24 Feb, 6:15pm - We Are the Drama | Cissy Rock @ Te Auaha
Thu 22-Sat 24 Feb, 7pm - Think About It | Miranda Camden @ Cavern Club
Thu 22-Sat 24 Feb, 7:30pm - Delightfool | Jak Darling & Booth the Clown @ Fringe Bar
Thu 22 Feb, 7:30pm - Precious One | Benny’s Videos @ Erskine College
Thu 22-Sat 24 Feb, 8pm - Baby Gorgeous | Marshall Lorenzo @ two/fiftyseven
Thu 22-Sun 25 Feb, 8:30pm (6:30pm Sun) - A Hot Girl and Her Suzuki Swift | Ocean Denham @ Cavern Club
Thu 22-Sat 24 Feb, 9pm - Burlesque and Blues: The Devil’s Own | Ms. Weeds and Dr. Blue @ Fringe Bar
Fri 23 & Sat 24 Feb, 7pm - Seen. | Matt Bentley @ Te Auaha
*Fri 23-Sun 25 Feb, various times - Mesmerous | Well Fare State @ Awhi Yoga & Wellbeing
Fri 23 & Sat 24 Feb, 8:15pm - Coyote | Michelle Wiley @ Te Auaha
Sat 24 Feb, 2pm - Trojan Horse (play reading) | James Cain @ Circa Theatre
*Sat 24 & Sun 25 Feb, various times - Small Acts of Queerness | Gabbycraftyclark @ two/fiftyseven
*Sat 24 Feb, 7pm - Exes and Nos | Rachel Mercer @ Vogelmorn Bowling Club
Sat 24 & Sun 25 Feb, 7pm - Saxofun | Eilish Wilson & Karen O’Leary @ Hannah Playhouse
Sat 24 & Sun 25 Feb, 7pm -The Visual Vernacular| Arms Incorporated @ Newlands Community CentreSat 24 Feb, 7:30pm - Dialogue Before Sunset | Temporary Show @ Wellington Museum
Sat 24 & Sun 25 Feb, 9pm - Pasodoblecircus - La Primera Tourné | Pasodoblecircus @ Hannah Playhouse
Sun 25 Feb, 1pm - Cubed: An Elevated Journey Through Pain | Skin Deep @ Meanwhile
*Sun 25 Feb, 4pm -The School of Night| The School of Night & Iona Productions @ Southern Cross BarSun 25 Feb, 7pm - Waiting for Godot… But They’re Clowns| The Levack Brothers @ Vogelmorn Bowling ClubSun 25 Feb, 8pm - Some Regrets | Sam Gibson @ Cavern Club
Mon 26 Feb-Sun 3 Mar
Not a festival:
*Tue 27 Feb-Sat 2 Mar, 7:30pm - Lads on the Island | Sam Brooks @ Circa Theatre
Sun 3 Mar, 1pm - Romeo & Juliet | The Barden Party @ Old St Paul’s lawn
NZ Festival:
Thu 29 Feb-Sat 2 Mar, various times - The Savage Coloniser Show | Tusiata Avia @ Circa Theatre
Thu 29 Feb-Sat 2 Mar, 7pm - Witi’s Wāhine | Hapai Productions @ St James Theatre
NZ Fringe:
Mon 26-Wed 28 Feb, 6pm - Space Hole | Troubadette @ Circus Bar
Mon 26-Wed 28 Feb, 6:30pm - From Boro With Love… | Michael Macaulay @ Cavern Club
Mon 26-Wed 28 Feb, 7pm - Pure Grime | Warped Productions @ Gryphon Theatre
Mon 26-Wed 28 Feb, 7pm - Silver Tongues - Comedians Over 50 | NZ Comedy School @ San Fran
Mon 26-Wed 28 Feb, 7:30pm - Eve Ruined Everything | Eve Wingerath @ Circus Bar
Mon 26 Feb, 8pm - Some Regrets | Sam Gibson @ Cavern Club
Mon 26-Wed 28 Feb, 9pm - Bimillennial Woman | Aimée Borlase @ Circus Bar
Tue 27 Feb-Sat 2 Mar, various times - Suitcase Show | Trick of the Light @ Gryphon Theatre
Tue 27 Feb-Sat 2 Mar, 6pm - No No No | Grammelot Productions @ BATS Theatre
Tue 27 Feb-Fri 1 Mar, 7pm -Vegan Fun Terror| James Hilary Penwarden @ Hannah PlayhouseTue 27 Feb-Sat 2 Mar, 7:30pm - Sweeties | Brynley Stent & Ella Hope-Higginson
Tue 27 Feb-Sat 2 Mar, 7:30pm - The Lounge Comedy Line Up | Lounge Comedy @ Hashigo Zake
Tue 27 Feb-Sat 2 Mar, 8pm - Manage Your Expectations | House of Sand @ Te Auaha
Tue 27 & Wed 28 Feb, 8pm - Ryan McGhee - Work in Progress | Ryan McGhee @ Cavern Club
Tue 27 Feb-Fri 1 Mar, 8:30pm - So My Dad F*cked the Nanny: And That’s Okay! | Isabella Charlton @ Hannah Playhouse
Tue 27 Feb-Fri 1 Mar, 8:30pm - The Hilary Duff Film Re-Enactment | Nicola Macri @ Gryphon Theatre
Tue 27 Feb-Sat 2 Mar, 9pm - An Almighty Yes | Emma Lange @ BATS Theatre
Wed 28 Feb-Sat 2 Mar, 6pm - Rituals of Similarity | Dance Plant Collective @ Te Auaha
Wed 28 Feb-Fri 1 Mar, 6:30pm - The Eleventh Trip of Lilibet W. | Continuum Theatre Co. @ Whisky & Wood
Wed 28 Feb-Sat 2 Mar, 6:30pm - Why Do Dogs Return to Their Vomit | The Bunker Collective @ Te Auaha
Wed 28 Feb-Sat 2 Mar, 7pm - Don’t Touch Me! A Tale of Cats and Hugs | Stevprodukt @ Te Auaha
Wed 28 Feb-Fri 1 Mar, 7pm - Music From an Alternate Universe | Severin Gourley @ Pow Wow Room
Wed 28 Feb-Fri 1 Mar, 7:30pm - Bears Aren’t Real | Patch Lambert & Daniel Bohan @ Fringe Bar
Wed 28 & Thu 29 Feb, 7:30pm -Praise Thon!| Chris Prosser @ Pyramid ClubWed 28 Feb-Sat 2 Mar, 7:30pm - Show Do Café | Andança Company @ Te Auaha
Wed 28 Feb-Sat 2 Mar, 7:30pm - Songs in the Key of Love | Vocal Blokes @ Salvation Army Hall
Wed 28 Feb-Sat 2 Mar, 9pm - 100% Wrong 2024 | Stabitha & D’bear @ Fringe Bar
Wed 28 Feb-Sat 2 Mar, 9pm (& 3pm Sat) - After the Storm | Emma Salzano @ Te Auaha
Wed 28 Feb-Sat 2 Mar, 9:30pm (& 5pm Sat) - Tiny Dog @ Te Auaha
Thu 29 Feb-Sat 2 Mar, various times - Embrace | Insideoutside Dance @ Te Auaha
Thu 29 Feb-Sun 3 Mar, 5:30pm (7pm Sun) - Mark Pleases You | Mark Vigeant @ Gryphon Theatre
Thu 29 Feb-Sun 3 Mar, 6pm - Twenty Minutes to Nine | Sticky Tape and Rust @ two/fiftyseven
Thu 29 Feb-Sun 3 Mar, various times - Crunch | Laura Gaudin & Izzi Lao
Thu 29 Feb-Sat 2 Mar, 7pm - Sad Boi, Funny Guy | Simon Kay @ Cavern Club
Thu 29 Feb, 7pm - The Rocking Rainbows @ Moon
Thu 29 Feb-Sat 2 Mar, 7:30pm - Mo and Ralph: Chaos Theory! | Mo Munn & Ralph Hilaga @ Circus Bar
Thu 29 Feb-Sat 2 Mar, 8:30pm - Blue Skies | Grouchy Crouch @ Te Auaha
Thu 29 Feb-Sat 2 Mar, 8:30pm - Sisters | Samantha Hannah & Sowmya Hiremath @ Cavern Club
Thu 29 Feb-Sun 3 Mar, 8:30pm - What Did You Do in the War, Daddy? | Dussler&Mulholland @ two/fiftyseven
Fri 1-Sun 3 Mar, 6pm - The Unluckiest Magician | Wilbury Entertainment @ Fringe Bar
Fri 1-Sun 3 Mar, 7pm - Romeo and Juliet, Summer Shakespeare in Paekākāriki | Circle of Fifths @ Campbell Park, Paekākāriki
Fri 1-Sun 3 Mar, various times - VERBS | Dandelion Meadows @ Thistle Hall
Fri 1 Mar, 7:30pm - The French Touch @ Ivy Bar
Sat 2 Mar, 11am - Flora, Fauna and Friends | Gridley by Victoria & Horse With No Name @ Innermost Gardens
Sat 2, Sun 3, Tue 5 Mar, various times - Antarctic Endeavours | Ruckus Theatre @ Gryphon Theatre
Sat 2 Mar, 4pm & 8pm, Sun 3 Mar, 7pm - The New Blue - A Portrait of Pixie Williams | Blue Smoke Records @ Hannah Playhouse
Sat 2 & Sun 3 Mar, 7pm - My Beautiful Trauma | Georgiana @ Two Todman
Sat 2 Mar, 8pm - The Pre Conditioned Hori | Charles n Charge @ Rogue and Vagabond
Sat 2 & Sun 3 Mar, 8:30pm - Daddy’s Girl| Pretty Little Sweethearts @ Gryphon TheatreSat 2 Mar, 9pm - Serpent Dream - Ritual Lullabies for the Void | Serpent Dream @ two/fiftyseven
Sat 2, 9, Sun 3, 10 Mar, various times - You and A.I. | Binge Culture @ Te Auaha
Sun 3 Mar, 6:30pm - Morgan and Justin Get Ambitious | Morgan Hunter-Bell & Justin Ngai @ Cavern Club
Mon 4-Sun 10 Mar
NZ Festival:
Thu 7-Sun 10 Mar, various times - Gravity & Grace | Eleanor Bishop & Karin McCracken @ Circa Theatre
Thu 7-Sat 9 Mar, 8pm - An Unfunny* Evening with Tim Minchin and His Piano | Tim Minchin @ St James Theatre
Fri 8 & Sat 9 Mar, 7:30pm - Whenua | NZ Dance Company @ Tāwhiri Warehouse
NZ Fringe:
Mon 4-Wed 6 Mar, 6:30pm - Good to Be Here: A Standup Comedy Show | Danny Sewell @ Cavern Club
Mon 4-Wed 6 Mar, 7pm - Moonlight Leki | Leki Lyons @ Circus Bar
Mon 4-Wed 6 Mar, 7pm - What Are Sisters For? | Wallflower Productions @ Gryphon Theatre
Mon 4 Mar, 8:30pm - Daddy’s Girl| Pretty Little Sweethearts @ Gryphon TheatreTue 5 & Wed 6 Mar, 6pm - Everyone’s Got an Errol | Dambats @ BATS Theatre
Tue 5-Thu 7 Mar, 7pm - Jimmy | Weirdo Productions, with songs by the cast & Cole Hampton @ Hannah Playhouse
Tue 5-Sat 9 Mar, 7:30pm - The Wave of the Woman | Kaysee Savali @ BATS Theatre
Tue 5-Sat 9 Mar, 8pm - The Way We Wilt | EKC Choreography (Elizabeth Cocks) @ Te Auaha
*Tue 5 Mar, 8:30pm - Antarctic Endeavours | Ruckus Theatre @ Gryphon Theatre
Tue 5-Thu 7 Mar, 8:30pm - Stand Up So Cool It Has Sunglasses On | Hoh-Mamma-Jamma (Hoani Hotene & Itay Dom) @ Cavern Club
Tue 5-Sat 9 Mar, 9pm - blackpill | Rachel McLean & Sean Burnett Dugdale-Martin @ BATS Theatre
Tue 5 & Wed 6 Mar, 9pm - Tonight on the Outer Rim with Yozveza | Drug of Choice Productions @ Fringe Bar
Tue 5-Sat 9 Mar, 9:30pm - Woodwork | Oh That Theatre Company @ Te Auaha
Wed 6-Sat 9 Mar, 6pm (& 3:30pm Sat) - Pane Provocations | Teherenui Koteka @ Te Auaha
Wed 6-Sat 9 Mar, 6pm - Sandwich Artist | Squash Co. Arts Collective @ Te Auaha
Wed 6 & Thu 7 Mar, 6pm - The Man Whose Mother Was a Pirate: The Musical | Nino Raphael @ Welsh Dragon Bar
Wed 6-Sat 9 Mar, 7:30pm (& 3pm Sat) - Ominous | Jenire @ Te Auaha
Wed 6-Sat 9 Mar, 7:30pm - Rat Tales! | Hootie-Patudi Productions @ Newtown Community Centre
Wed 6-Fri 8 Mar, 7:30pm - Renegade Cabaret | Spark & Flare @ Leroy’s
Wed 6-Sat 9 Mar, 8:30pm - False Idol | Andy Manning @ Gryphon Theatre
Wed 6-Sat 9 Mar, 9pm (& 4:30pm Sat) - Images in Motion | Creative Motion Collective @ Te Auaha
Thu 7-Sat 9 Mar, 5:30pm - Endhoe | Anna Dooley @ Gryphon Theatre
Thu 7-Sat 9 Mar, 6pm - Jez Watts: Jokes About Sex & Death (& No Other Topics) @ Fringe Bar
Thu 7-Sat 9 Mar, 6pm - The Butterfly Who Flew Into the Rave | Oli Mathiesen, Lucy Lynch, Sharvon Mortimer @ BATS Theatre
Thu 7-Sat 9 Mar, 7pm - Leave to Enter | Nick Robertson @ two/fiftyseven
Thu 7-Sat 9 Mar, 7pm - Left Unsaid | Next Door Improv @ Gryphon Theatre
Thu 7-Sat 9 Mar, 7pm - My Feet Hurt | Neil Thornton @ Cavern Club
Thu 7-Sat 9 Mar, 7pm - Neurodi-versatile | Andreas Lepper @ Salvation Army Hall
Thu 7 & Fri 8 Mar, 7pm - The Best of Wet Soup @ Pow Wow Room
Thu 7-Sat 9 Mar, 7:30pm - Roll for Initiative | Campbell Wright @ Circus Bar
Thu 7-Sat 9 Mar, 8pm - The Raw Poetry Slam | Humorous Arts @ Fringe Bar
Thu 7-Sat 9 Mar, 9pm - The Best Man Show | Mark Vigeant @ two/fiftyseven
Fri 8 Mar, 7pm & 9pm - Cinematic Light Orchestra - Album Release @ Hannah Playhouse
Fri 7 Mar, 7pm & 9pm - Māreikura Lumina | Kirsten Te Rito & Jamie Berry @ Public Trust Hall
Fri 8 & Sat 9 Mar, 7pm - Seen. | Matt Bentley @ Te Auaha
Fri 8 & Sat 9 Mar, 8:30pm - I’m Working on It | Advait Kirtikar & Mike Fowler
Sat 9 Mar, 5:30pm & 8pm - Xerox @ Circus Hub
Sat 9 Mar, 7:30pm - Poets Before Me | Mozie (Moana Leota) @ Hannah Playhouse
Sat 9 Mar, 8:30pm - Fringe Freak Out! (An Afterparty) | Eastern Sound Collective @ Rogue and Vagabond
*Sat 9 & Sun 10 Mar, various times - You and A.I. | Binge Culture @ Te Auaha
Mon 11-Sun 17 Mar
Thu 14-Sun 17 Mar, 7pm (5pm Sun) - NZ Festival of the Arts: Belle - A Performance of Air | Movement of The Human @ St James Theatre
Thu 14-Sun 17 Mar, various times - NZ Festival of the Arts: Lost Lear | Dan Colley @ Tāwhiri Warehouse
See you next week!