Pōneke performing arts Sep 23-29, 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 and into 2025.

Recently announced

We’ve hit peak announcements this week - hope you’ve got your calendars ready.

The Billy T Award nominations are out, and Wellington is re-pre-sent-ed! Congrats to Booth the Clown and Jak Darling, Hoani Hotene, Lesa Macleod-Whiting, David Stuart, and Itay Dom. We can expect shows from all of them in the NZ Comedy Festival next May 2-25 (although not necessarily all in Wellington).

Speaking of Billy T nominees, you can catch a couple of them, plus more rad Wellington funny people, in the next Airhorn! show, Friday 4 October, 8pm at the Newtown Community Centre.

Fresh from Edinburgh Fringe, Trick of the Light bring Suitcase Show to Te Auaha at the beginning of October.

Te Rākau’s community tour of Unreel by Helen Pearse-Otene comes to Wellington City in October (also Porirua and Upper Hutt).

The Victoria Ancient Theatre Society present Iphigeneia Among The Taurians at the Victoria University Memorial Theatre in October.

Natasha McAllister presents Sister Wives at BATS in October.

Paddy Gower brings The F#$%ing News to Meow Nui in November (assuming it’s open…).

The Pop-up Globe bring A Midsummer Night’s Dream to Soundings Theatre in November.

Best in Fringe Show Do Café is back in November, at the Hannah Playhouse.

Twilieght - The Loca Edition return to BATS for one night only in November.

Jack and Michael Whitehall are coming to the MFC in January.

Indian comedian Zakir Khan will be at the Opera House next February.

Foil Arms & Fog are coming back next June to the St James.

KAT Theatre have announced their 2025 season: The Man Whose Mother Was a Pirate by Tim Bray in February, a short season of short plays in April, Home, I’m Darling by Laura Wade in July, and Jekyll and Hyde by Neil Bartlett in October.

This week

Continuing this week are Mel Dodge and Lyndee-Jane Rutherford’s Prima Facie and New Players’ Art Theft.

Also on are: the return of PopRox’s Farce Onion, Whitireia and Weltec commercial dance students’ Midnight Meets Morning, the return of Laura Gaudin and Izzi Lao’s adorable little CRUNCH, the beginning of World of Wearable Art, the Wellington Puppetry Festival, and a final performance of Ginge & Minge’s Jez & Jace.

Plus kids’ shows: Trees, Bees and Me from Horse With No Name, Mr Fungus from Fergus Aitken, and Amalia’s Music from Amalia Calder.

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* = continuation of season

Advisory: Please double check the dates/times/venues of events when you book tickets!

Mon 23-Sun 29 Sep

• *Tue 24-Sat 28 Sep, various times - Prima Facie (return season) | Kavanah Productions & BRAVE theatre (Mel Dodge) @ Circa Theatre

• Tue 24-Sat 28 Sep, 8pm - Farce Onion (return season) | PopRox @ BATS Theatre

• Wed 25-Sat 28 Sep, 7pm (& 2pm Sat) - Midnight Meets Morning | Whitireia & Weltec Commercial Dance students @ Te Auaha

• Thu 26-Sat 28 Sep, 6:30pm (& 1pm Fri & Sat) - CRUNCH (return season) | Laura Gaudin & Izzi Lao @ BATS Theatre

• Thu 26 Sep-Sun 13 Oct, various times - World of Wearable Art @ TSB Arena

• *Fri 20-Sat 28 Sep, 7:30pm (3pm Sun) - Art Theft | New Players Theatre Company @ Newlands Community Centre

• Fri 27-Sun 29 Sep - Wellington Puppetry Festival @ Vogelmorn Bowling Club

• Fri 27 Sep, 9:30pm - Jez & Jace (return performance) | Ginge & Minge @ BATS Theatre

• Sat 28 Sep-Sat 12 Oct, 10am & 11:30am - Trees, Bees and Me | Horse With No Name @ Circa Theatre

• Sat 28 Sep-Sat 5 Oct, 10am - Mr Fungus | Fergus Aitken @ Tararua Tramping Club

• Sat 28 Sep-Sat 5 Oct, 11:30am - Amalia’s Music | Amalia Calder @ Tararua Tramping Club

Mon 30 Sep-Sun 6 Oct

Not NZ Improv Festival:

• Mon 30 Sep, 10am, 12:30pm, 3pm - Wiggle GROOVE! Tour | The Wiggles (Aus) @ Michael Fowler Centre

• *Mon 30 Sep-Sat 5 Oct, 10am - Mr Fungus | Fergus Aitken @ Tararua Tramping Club

• Mon 30 Sep, 11am - Badjelly the Witch Glow Show | The Glow Show Company @ Opera House

• *Mon 30 Sep-Sat 5 Oct, 11:30am - Amalia’s Music | Amalia Calder @ Tararua Tramping Club

• Mon 30 Sep, 3pm - The David Walliams - Book Show | David Walliams (UK) @ St James Theatre

• Mon 30 Sep, 7:30pm - An Audience with David Walliams | David Walliams (UK) @ St James Theatre

• *Tue 1-Sat 12 Oct, 10am & 11:30am - Trees, Bees and Me | Horse With No Name @ Circa Theatre

• Tue 1-Sun 6 Oct, 6pm & 7:30pm (3pm & 4:30pm Sun) - Disaster | Binge Culture & machina eX (Germany) @ Hannah Playhouse

• Tue 1-Sat 5 Oct, 6pm & 8pm - Overdue - A Promenade Tour of Studio 77 | VUW Te Whare Ngangahau THEA 311 students @ Studio 77, Victoria University of Wellington

• *Wed 2-Sun 13 Oct, various times - World of Wearable Art @ TSB Arena

• Thu 3 & Fri 4 Oct, 7pm - Suitcase Show (return season) | Trick of the Light @ Te Auaha

• Fri 4 Oct-Sat 2 Nov, various times - and the Lochburns | William Duignan @ Circa Theatre

NZ Improv Festival:

• Fri 4 & Sat 5 Oct, 6:30pm - Fresh Produce | NZIF Youth Programme graduates @ BATS Theatre

• Fri 4 Oct, 7pm - blip | Isaac Hooper @ BATS Theatre

• Fri 4 Oct, 8pm - PopRox @ BATS Theatre

• Fri 4 Oct, 8:30pm - Between Friends | Best On Tap @ BATS Theatre

• Sat 5 Oct, 7pm - The Last Days of Jericho Falls | Locomotive @ BATS Theatre

• Sat 5 Oct, 8pm - Muunboot: Welcome to the Shmuckpad @ BATS Theatre

• Sat 5 Oct, 8:30pm - Late Night Knife Fight | Locomotive @ BATS Theatre

Mon 7-Sun 13 Oct

Not NZ Improv Festival:

• *Tue 8-Sat 12 Oct, 10am & 11:30am - Trees, Bees and Me | Horse With No Name @ Circa Theatre

• *Tue 8 Oct-Sat 2 Nov, various times - and the Lochburns | William Duignan @ Circa Theatre

• Tue 8 & Wed 9 Oct, 8pm - Romesh Ranganathan: Hustle @ Opera House

• Wed 9-Thu 24 Oct - E/MERGE Festival | Te Auaha Creative & Performing Arts students @ Te Auaha

• *Wed 9-Sun 13 Oct, various times - World of Wearable Art @ TSB Arena

• Thu 10-Sat 19 Oct, 7:30pm (4pm Sun) - Our Man in Havana | KAT Theatre @ Cochran Hall

• Sat 12-Sun 20 Oct, 7pm - Before We Slip Into the Sea | Red Scare Theatre Company @ Aro Valley Community Centre

NZ Improv Festival:

• Tue 8 Oct, 6:30pm - All Aboard! | NZIF @ BATS Theatre

• Tue 8 Oct, 7:45pm - Kōrero Paki | Wiremu Tuhiwai @ BATS Theatre

• Tue 8 Oct, 9pm - Songs From a Spellbound City | Brenna Dixon @ BATS Theatre

• Wed 9 Oct, 6:30pm - Bodyworks | Gab Raz @ BATS Theatre

• Wed 9 Oct, 7:45pm - It’s Us, In the End | Bianca Casusol @ BATS Theatre

• Wed 9-Fri 11 Oct, 9pm (8:30pm Fri) - The Made-Up Smackdown | NZIF @ BATS Theatre

• Thu 10 Oct, 6:30pm - Pulsión - A Sensory Universe | Andrea Ferpo @ BATS Theatre

• Thu 10 Oct, 7:45pm - There Used to Be Magic, Once | Christine Brooks @ BATS Theatre

• Thu 10 Oct, 10:15pm - Grab Bag! | NZIF @ BATS Theatre

• Fri 11 Oct, 6:30pm - Chronically Ill-Prepared | Unscripted and Unmasked @ BATS Theatre

• Fri 11 Oct, 7pm - Meet the Filipinos | Fillow Talk @ BATS Theatre

• Fri 11 Oct, 9pm - 100 Things | Rebecca Mary Gwendolon @ BATS Theatre

• Sat 12 Oct, 6:30pm - The Royal Fakespeare Company | The Court Jesters @ BATS Theatre

• Sat 12 Oct, 7pm - Improv Masala | Ambika GKR @ BATS Theatre

• Sat 12 Oct, 8:30pm - Closing Night Show | NZIF @ BATS Theatre

• Sat 12 Oct, 9pm - The Ex-Husbands of Wilhelmina Williams/That 90s Sitcom | Maria Williams & Malcolm Morrison @ BATS Theatre

Mon 14-Sun 20 Oct

• *Tue 15-Thu 24 Oct - E/MERGE Festival | Te Auaha Creative & Performing Arts students @ Te Auaha

• *Tue 15 Oct-Sat 2 Nov, various times - and the Lochburns | William Duignan @ Circa Theatre

• Tue 15 Oct-Sat 2 Nov, 7:30pm (4:30pm Sun) - Cynthia & Gertie Ride Again | Helen Moulder @ Circa Theatre

• Wed 16-Sat 19 Oct, 6:30pm - Sister Wives | Dollhouse Productions (Natasha McAllister) @ BATS Theatre

• *Thu 17-Sat 19 Oct, 7:30pm - Our Man in Havana | KAT Theatre @ Cochran Hall

• *Sat 19 & Sun 20 Oct, 7pm - Before We Slip Into the Sea | Red Scare Theatre Company @ Aro Valley Community Centre

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