Tickets to Black Lover are now back on sale. The Back on the Boards festival will go ahead from Sept 9-20.  ASB Waterfront Theatre will strictly adhere to all government advice for Auckland's level 2 event mass gathering restrictions which includes separate defined spaces of up to 100 and social distancing. We ask all ticket holders to read their pre-show email instructions carefully before arriving at the theatre. 

The government has recently specified in more detail how venues must comply with Level 2 restrictions in Auckland. We have found a solution that allows us to continue with the remainder of the festival. All ticket holders have be contacted directly and advised of new seating arrangements.

If you have any queries about mass gathering restrictions for public events please check the ministry of health website here.

Award-winning playwright Stanley Makuwe brings us a gripping drama about war, politics and colonialism. 

“We must make it possible for every individual to lead the good life, to win a place in the sun.” - Sir Garfield Todd

Expat New Zealander Sir Garfield Todd said these words in his final speech as Prime Minister of Rhodesia in 1958. Ousted from politics for being a “black lover”, Todd’s ongoing fight for racial equality led to his house arrest in 1965, the starting point for Makuwe’s story.

Compelling and reflective, Black Lover explores the courage to stand against injustice in a nation experiencing deep racial divides.

Black Lover was proudly developed with the support of Auckland Theatre Company.

Dentons Kensington Swan presents Back on the Boards, celebrating the return of live theatre.

Auckland Theatre Company’s return to ASB Waterfront Theatre stage will feature a remount of the beloved and award winning Still Life With Chickens by D.F. Mamea, a show that steals hearts wherever it is performed around the world.  The highly acclaimed play Black Lover by Stanley Makuwe, the premiere season of which sold out out during the 2020 Auckland Arts Festival but was cut short by the global pandemic, will also be remounted. Back on the Boards also features a brand new work 48 Nights on Hope Street, a direct and exciting response to this time from a diverse company of young writers, actors and musicians.

Three brilliant New Zealand works celebrate good people, profound relationships and what it means to be human. Come and see one, two or all three shows to once again enjoy a stellar night out at the theatre.