Introduction to our 2027 Season from Artistic Director Jonathan Bielski

In 2027, our plays run the full gamut: from an affectionate but frank family story, via plenty of mystery and thrills, through a paean to feminist leadership, to end-stage capitalism in a future Aotearoa. Whether our playwrights are out for a rollicking good time or have a powerful point of view on the world around us, each story is compelling.  

The backbone of our work remains writing by New Zealand playwrights, with two world premieres, a return season of a smash hit and the Auckland premiere of an adored classic in a new adaptation. In each case, Auckland Theatre Company has invested in the playwright and the development of the work. Our commitment to writers and stories has never been greater.  

Our season opens with the undisputed master of suspense, Stephen King, in classic form with Misery. Adapted for the stage by screenwriter William Goldman, it brings together two of the biggest names in show business: Michael Hurst ONZM, and Morgana O’Reilly as Annie Wilkes, the role made famous on film by Kathy Bates. This taut thriller from director Simon Bennett is a wild ride that will push you back in your seat.  

Victor Rodger ONZM (Sāmoa: Iva; Scotland: Broughty Ferry) is an Arts Foundation Laureate and one of our most provocative playwrights. Together with FCC and Te Ahurei Toi o Tāmaki Auckland Arts Festival, we are proud to bring you the world premiere of his next play, The Boy from Vaiala, directed by Anapela Polata'ivao ONZM (Sāmoa: Vailoa Faleata, Vaiusu, Fagae'e Safune). It is a love letter to Victor’s Uncle Pasi, a Sāmoan man whose extraordinary life began in an island village before exploding onto Sydney’s Kings Cross, conquering the Las Vegas Strip and, ultimately, to Vivian Street, Wellington, and the famed Purple Onion drag and strip club. I invite you to an evening with an improbable character I guarantee you will fall in love with. 

The King’s Speech is the touching true story of an unlikely friendship between King George VI and his speech therapist, the Australian Lionel Logue, made famous by the Oscar-winning film, itself based on this play by David Seidler. The abdication of Edward VIII thrusts the then Duke of York, the spare heir, into public life. With a speech impediment and as war looms once more, the new king struggles to say what he knows he must to lead the empire into battle. This production from The Court Theatre, directed by Benjamin Kilby-Henson, is lush and regal.  

We were absolutely stormed by demand last season for Helen Clark in Six Outfits by Fiona Samuel MNZM. Director Sophie Roberts’ production sold out so quickly that we decided to bring it back in 2027 while the actors were still on stage. Do not miss out this time – book your tickets now.  

Jane Austen is so beloved that her books have almost never been out of print and the screen adaptations never stop coming. Now, her first published novel, Sense and Sensibility, arrives on the stage of ASB Waterfront Theatre in a witty, laugh-out-loud adaptation by Penny Ashton. It is quintessentially Austen but with a twist — six women play all 24 characters in what is, at once, riotous and delightful. Filled with Regencyera charm and good manners, it is directed by Margaret-Mary Hollins and stars greats Jackie Clarke MNZM and Lisa Chappell.  

Award-winning Kāi Tahu playwright Alex Medland is now based in the UK, where her work has been picked up by the Royal Court Theatre for a reading. We are thrilled to have tempted Alex, an alum of our Youth Company, home for the world premiere of her play, Becoming Jeff Bezos. In a future dystopian New Zealand, the tech bros have taken the technology race to its ultimate conclusion: catastrophe. Director Jason Te Kare (Ngāti Maniapoto, Waikato) has conceived a traverse staging, so we are at Q Theatre.  

Our home, ASB Waterfront Theatre, is packed to the rafters with our own shows and some rather fabulous yet-to-be-announced international musicals. This means we can fit in only a short season of our new Twelfth Night, William Shakespeare’s romantic comedy of mistaken identities and shipwrecked lovers. With backing from Woolf Fisher Trust and the Douglas Goodfellow Charitable Trust, we will be performing it for schools and a very limited public season. It is directed by Miriama McDowell (Ngāti Hine, Ngāpuhi) and Katrina George (Malie Sāmoa, Pākehā) in their joint directorial debuts with Auckland Theatre Company. 

Our season ends on the River Nile, circa 1937. Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express, adapted by Ken Ludwig, was the most-attended play we have ever produced, with almost 24,000 people across two sold-out seasons. Ludwig has now adapted Death on the Nile and we bring you the New Zealand premiere. Director Eleanor Bishop and Production Designer Tracy Grant Lord take full advantage of our big stage in a monumental production that will blow your socks off. 

The work of Auckland Theatre Company is made possible by the generosity of the many. By public sector investment from Auckland Council and Creative New Zealand. By donations from the ATC Patrons Group and the Youth Company Supporters Group. By major gifts from Friedlander Foundation, Foundation North, Freemasons Foundation, The Tindall Foundation Next Gen Fund, and many more. By partnerships with MiNDFOOD, Europcar and our new family member, Intrepid Travel. Thank you to every person and organisation that supports us.  

Beyond the mainstage, we run a Youth Company where young artists begin their creative lives, often returning to us in professional engagements. We are committed to making theatre accessible with initiatives like Pay What You Wish, community-priced tickets and access programmes for Deaf and disabled audiences. This ensures that thousands, who would otherwise be excluded, see our shows.  

For my sixth season as Artistic Director, I warmly invite you to a year of eight extraordinary productions. Each is made with aroha and manaaki by the actors, playwrights, creatives, builders and stitchers, crews and staff of Auckland Theatre Company. Each is a gift to you, our audience of theatre-lovers. 

JONATHAN BIELSKI 
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR & CEO