The smash-hit UK stage adaptation of one of this century’s most treasured movies, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, is headed to New Zealand in 2024.
Based on the Sunday Times bestseller that became a blockbuster movie, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is a joyous comedy about taking risks, finding love and embracing second chances, even in the most surprising of places.
Presented by the Stetson Group in association with Ben McDonald Presents, the Ryman Healthcare season of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel will premiere at Auckland’s The Civic on 23 April, then move to Wellington’s St James Theatre on 7 May and finally, the James Hay Theatre on 15 May.
Described as “comedy gold”, the story revolves around a motley crew of elderly Brits who have grown disillusioned with their own country and decide they want a change. Half of them have been widowed and are lost in the wilderness of their twilight years, trying to find a new meaning to their lives.
They don’t want to inconvenience their families and feel invisible in the country of their birth, which has become a place they no longer recognise.
So they are outsourced to a new “residential hotel” in India – which is far cheaper for the state and less hassle for their families. What they don’t realise is that the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel will change their lives forever.
Direct from the UK, Colin Richmond’s striking set simultaneously presents inside and outside spaces at the run-down colonial home turned hotel. Inside, passageways and staircases surround a central reception area.
Outside, lush green plants and delicate fairy lights create an oasis of old-world Indian charm in a courtyard garden. The attention to detail is impressive and immersive, right down to the hum of traffic and echoing call to prayer audible in the distance.
THE BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL
Auckland 23-28th April 2024 Tickets
Wellington 7-12th May 2024 Tickets
Christchurch 15-19 May 2024 Tickets
