Following a landmark first full year in its new purpose-built home, The Court Theatre has unveiled an ambitious and wide-ranging 2027 Season – a year of extraordinary stories designed to entertain, challenge, surprise and, above all, bring people together.
More than 94,000 people came through the doors of The Court Theatre during its first 12 months in its new home – some continuing a relationship with The Court Theatre stretching back decades, and others experiencing the theatre for the very first time.
Now, The Court Theatre invites audiences to experience an extraordinary 2027 season, bringing together gripping drama, laugh-out-loud comedy, beloved musicals, timeless classics, bold Aotearoa storytelling, captivating theatre for young people and plenty of theatrical surprises.
At the heart of the season is a simple idea: connection.
“In an era of the ‘chronically online’, where we are inundated with media and yet can feel more disconnected than ever, the value of theatre to both speak to, and form connection, is incalculable,” says The Court Theatre Artistic Director Alison Walls.
“Connection and communication form the magic thread running through our 2027 Season. Across centuries and cultures, people have come together for storytelling in shared time and space. That is the magic of live theatre, and we can’t wait to share it with our audiences in 2027.”
The season brings some of the world’s best-known stories to The Court Theatre alongside important Aotearoa voices and brand-new work.
The intrigue begins with the world’s longest-running play, Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap, the genre-defining murder mystery that has kept audiences guessing for more than 70 years. Seven strangers, a snowbound guesthouse and a killer in their midst make for one of theatre’s great nights of suspense – with audiences famously sworn to secrecy about the ending.
Shakespeare’s Macbeth is reimagined in a daring theatrical adaptation that sees a broken man channel the tragedy of the Scottish king, while Auckland Theatre Company’s acclaimed Tiri: Te Araroa Woman Far Walking brings one of Aotearoa’s significant theatrical works to The Court Theatre. Through the life of Tiri, the play journeys through history, memory and te reo Māori in a powerful exploration of Te Tiriti, survival, resistance and identity.
Aotearoa stories remain firmly at the centre of the programme.
Lynda Chanwai-Earle’s Heat takes audiences to an isolated Antarctic research hut, where a couple’s only connection with the outside world is through a live feed – until the arrival of an Emperor penguin changes everything.
The Court Theatre will also present the world premiere of Gary Henderson’s The Breath of Silence, an ambitious new work that reaches across time and space, weaving together the 1860s story of Edmund Green and the establishment of Christchurch’s first telegraph line, 1950s codebreakers and present-day radio astronomers – all listening and searching for messages; searching for connection.
For audiences who like their theatre with a healthy dose of laughter, music and glorious theatrical mayhem, 2027 delivers in abundance.
From the creators of Beetlejuice: The Musical comes Broadway hit Gutenberg! The Musical!, a joyously funny musical about two friends attempting to sell their wildly ambitious new musical about the inventor of the printing press – while playing almost every character themselves.
Then television’s most famous tent heads to the stage with The Great British Bake Off Musical, serving up big songs, bigger personalities and the warmth, humour and human connection that made the television competition a global phenomenon.
The Court Theatre will also partner with Binge Culture Collective for Werewolf, an interactive comedy-horror experience where communication isn’t just important – it could be the difference between survival and becoming the next case of lycanthropy.
Young performers and young audiences are an essential part of The Court Theatre’s 2027 story.
Andrew Lloyd Webber’s School of Rock: Young Actors Edition will unleash a new generation of rock stars on stage, while The Court Theatre’s Youth Company tackles George Orwell’s chilling 1984, exploring surveillance, propaganda and control in a story whose questions around technology and mass communication remain startlingly relevant.
For younger tamariki, Spray and Wipe return with Rollicking Entertainment’s messy, magical Bathtime Bubbles, while The Court Theatre Jesters bring their unique brand of improvised chaos to audiences of all ages with Battle Royale and Scriptless Jnr: Christmas Chaos. For adults, Christmas A Musical and the Friday night institution Scared Scriptless delivers its signature unscripted hilarity, alongside new improvised shows inspired by everything from Shakespeare to television and YouTube.
For Executive Director Richard Aindow, the 2027 Season represents the next chapter for The Court Theare following the extraordinary response to its new home.
“2026 was our first full calendar year in our new purpose-built whare, and what a year it has been. More than 94,000 people from across our community came through our doors in our first 12 months – some for the fiftieth year in a row and some for the very first time,” says Aindow.
“We were delighted and humbled by that response. Now, as we step into 2027, we are even more determined to deliver on our vision of building community through theatre in Waitaha Canterbury.
“A building, however special, is only the beginning. What matters is what happens inside it – the stories we tell, the artists we support, the young people we inspire, the communities we reach and the relationships we build with our audiences.”
Aindow says every audience member plays an important role in ensuring professional theatre continues to thrive in Canterbury.
“Every ticket bought, every subscription, every school group and every family that takes part in one of our programmes helps make what we do possible. Our audiences aren’t simply spectators – they are an essential part of The Court Theatre.”
For subscribers, the 2027 Season offers the chance to make theatre a regular part of the year: to discover something unexpected alongside the shows they already know they’ll love, and to experience a diverse programme of world-class and homegrown theatre in one of New Zealand’s newest purpose-built theatre venues.
And for those who have never been to The Court Theatre before, 2027 could be the perfect year to start.
Come for a murder mystery. Come for Shakespeare. Come for a musical, a laugh, a night with friends, a family outing or a story you know nothing about. Just come. There’s nothing like live theatre.
Click here for the full 2027 Season and subscription information