| 3 T T Kim Newth Landmark year for Court Theatre The opening of The Court Theatre’s new multi-million complex is a culmination of years of planning and endeavour. REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT The Court Theatre Get ready for a brilliant 2025 season of live theatre as The Court Theatre prepares to move into its new, purpose-built home in the heart of Ōtautahi Christchurch. In this year of celebration for The Court Theatre, the company is looking forward to throwing open the doors to the communities of Ōtautahi Christchurch. From ground-breaking new plays, worldclass musicals and children’s theatre to cornerstone pieces and innovative works, the Ryman Healthcare 2025 Season at The Court Theatre presents a showcase of artistic talent and entertainment that offers something for everyone. “The new Court Theatre belongs to all of us and it will be a welcoming place for everyone to enjoy outstanding live theatre for many generations to come.” T T to page 4 For all your commercial & residential joinery NO JOB TOO BIG OR TOO SMALL J.B.Joinery Ltd 18 Hands Road, Addington PO Box 6062, Christchurch Ph 03 338 4159 info@jbjoinery.co.nz ■ Suspended Ceilings ■ Steel stud partitions ■ Timber frame partitions ■ Aluminium office partitions ■ Bespoke wall & ceiling panelling ■ Plasterboard Installation ■ Insulation & Plastering ■ Seismic restraint Proudly supporting The Court Theatre 021 658 968 | accounts@aeoninteriors.co.nz | www.aeoninteriors.co.nz 2025/26 GREEN Te Kaitiaki o Haumaru “The new Court Theatre belongs to all of us and it will be a welcoming place for everyone to enjoy outstanding live theatre for many generations to come,” says Gretchen La Roche, The Court Theatre executive director. The opening of the new multi-million theatre, on the corner of Colombo and Gloucester Streets, is a culmination of years of planning and endeavour after the Court’s original home at the Arts Centre was damaged in the February 2011 Christchurch earthquakes. After the earthquakes, The Court Theatre had to make do with an old grain shed in Addington - a useful, but temporary, refuge while they planned a new permanent home. The development is a partnership between the Crown, providing land in the performing arts precinct, the Christchurch City Council developing the precinct (including construction of The Court Theatre, public space and landscaping), and The Court Theatre itself, together with its supporters, who have donated generously towards the project. One of the world’s top theatre design specialists – London-based architectural practice Haworth Tompkins – was paired with Athfield Architects and a team of local consultants to design the new three-storey theatre “We have been in conversation with Haworth Tompkins since 2014,” says The Court Theatre’s Artistic Advisor Ross Gumbley, whose career with the company spans nearly 40 years. “As we said to them, we stand on the shoulders of people that went before us to create the intimate experience we call The Court Theatre. That was our starting point – how do we make a theatre that’s intimate?” The detailed final design is perfectly aligned to serve The Court Theatre’s wide ranging repertoire of comedies, dramas and children’s shows through to large-scale musicals.
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