Werewolf
Three ill-equipped wardens keep watch over a makeshift community (that’s you, the audience) who must learn to work together. When night falls — who do you trust?
But as the threat outside takes shape, the atmosphere inside begins to turn. Inspired by the classic game of deception, Werewolf is a riveting horror-comedy experience from the savvy minds at Binge Culture, whose acclaimed interactive theatre works are a joy to play along with.
- Location: Loft
- Ticket Price: $49
- Duration: 1 hour, No Interval
- Date: 5 - 8 March 2026
- Content Warning: Recommended for ages: 12 and over
Music Portrait of a Humble Disabled Samoan
Raised in Wainuiomata, Fonotī Pati Umaga was given two options from his father about his future. Either become a church minister or a lawyer. Determined to follow his own path, however, he followed his heart and chose music. In 2005, everything changed when a fall left him a tetraplegic. Years of hardship followed before finding renewed purpose and healing in places he never expected. Backed by a powerhouse Pacific creative team, Music Portrait of a Humble Disabled Samoan weaves live music, storytelling and visual design into a genre-defying celebration of resilience, hope and the fire music can carry.
- Location: Rangatira
- Ticket Price: $59 - $79
- Duration: 1hr, no interval
- Date: 5 - 8 March 2026
- Content Warning: Contains haze
A place in the Sultan's Kitchen
In A Place in the Sultan’s Kitchen, Josh attempts to recreate his grandmother’s famous chicken curry live on stage — filling the theatre with the sounds, scents, and stories of generations past. As he stirs, chops, and tastes, he takes us on a journey through his family’s extraordinary history. From the backstreets of Sri Lanka to bustling India, from a schoolyard in Iran to a South African farm, and finally to his home in Wollongong.
- Location: Rangatira
- Ticket Price: $49 - $59
- Duration: 1hr, no interval
- Date: 12 - 15 March 2026
- Content Warning: Contains descriptions of violence.
Recommended for ages 12+
He Kākano: Becoming Jeff Bezos
Alex Medland (Kai Tahu) is an actor and playwright. She has been a member of both Auckland Theatre Company’s Youth Company and Writer’s Table, and she currently produces new work with her Edinburgh based company Half Trick Theatre. Besides her Playmarket award for Becoming Jeff Bezos, she is the winner of the 2025 Adam NZ Play Award — the youngest in its 18-year history — for We’re Gonna Kill Billy.
Becoming Jeff Bezos is part of our development programme to support new work. This year the Festival is spotlighting promising young Māori playwrights with play readings directed by Jason Te Kare.
- Location: Loft
- Ticket Price: $30*
- Duration: 1hr, no interval
- Date: 13 - 14 March 2026
- Content Warning: Contains descriptions of violence.
Recommended for ages 12+
He Kākano: Marmite & Honey
In a poignant theatrical experience Marmite & Honey unfolds as a pressure cooker drama spanning twenty-four hours. Join the Whānau of William on this journey of remembrance and introspection as each character delves into the complexities of mourning, inviting reflection on how you cope with the departure of a loved one.
Marmite & Honey is part of our development programme to support new work. This year the Festival is spotlighting promising young Māori playwrights with play readings directed by Jason Te Kare.
- Location: Loft
- Ticket Price: $30
- Duration: 1hr 20mins approx, no interval
- Date: 14 - 15 March 2025
- Content Warning: TBC
The Butterfly Who Flew Into The Rave
The Butterfly Who Flew into the Rave is a high-octane celebration of movement, music, and stamina.
Set to the iconic techno track Nocturbulous Behaviour by Suburban Knight, this relentless 60-minute performance compresses the energy of a three-day rave into one exhilarating hour. The trio of hardcore party people push their bodies to the brink — testing endurance, focus, and rhythm as they dance themselves into euphoric oblivion..
- Location: Rangatira
- Ticket Price: $49 - $59
- Duration: 1hr, no interval
- Date: 12 - 14 March 2026
- Content Warning: Contains haze, strobe lighting, and loud noises.
Recommended for ages 13+
The Visitors
For the first time in Aotearoa — The Visitors is a landmark work of First Nations storytelling that powerfully reimagines one of the most pivotal days in Australia’s history.
On a sweltering day in January 1788, seven clan leaders gather on a sandstone escarpment overlooking Sydney Harbour. As they share banter, observe protocols, and extend hospitality, a fleet of enormous nawi (boats) appears on the horizon. The visitors are drawing closer — and a decision must be made: should they be welcomed or should they be sent away?
- Location: Rangatira
- Ticket Price: $59 - $79
- Duration: 1hr 15mins no interval
- Date: 19 - 22 March 2026
- Content Warning: Contains infrequent coarse language, themes of racial violence, descriptions of violence, intergenerational trauma, and haze.
Recommended for ages 13+.
Sincere Apologies
Say sorry. Really mean it.
Experience a participatory performance built from the world’s apologies — the famous, the obscure, the deeply personal, and the perfunctory ones that begin every second email in your inbox.
Part theatrical ritual, part social experiment, Sincere Apologies explores what it means to apologise in a society full of broken systems, failed relationships, and bureaucratic disclaimers. Through a nurturing, communal, and non-judgmental gathering, audiences become part of the experience — reading aloud, reflecting silently, or simply witnessing.
- Location: Loft
- Ticket Price: $30*
- Duration: 55 mins, no interval.
- Date:19 - 22 March 2026
- Content Warning: Contains occasional coarse language and non-compulsory audience participation.
Recommended for ages 13+