Auckland Theatre Company announces 2023 programme to celebrate its 30th anniversary

Munashe Tapfuya, Nicola Kāwana and Michael Hurst will star in Auckland Theatre Company shows in 2023. Photo / Auckland Theatre Company

One of New Zealand's premier theatre companies will mark 30 years in 2023 with a new season that includes a return to Shakespeare and two productions rescued from Covid cancellations.

Auckland Theatre Company has today announced its programme for next year, with six diverse shows set to show the breadth of the company as it marks a landmark anniversary.

The company was born in 1993 with the world premiere of David Geary's Lovelock's Dream Run, which established the arrival of the professional theatre company, which now operates out of its own home theatre on Auckland's waterfront.

Among the highlight shows for next year includes King Lear, the first time the company has performed a work by William Shakespeare in eight years. The production, which will be co-directed by Benjamin Henson and acting legend Michael Hurst, who will take on the iconic role, also marks 400 years since Shakespeare's first folio was published. Among the ensemble cast is Hurst's wife, former New Zealander of the Year Jennifer Ward-Lealand.

Michael Hurst will co-direct and star in King Lear to mark 400 years since the First Folio was published. Photo / Auckland Theatre Company

The 2023 programme is the second to be assembled by the ATC's artistic director and chief executive Jonathan Bielski. In a statement, he said the company's ability to stage its 30th season "is a testament to the passion and skill of a generation of artists and makers who we have been privileged to work with".

There are high hopes the company, one of the only professional theatre companies in the country, will be able to complete a full season this year. Covid-19 saw the cancellation of most of the company's 2020 season, before lockdowns saw several shows cancelled in 2021 and 2022, while gathering restrictions led to reduced ticket sales.

Two of those cancelled shows - Things That Matter, an adaptation of Dr David Galler's best-selling memoir about his work at Middlemore Hospital, and Witi's Wahine, spotlighting some of the leading women from Witi Ihimaera's work - will be finally be staged next year.

The season will open in February with Australian comedy The Heartbreak Choir, and will end in September with Switzerland, with local acting royalty Sarah Peirse reprising the leading role of author Patricia Highsmith which she originated at the Sydney Opera House. Local futuristic work Basamati Bitch will stage its world premiere in July.

For more information on the Auckland Theatre Company's 2023 season, head to atc.co.nz.