Amateur theatre groups are treading the boards again after two years of financial heartbreak and cancelled shows.
Those involved in staging productions are happy to be back, although the Covid-19 pandemic has taken its toll financially and by hitting morale.
In Palmerston North, Act Three Productions' season of Godspell is under way and production manager Merryn Osborne says it is a thrill to perform.
"These guys, they're so happy to be able to get out in front of an audience once again, to have people coming in and hopefully enjoying the show.
"Just seeing live theatre again will be something that has been sadly missing for the last couple of years."
Act Three Productions managed a few nights of Queen-inspired show We Will Rock You last year, before the August lockdown.
In 2020, Sister Act played to audiences segmented into bubbles of 100, with a maximum of 400 people allowed in the Regent on Broadway, leaving it only a quarter full.
"It has been very tough financially. We've had a number of times when we've looked at how we're going to survive," Osborne says.
"We've just been going out trying for grants all the way through. That's how we've managed to survive."
Although shows can play to full audiences under the Omicron orange settings, there were still Covid disruptions.
Osborne said members of the 17-person cast, and wider crew of about 30 people, had missed rehearsals due to isolation.
And when someone tested positive for Covid, the theatre and backstage were deep cleaned.
That was a minor irritant for Osborne, however, who said she couldn't wait to experience an audience enjoying a show again.
"It's just going to feel so good to be able to actually stand at the back of the auditorium and see a sea of people, heads looking at the stage, enjoying it, because the show is great. It's so fun."
• Jimmy Ellingham is RNZ's Manawatū reporter.