 |
|
Court Cues - June 2026 |
|
|
|
Dear Friends,
We are now entering the winter months where going out at night is a little less enticing. So, we suggest you come to one of the Friends new undertakings at The Court Theatre.
The Director's Circle is an intimate session with the Director of each new show leading a discussion group. Guests get a closer insight to the creative process that goes into shaping the work that will soon be seen on stage. It’s a fantastic opportunity to hear directly from the creative team. They are presented as an informal chat sessions with questions and answers.
With these sessions being so popular and often booked out we are looking at holding them in a larger venue in the future.
The next Director's Circle is At the Wake with Director Tanya Muagututi’a and MC Grace von Huben, 6pm, Monday 29 June 2026. Tickets are only $15. |
|
|
|
|
|
The Public Theatre Tours are held monthly and often booked out too, so plan ahead. Guests are taken behind the curtain to discover how the magic is made at The Court Theatre, from the first sketch to the final spotlight. You will see how The Court Theatre creates everything on-site, from the construction of grand sets in the workshop to the design and fabrication of the stunning costumes. A member of the Friends will host your one-hour tour, sharing stories of past productions and history.
Bookings for both can be made through the theatre website with all proceeds going to the Friends.
Ngā mihi
Annie Bonifant
Chair - Friends of The Court Theatre |
|
|
|
Are you interested in becoming a volunteer tour guide? |
|
Do you have strong communication and interpersonal skills, an enthusiasm for theatre, the arts, or Christchurch's cultural sector AND are comfortable speaking to groups, providing an inclusive and welcoming experience? If this sounds like you, The Court Theatre’s Education and Engagement team would love to hear from you. Previous tour guiding experience is preferred but not essential.
Email communications@courttheatre.org.nz to express an interest, using Volunteer Tour Guide as the email’s subject line. We will send you more information about the timeframes and application process.
Join us in sharing the stories, creativity, and magic that make The Court Theatre a special place for our community. |
|
|
|
|
|
Behind the scenes of Let the Right One In |
Dan Bain - Director |
|
The first time I read the stage adaptation of Let the Right One In, I was convinced it was unstageable by The Court Theatre.
I first encountered the script in 2019 while looking at potential projects to follow up my production of Misery. My immediate reaction was that it simply couldn't be done. The play moves constantly between locations, carries a strongly cinematic language, and demands instant transformations that are easy on film but enormously difficult on stage.
When the opportunity eventually came to direct it myself, the biggest challenge wasn't interpreting the story or working with the actors. It was figuring out how we were actually going to stage it. |
|
|
|
Working alongside set designer Chris Reddington, we spent months trying to solve that problem. Before we talked much about practicalities, we spent a lot of time discussing the themes of the piece: ambiguity, fractured identities, and a world where nothing sits comfortably between light and dark, human and monster, childhood and adulthood. |
|
|
|
Chris built three separate scale models during the design process. The first looked beautiful but became unworkable almost immediately. The second took us further before revealing new problems. The third finally gave us a framework that could support the story's many locations while reflecting its unsettling emotional landscape. Watching Chris repeatedly build and then destroy these intricate models was both painful and inspiring.
What emerged was a highly collaborative process involving designers, technicians and creative staff from the earliest stages. I knew that by the time we went into rehearsal we had to have solved every challenge in advance, or we’d lose momentum and morale in the room.
For me, Let the Right One In has been less about vampires and horror than about solving a theatrical puzzle. Once we found a way to tell the story on stage, everything else began to fall into place.
Even if you are a little leery of the genre and the (elaborate, liability removing) content warnings around the show I would encourage you to give it a crack. It’s as sweet as it is sour, and it is one of the most technically extraordinary pieces of work that I have seen or worked on at any of the three iterations of The Court Theatre. |
|
|
|
|
Julian Southgate - Properties Master |
|
The question I am always asked is, what is the blood made of? Always everyone wants to know, as it needs to be variously sticky, thin, gloopy, runny and intense enough to read under dim lights...the answer is what really could be considered a form of concentrated energy drink, sweet and slightly sticky.
The base is a sugary syrup, in this case 'invert' sugar, a syrup of fructose and glucose made from splitting white sugar with citric acid - this makes it slippery and resistant to crystalising. Then chocolate commercial syrup is added for the 'brown' and that chocolatey taste, a 'non dairy creamer' for the opaque whiteness, then a cornflour thickener with water, and then the colouring. All must be shelf stable, the sugar content does that, and edible as it gets everywhere...and yes, the food colouring at the end. The red, I have used various reds, all stain in some form or the other. The hottest red comes from powdered food colour, used for those very bright Chinese buffet foods! This powder is slightly salty, with no heat, and is very unstable when washed out, the more impermanent the dye the better! Other bloods are commercial such as 'Fleet Street' for a dark stable wound blood, and a bright syrupy red for a trick 'blood knife'. |
|
|
|
|
|
How does the blood get to the right places? By any means possible! Tubes, rubber bulbs, blood bags that burst under pressure, foaming edible blood capsules, and more tubes, connected to pressure pumps hidden away...
And the 'goo' used for melting effects? Its 'HEC" or hydroxyethyl cellulose, the food safe and ubiquitous thickener in everything gloopy, from hair gel to toothpastes, shampoos and paints and inks!
|
|
|
|
One teaspoon of this magical powder can turn a bucket of water into a clear thick neutral slime...ready for food colouring and tinting, for ghoulish effects.
The fun object we imported in is a thing called a 'smoke vest'. Essentially a very small smoke machine or a very big vape, this comes with a harness of tubes, yes tubes again, which pipe the 'smoke' or 'acid fumes' in this case to under the costume, to escape from the collar and sleeves etc.
The two vests came through quickly, but the little smoke machine is still stuck at customs as they probably think it some insane large vape...but we found a domestic supplier for a stand in model, which works with a bit of fiddling around, at the very last minute. |
|
|
|
These are the major tricks in the show, all seem basic enough once all the endless complexity is worked out. Leaving the Stage Management team with the task of cleaning up the constant stickiness of invert sugar syrup mixed with fake snow! In the end the blood is not so much of an issue, it's the snow, it just gets everywhere...
Let the Right One In is on until 20 June 2026. |
| BOOK NOW |
|
|
|
Introducing two new Trust Board members |
|
We are proud to announce the appointment of two dynamic new members to The Court Theatre Trust Board: acclaimed creative leader Tessa Waters and highly experienced governance professional Peter Floris.
Bringing together bold artistic innovation and strategic commercial expertise, these appointments further strengthen The Court Theatre’s commitment to creative excellence, strong governance, and future-focused leadership. Their appointments come at a pivotal time for The Court Theatre, as we continue to shape our future, deepen our connection with audiences, and champion bold, relevant theatre for Aotearoa. |
|
|
 |
|
Tessa Waters |
|
 |
|
Peter Floris |
|
|
|
|
|
We are deeply saddened to hear of the death of Henri Kerr. Henri worked in our workshop for many years, alongside his father Nigel, as a permanent member of our production team. He built many beautiful sets and always brought a calm, friendly energy to everything he worked on.
He was also an amazing musician and composer and designed soundscapes for some Court Theatre shows, including the incredible Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time in 2017.
We will remember Henri as a gentle and highly skilled man, and send our thoughts to his family and friends. You can watch Henri talk about his sound design process here. |
|
|
|
Take Your Seat in the Wakefield Family Front Room |
|
Every seat tells a story. And now, one of ours can tell yours. |
|
|
|
Welcome to the front row of bold theatre. The intimate, inventive space of the Wakefield Family Front Room at The Court Theatre. This is where daring ideas come to life, new voices are heard, and audiences meet stories in unexpected ways.
For $1,000 for a seat or half a bench, or $2,000 for a whole bench, you can secure your very own engraved seat and help support the next generation of live theatre, ensuring Ōtautahi Christchurch continues to have a vibrant, inclusive hub for creative expression. Choose your seat, leave your legacy, and let one of these stories be yours. |
| TAKE YOUR SEAT |
|
|
|
|
