John Daly-Peoples
Auckland Arts Festival
5–22 March 2026
John Daly-Peoples
Next year’s Auckland Arts Festival brings together an inspiring collection of works from New Zealand’s major performing arts organizations as well as an impressive lineup of Māori and Pacific individuals and international performers from Australia, China and America.
The festival opens with a free, all ages celebration in Aotea Square Sau Fiafia! Boogie Down!, brings together the infectious rhythms of nine-piece Pacific funk collective Island Vibes.
The intoxicating, lavish and seductive La Ronde will take over The Spiegeltent for 21 performances, with a mixture of circus, live music and comedy. From the creators of Blanc de Blanc and Limbo, La Ronde exclusively premieres in New Zealand after a sell-out season in Australia.
The Samoan musician Fonoti Pati Umaga will present an honest and unapologetic humourous story, Music Portrait of a Humble Disabled Samoan. Created with Oscar Kightley, Nathaniel Lees, Neil Ieremia and Sasha Gibb, this is a world premiere production of powerful and unfiltered reflection on resilience, identity and transformation.
Auckland Theatre Company and Tawata Productions, will premiere Waiora Te Ūkaipō The Homeland, a powerful story of family, culture and belonging. Written and directed by Hone Kouka, with waiata and haka composed by Hone Hurihanganui.
From acclaimed collective Binge Culture comes Werewolf, a thrilling, darkly funny horror-comedy exploring how we respond to crises. Theatre Scotland gave it a positive review “Werewolf does very well in setting the scene early and vividly. The audience truly feel a part of the experience and like we are trapped in a “safe house”. Impeccable performances from our three “wardens”, brilliant lighting and some incredible sound design create a perfect hour of interactive and immersive theatre.
For one night only, internationally acclaimed American soprano Julia Bullock will be performing with the Auckland Philharmonia conducted by Christian Reif showcasing a repertoire blending classical masterworks, jazz and The Great American Songbook. A recent review noted “Bullock’s meditative mixtape ends in safe haven, with Odetta’s bluesy arrangement of “Going Home,” a song rooted in Dvorak’s “New World” Symphony. Bullock reaches into her burgundy lower register, and pianist Christian Reif depresses the soft pedal, to achieve maximum comfort.”
“These songs refract love in various colours and further illustrate why Bullock is one of today’s most discerning and expressive singers. Contemporary composers are particularly enamoured, including John Adam’s new opera Antony and Cleopatra.”
In celebration of International Women’s Day, Moana & The Tribe present ONO, a powerful live performance and video work honouring six Indigenous women worldwide – a stirring journey of hope and unity through te reo Māori, kapa haka and electronic-dub beats.
A flagship free event, Whānau Day brings together music, performance, kai and hands-on arts experiences in a vibrant celebration of community.
Circa’s production of Duck Pond, reimagines Swan Lake as a spectacular circus, full of physicality and cheeky humour. In A Place in the Sultan’s Kitchen, theatre-maker and musician Joshua Hinton weaves song, memory and mouth-watering aromas as he recreates his grandmother’s curry live on stage. Fresh off mesmerising Australian audiences and completing a 23-show season in Edinburgh, is The Butterfly Who Flew into the Rave, this award-laden crowd favourite returns home for a triumphant encore.
The Australian company Gravity & Other Myths, will present Ten Thousand Hours, with eight acrobats and one musician paying homage to the discipline and the joy of movement. 27 Club delivers a blistering rock concert celebrating the legends lost too soon – Janis Joplin, Amy Winehouse, Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain, Jim Morrison and Robert Johnson.
The Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of its renowned Music Director, Long Yu, comes to New Zealand from China in an extraordinary cross-cultural celebration of Eastern and Western symphonic traditions featuring celebrated soloists Jian Wang (cello) and Serena Wang (piano). Across two evenings, the orchestra performs classical works by Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninov alongside selections from Elliot Leung’s Chinese Kitchen: A Feast of Flavours.
Jane Harrison’s multi-award-winning play The Visitors reimagines the arrival of the First Fleet through the eyes of seven First Nations Elders. Directed by Wesley Enoch, this Sydney Theatre Company and Moogahlin Performing Arts production is a sharply written, deeply resonant piece of speculative historical theatre that challenges and educates.
Built from the world’s apologies – famous, absurd and deeply personal – Sincere Apologies is a funny, awkward and unexpectedly moving participatory performance exploring how we say sorry and what we really mean.
Ihi. Wehi. Mana. reunites past and present members of Te Waka Huia with esteemed choral musician Karen Grylls and a bespoke invitational choir, for a stirring, celebratory event combining kapa haka, waiata and vocal talent.
Additionally featured in the festival is a double bill of bold new writing, He Kākano showcases Becoming Jeff Bezos by Kai Tahu playwright Alex Medlan, a razor-sharp satire on capitalism and chaos, and Marmite & Honey by Rainton Oneroa (Te Aupōuri), a moving family drama unfolding over 24 hours at a tangi. Both works will be developed with Jason Te Kare.
The acclaimed Australian company Gravity & Other Myths, will perform Ten Thousand Hours, with eight acrobats and one musician pay homage to the discipline of mastery and the joy of movement. 27 Club delivers a blistering rock concert celebrating the legends lost too soon – Janis Joplin, Amy Winehouse, Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain, Jim Morrison and Robert Johnson.
Closing the Festival with pure brass swagger, Big Horns is a high-octane, homegrown funk collective redefining the modern big band, led by guitarist Dixon Nacey. Featuring Jordyn with a Why, MOHI and Muroki, He Manu Tīoriori gathers the next generation of soulful voices for an uplifting evening of waiata in the Spiegeltent. Inspired by Dame Hinewehi Mohi’s Waiata Anthems project, this showcase of original te reo Māori compositions celebrates the beauty, depth and contemporary vitality of Aotearoa’s music.
2026’s programme also includes Bluebeard’s Castle which sees New Zealand Opera and Auckland Philharmonia reimagine Bartók’s haunting masterpiece as an intimate portrait of a couple confronting dementia. Royal New Zealand Ballet’s Macbeth, choreographed by Alice Topp, transforms Shakespeare’s tragedy into a gripping modern study of ambition and power.
Set in the heart of the Festival Garden, Rova Sound Stage offers a relaxed, social space to discover fresh talent and genre-crossing performances from neo-soul and alt-pop to hip hop, jazz and electronic music. Audiences can grab a beanbag and a drink, soak up the summer sun, and dance into the night with the resident Festival DJ.
New Zealand Arts Review 