Auckland Theatre Company - Creative Learning 2026
Explore Auckland Theatre Company’s 2026 Creative Learning Programme
Our School Matinées offer the chance to watch a performance, followed by a Q&A with the cast and creatives involved.
In 2026 every school group booking includes a free recording of the production, and an education pack with curriculum linked resources.
Alongside School Matinées, we offer workshops that help students develop skills and gain a deeper understanding of a production.
Can't travel to Tāmaki? Our Tiri: Te Araroa Woman Far Walking Digital Classroom brings this Theatre Aotearoa production straight to you.
Waiora Te Ūkaipō – The Homeland
Written & directed by Hone Kouka
Hold true to yourself.
A landmark piece of New Zealand theatre, Waiora explores the impact of colonisation, urban drift and tension between past and future.
School Performances: Wed 11 Mar (Almost at capacity) & Fri 13 Mar (Join the Waitlist), 11am
In-school Workshops: Available from Tue 3 Mar to Fri 20 Mar
Curriculum Connections: Theatre Aotearoa, Contemporary Māori Performance, Stories and Histories, Waiata
Suitability: Year levels 10 – 13
Advisory: Contains strong language
A collaboration between Aotearoa New Zealand Festival of the Arts, Auckland Theatre Company, Tawata Productions and Te Ahurei Toi o Tāmaki Auckland Arts Festival.
Helen Clark in Six Outfits
by Fiona Samuel
She didn’t just break the glass ceiling;
she ice-axed it.
A hilarious new play retracing the remarkable trajectory of New Zealand’s first elected female Prime Minister. A sharp, comedic exposé about power, gender and Helen Clark's extraordinary journey.
School Performances: Wed 22 Apr & Fri 24 Apr, 11am
In-school Workshops: Available from Mon 20 Apr to Fri 1 May
Curriculum Connections: Theatre Aotearoa, NZ Feminist Theatre, Monologue
Suitability: Year levels 10 – 13
Advisory: Definitely not authorised by Helen Clark. Contains haze, strong language and dancing.
Digital Classroom:
TIRI: Te Araroa Woman Far Walking
by Witi Ihimaera
I am 185 years old.
I was born on 6 February 1840.
A live recording of Witi Ihimaera’s epic tale of Tiri Mahana, a 185-year-old matriarch, available to view in school classrooms.
This digital offering allows kaiako and ākonga nationwide to engage with Auckland Theatre Company’s Theatre Aotearoa offering.
School groups can book in to access this recording for free for a one-week period.
Recording Access: Schools can select the week in which they would like to view the production from the following weeks:
Week One: Tue 28 Apr – Sun 3 May
Week Two: Mon 4 May – Sun 10 May
Week Three: Mon 11 May – Fri 15 May
In-school Workshops: Available from Tue 28 Apr to Fri 15 May
Curriculum Connections: Theatre Aotearoa, Te Reo Māori, Contemporary Māori Performance, NZ Feminist Theatre, Monologue
Suitability: Year levels 9 – 13
Advisory/Whakatūpato: Contains descriptions of violence.
This Digital Classroom offering is made possible thanks to Stout Trust.
RBG: Of Many, One
by Suzie Miller
Meet the woman who changed the face of the American legal system.
A smash-hit solo show chronicling Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s wins and dissents.
The iconic sold-out Australian production from Sydney Theatre Company comes direct to Auckland.
School Performances: Wed 27 May, 11am
In-school Workshops: Available from Tue 19 May to Fri 5 Jun
Curriculum Connections: Feminist Theatre, Non-linear Narrative, Dramatic Irony, Realism, Monologue
Suitability: Year levels 11 – 13
Advisory: Contains mature themes, flashing light effects.
Auckland Theatre Company and Auckland Live
present a Sydney Theatre Company production.
Sons of Vao
by Vela Manusaute
Forged in fire, bound by blood.
A world premiere, Vela Manusaute’s autobiographical play spans four decades, from village life in Niue in the 1970s to the suburbs of Ponsonby.
School Performances: Wed 24 Jun, 11am
In-school Workshops: Available from Mon 15 Jun to Fri 3 Jul
Curriculum Connections: Pasifika Theatre, Autobiographical Storytelling
Suitability: Year levels 11 – 13
Advisory: Contains strong language and themes of family violence
Macbeth
by William Shakespeare
What’s done cannot be undone.
Shakespeare’s chilling tale of betrayal, ambition and the corrosive cost of unchecked desire. Shakespeare’s potent words brought to blood-curdling life in a bold new production by director Benjamin Kilby-Henson.
School Performances: Multiple matinees available. Currently there is availability on:
11am, Wednesday 12 August
11am, Friday 14 August
11am, Monday 17 August (Almost at capacity)
11am, Tuesday 18 August (Almost at capacity)
11am, Wednesday 19 August
Join the waitlist for other dates (Wed 5 Aug, Fri 7 Aug, Thurs 20 Aug, Fri 21 Aug, 11am) via our Booking Form.
In-school Workshops: Available from Tue 28 Jul to Fri 28 Aug
Curriculum Connections: Elizabethan Theatre
Suitability: Year levels 10 – 13
Advisory: Contains depictions of violence, infanticide and death. Depictions of war and battles.
Cabaret
by Joe Masteroff, John Kander and Fred Ebb
The Musical at the Kit Kat Club.
One of the most iconic musicals of all time, Cabaret is spectacularly remade for the ASB Waterfront Theatre stage.
School Performances: Wed 14 Oct, 11am
Curriculum Connections: Musical Theatre
Suitability: Year levels 12 – 13
Advisory: Contains sexual themes, anti-Semitism, Nazi symbolism, smoking and nudity