After successful performances across the North Island in 2024 and 2025, the must-experience Olivier and Tony award-winning production and one-woman tour de force, Prima Facie, is set to return for a special one-night-only performance at Auckland’s ASB Waterfront Theatre on 27 February, ahead of a South Island tour and more centres in the North Island in March.

Shoreside Theatre’s annual Auckland Shakespeare in the Park returns this summer for its milestone 30th anniversary season. The 2026 programme features two of the Bard’s most beloved plays - Romeo & Juliet and Much Ado About Nothing, performed in the stunning outdoor setting of The PumpHouse Amphitheatre, Takapuna, from 16 January to 14 February.

Just in time to get into the Christmas spirit, the final FAM of the year brings a festive twist to Karangahape Road. On Saturday 6 December from 10AM – 2PM, come along for a full strip celebration combining food, art, design, markets, and music, all with the creative energy only K' Road can deliver.

This festive season, Te Whatu Stardome is inviting visitors to escape into the wonders of the cosmos with an expanded programme of planetarium films, live events, and family-friendly activities.

Record-breaking queen of Irish comedy Joanne McNally announces her hugely anticipated return to New Zealand with her new stand-up show ‘Pinotphile’.

Thirty years after it first premiered, Hone Kouka’s Waiora Te Ūkaipō – The Homelandreturns to the stage in a special 30th anniversary production with Auckland Theatre Company at the ASB Waterfront Theatre, 6 – 22 March, as part of Te Ahurei Toi o Tāmaki Auckland Arts Festival. Hot on the heels of its Te Whanganui-a-Tara / Wellington season at the Aotearoa New Zealand Festival of the Arts, this landmark production promises a theatrical experience that is as immediate, moving, and relevant today as it was in 1996. Waiora Te Ūkaipō – The Homeland is produced by Wellington based creative company, Tawata Productions.

One of the most iconic musicals of all time, Cabaret – The Musical at the Kit Kat Club, winner of eight Tony Awards, plays at the ASB Waterfront Theatre from 22 September to 18 October 2026. A dazzling cast of New Zealand’s finest performers will set loose a provocative collision of live music, movement, and seduction that will leave audiences breathless. Tickets are on sale now.

The 2026 Auckland International Buskers Festival is set to bring a world class line-up of talented street performers to Tāmaki Makaurau’s waterfront from 23 – 26 January, for the 26th annual festival. With everything from juggling, death-defying acrobatics, fire, world champion jump roping, diabolo, and hand-crafted marionettes, there’s guaranteed to be plenty of laughter, spectacle and surprises.

Bach Musica NZ close out their 2025 programme with a festive celebration on Sunday 7 December at the Auckland Town Hall, with music by two favourite Baroque composers, Bach and Handel.

After a year-long hiatus, Proudly Asian Theatre (PAT) returns with the world premiere of Genuine and Stable – a sharp, funny, and deeply human new play by emerging playwright Uhyoung Choi. Running from 9 – 13 December at Auckland Live’s Herald Theatre, the play draws from Choi’s own experience working in immigration to explore a world where love and bureaucracy collide, and where the question of what makes a relationship “real” becomes a matter of state scrutiny.

Presented by Base Entertainment, the company behind international touring hits Celtic Illusion, Celtica, Ballroom Blitz, and Anthony Street Illusionist, The Greatest Christmas Show arrives in Aotearoa this November. A brand-new festive spectacular directed and produced by Anthony Street, this merry Christmas showcase tours 18 centres nationwide from 28 November to 21 December 2025.

Young people in Odyssey Tāngata Whai Ora’s E Ara E programme are getting hands-on experience caring for wildlife, while also supporting their own journey toward wellness. Through this collaboration, rangatahi are helping Auckland’s BirdCare Aotearoa, the city’s primary Department of Conservation-permitted native bird hospital, care for injured and orphaned birds and rebuild cyclone-damaged habitats.

Tickets for Jubilation Choir’s evening concert at The Hollywood Avondale have sold like hot cakes so an extra 3pm matinee has been added for Jubilation Choir’s special concert at The Hollywood Avondale on Sunday 23 November, featuring powerhouse artists Julia Deans, Anika Moa and Bella Kalolo.

Prayas Theatre is turning 20! For two decades, the company has lit up Tāmaki Makaurau stages with powerful South Asian storytelling and unforgettable performances. To celebrate this major milestone, Prayas presents Pitārā – a series of bite sized scenes pulled from six standout plays within the vibrant treasure trove of their rich body of work. Join Prayas in marking this special occasion, from 5 – 7 November at TAPAC.

Celebrate spring in Whakatū this Labour Weekend, with the Nelson Arts Festival, which jumps into action next month from 23 October – 2 November taking over Whakatū. This year’s programme is bursting with powerful conversations, inspiring exhibitions, side-splitting comedy, moving dance works, fresh theatre, whānau adventures and live music. It’s the perfect time to gather, connect and let the arts bloom.