Silo Theatre announces an extended season of Playfight by Julia Grogan, with four new performances added from 31 May due to strong audience demand and sell-out performances at Silo Hall.

The Oscar qualifying Doc Edge Festival has announced its full 2026 programme, unveiling a bold line-up of documentary films and immersive storytelling from Aotearoa and around the world that confront, challenge, and connect audiences through urgent, real-world stories.

The 2026 NZ International Comedy Festival with Best Foods Mayo continues this month, with a stellar array of lineup shows featuring local and international comedians alike, as the NZ Comedy Trust adds more stars to its own festival offerings including this weekend’s Pōneke House Party, B**** Better Have My Funny, Joe Daymond’s Comedy Mixtape and Best Comedy Show on Earth. 

Doc Edge Festival and the Rotary Club of Auckland are proud to announce World Press Photo & Doc Edge Immersive Exhibition 2026, a landmark new exhibition that merges the internationally acclaimed World Press Photo Exhibition with the Doc Edge Immersive Exhibition into a single, unmissable cultural event.

FAM returns to Karangahape Road on Saturday 16 May, landing right in the heart of the month with a special Music Month edition.

The critically acclaimed play, Waenga, created by sister and brother Hariata and Tamati Moriarty, is touring this June – August. Directed by their father Jim Moriarty with dramaturgy by their mother Helen Pease-Otene, this Te Rākau presentation invites audiences to consider their place within systems of power, and what it means to be an active participant in civic life.

Award-winning verbatim theatre show Over and Out is a funny, heartfelt solo work created and performed by Jackson Burling, and directed by Simon Leary. It plays for one night only at Hannah Playhouse, Wellington, before heading to Auckland’s Q Theatre from 4 to 8 August. 

The NZ International Comedy Festival and NZ Music Month Te Marama Puoro o Aotearoa present Pōneke House Party, a massive night of jokes, songs and surprise special guests at Wellington’s Opera House, Sunday 17 May, 6pm.

Auckland Theatre Company presents the world premiere of Sons of Vao, a powerful, award-winning Pasifika drama by Niuean playwright Vela Manusaute (Niue: Mutalau, Hakupu), directed by Anapela Polata’ivao ONZM (Samoa: Vailoa Faleata, Vaiusu, Fagae’e Safune). The season plays 18 June – 5 July at ASB Waterfront Theatre.

The New Zealand Comedy Trust is thrilled to announce the comedians joining Te Whanganui-A-Tara Preview Show, Comedy Fest in Kāpiti, Joe Daymond’s Comedy Mixtape, Comedy Fest in Petone, Comedy Fest in Porirua and Late Laughs in Wellington, as part of the NZ International Comedy Festival with Best Foods Mayo. These Trust presented showcases offer the chance to see the very best local and international comedy favourites, rising stars and big names, all on one bill. The Comedy Festival also presents the world premiere of Stamptown 4 Kidz, a silly, chaotic and high-energy family variety spectacular.

The New Zealand Comedy Trust is thrilled to announce the comedians joining the Tāmaki Makaurau Preview Show, B**** Better Have My Funny, Joe Daymond’s Comedy Mixtape and Best Comedy Show On Earth in Auckland, as part of the NZ International Comedy Festival with Best Foods Mayo. These Trust presented showcases offer the chance to see the very best local and international comedy favourites, rising stars and big names, all on one bill. The Comedy Festival also presents the world premiere of Stamptown 4 Kidz, a silly, chaotic and high-energy family variety spectacular.

Bach Musica NZ, New Zealand's leading combined choir and orchestra, return to the stage this winter with Songs of Destiny, celebrating the choral brilliance of Brahms. Taking place on Sunday 14 June at the Auckland Town Hall, the performance will be led by guest conductor, José Aparicio.

Pacific Dance Festival returns this June with a powerful celebration of contemporary Pacific identity in Aotearoa, bringing together artists from across the Moana in an expanded 2026 programme.

FAM Food. Art. Market is back, settling into a new mid-month slot from April. Each month, Karangahape Road comes alive with local makers, street food, vintage finds and creative energy, bringing people together and keeping the precinct buzzing.

On Saturday 18 April, FAM returns across Beresford Square, Pitt Street Corner, St Kevins Arcade and along K’ Road, inviting people to wander, discover and spend time on one of Auckland’s most creative streets.

The Auckland Opera Studio, in association with the Manukau Symphony Orchestra and Auckland Choral Society, returns to Auckland Town Hall for one night only on Sunday 28 June with Opera Gala 2026, a full-scale evening of opera at its best, and accessible to all.