National Theatre for Children to close after 25 years

Friday, 20 October 2023

The National Theatre for Children’s 2022 production of Kiwi Moon was a charming tale of self-discovery based on Gavin Bishop's epochal story.

The closure of the internationally regarded National Theatre for Children at Wellington’s Capital E after 25 years represents the latest gut punch for underserved children’s art in New Zealand, a children’s theatre expert says.

Experience Wellington chief executive Sarah Rusholme said it was stepping away from delivering the theatre’s programme to “better focus on delivering remarkable experiences for the people of Pōneke”.

Experience Wellington is the city council-controlled umbrella organisation that takes care of six cultural institutions including Capital E, City Gallery, Nairn Street Cottage, Space Place, Cable Car Museum, and Wellington Museum.

It was proud of the theatre playing a significant role in giving children their first taste of stage magic, said Rusholme. “We celebrate its 25-year legacy of supporting the creation and delivery of high quality live theatre designed for children.”

Kerryn Palmer, who holds a PhD in devising theatre for and with young audiences, speaking at a recent protest about proposed cuts to Victoria University of Wellington’s arts programming.

Tickets had been heavily subsidised so theatre was accessible, and its national programme had deliberately been run at a loss. But times had changed, Rusholme said, and Experience Wellington could no longer take that approach as it navigated financial challenges.

In 2021 the organisation was operating with a $477,326 deficit, but that had ballooned to a forecast deficit of $590,664 for the 2023/24 financial year.

Kerryn Palmer, who has a PhD in devising theatre for and with young audiences, speaking on behalf of Performing Arts and Young People Aotearoa, said the decision was deeply disappointing.

Capital E had been awarded $1.65 million from Creative NZ between this year and 2025, and there was uncertainty about what would happen to that funding now.

In 2020, children aged 15 and under made up 19.6% of the population, but children’s art was “seriously underfunded”, Palmer said. While some theatre companies like Taki Rua and Auckland Theatre occasionally produced works for children, other specialists were needed, she said.

Lyndon Peter Wilson, known as Peter, was a founding director of the National Theatre for Children who died in 2021.

Research showed children’s engagement in the arts contributes to higher levels of critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, empathy and resilience. When children were engaged in the arts, they typically achieved higher in literacy and numeracy.

Peter Wilson, the founding director of the National Theatre for Children, who died in 2021, would be disgusted, Palmer said. “To not have a national theatre for children puts us behind other countries a millionfold. … It’s really dire and disastrous.”

When children’s art was undervalued, children and their opinions were also undervalued, Palmer said.

But the decision to close the theatre was not a shock as Experience Wellington had no fundamental understanding of theatre and how it should be treated differently than an art gallery or observatory, Palmer said. “It was never going to work … the writing was on the wall.”

She hoped something would grow in its place, but said investment and commitment was needed for that to happen.

The National Theatre for Children's 2021 production of Seasons.

The Post attempted to reach Stephen Blackburn, the city council’s city events manager, who was former general manager of the National Theatre for Children and spent more than 11 years at Capital E.

But an email went unanswered, and a council spokesperson, when asked for Blackburn’s contact details, simply said: “No further comment at this stage.”

In an article on The Big Idea, Blackburn said he was concerned and saddened by the news.

Rusholme said Experience Wellington trialled different models for the theatre. However, it was facing dwindling audience numbers as schools dealt with limited budgets for tickets and transport, managing ongoing staff and student illness, finding adults to accompany classes, and a slow return of confidence in allowing students to visit busy sites, or external providers to visit schools.

Capital E was not closing, and was preparing to transition to its new home within the redeveloped Wellington Central Library, due to open in 2026. It would continue to offer play and education experiences for children.

“It now makes good financial sense to prioritise local products for Wellington ratepayers,” Rusholme said.

Over the coming months, the theatre’s assets and archives would be worked through. Its final show, The Grumpiest Child in the World, was playing to school audiences across the country until November.