Theatre Royal to celebrate 10 post-quake years

Monday, 16 September 2024

Christchurch’s historic Isaac Theatre Royal (ITR) will celebrate its 10-year reopening anniversary with a line-up of NZ-based celebrities and performers.

Hosted by Anika Moa and Jason Gunn, the venue’s 10-year Anniversary Gala on November 17 will feature Rocky Horror Show creator Richard O’Brien, plus the Royal New Zealand Ballet and Christchurch Symphony Orchestra.

Comedians and artists from across Aotearoa will also perform, during an evening of “ballet, comedy, orchestral music, and musical theatre.”

The theatre’s CEO, Greg Ward, said the event would celebrate ten successful years since the grand reopening after the Christchurch earthquakes, together with the support it’s received from the “community, performers and patrons”.

“The Anniversary Gala is our way of saying thank you for standing with us through it all, and looking forward to the next years,” he added.

A new ITR membership program will be launched during the show, which a spokesperson said would give “patrons a chance to be a part of the theatre’s next chapter.”

The theatre reopened on November 17, 2014, following a $40 million restoration which included lift access to all floors, an extendable stage, a new foyer and bar for the upper circle and a 175-square-metre performance space.

It was significantly damaged during the February 2011 earthquake and the subsequent aftershocks, resulting in the main auditorium sloping towards the eastern and western sides of the building.

O’Brien contributed to the post-quake rebuild fund, alongside Hobbit star Sir Ian McKellen, NZ comedy favourites Flight of the Conchords and the British actress Miriam Margolyes.

Tickets for the anniversary gala are available from Ticketek.