SCHOOLS MATINEE PROGRAMME
Kick-off the year with a school matinee programme featuring three unmissable shows from Aotearoa and introduce your students to experiences that will stay with them long after the bus ride back to school.
Contact us at schools@festival.nz to discuss how you can connect your students to extraordinary experiences.
GLORIA - A TRIPLE BILL
Be amongst the first audience to see this, by attending a FREE Technical Dress Rehearsal. 'GLORIA – A Triple Bill' honours the late Douglas Wright with the restaging of his iconic 'Gloria'.
Presented by The New Zealand Dance Company and Co3 Contemporary Dance Australia with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and Voices New Zealand, this triple bill brings movement, music, and memory together in a breathtaking celebration of legacy and dance.
Date: Thu 12 March
Time: TBA
Venue: St James Theatre
Price: Free.
Duration: 1 hr 40 mins
Suitability: Years 9 -13
Curriculum Links: Contemporary Dance, Aotearoa Dance History, Cross-Artform Practice.
Audience Care: Contains strobe lighting and haze effects. Two scenes contain nudity.
WAIORA TE ŪKAIPO - THE HOMELAND
This landmark piece of theatre by acclaimed playwright Hone Kouka explores the impact of colonisation, urban drift, and the tension between past and future. “First premiered in 1996, the themes of this play resonate as strongly now as they did then," Festival Co-Director, Dolina Wehipeihana.
Date: Fri 27 Feb
Time: 12pm
Venue: Opera House
Price: $15 per ākonga. Kaiako are free.
Duration: 2 hrs 15 mins, includes interval
Suitability: Years 10 - 13
Curriculum Links: Theatre Aotearoa, Contemporary Māori Performance, Te Reo Māori, Waiata.
Audience Care: Contains strong language
MUSIC PORTRAIT OF HUMBLE DISABLED SAMOAN
With humour, honesty and a quiet, powerful presence, Samoan musician and disability advocate Fonotī Pati Umaga shares his remarkable story in this compelling new work.
Date: Fri 13 March
Time: 10am
Venue: Tāwhiri Warehouse
Price: $15 per ākonga. Kaiako are free.
Duration: 1 hour, No interval
Suitability: Years 11 – 13
Curriculum Links: Contemporary Pacific Performance, Personal Narrative, Social Commentary.
Audience care: Includes haze effects.
EVENING PERFORMANCES
Schools can also book for evening performances of other shows in the Festival. Ticket limits apply. Subject to availability.
The Music of Greece - Wednesday 25 February, 7.00pm (option of pre-show talk TBC)
Mythosoma - Wednesday 25 & Thursday 26 February, 6.00pm
Macbeth (Royal New Zealand Ballet) - Thursday 26 February 7.30pm. Package includes free dance workshop and educational resource. Note: suitable 14+ More information here or email education@rnzb.org.nz
Nowhere - Thursday 5 March, 7.00pm (post-show talk follows). Note: suitable 14+
TEIWA - Rob Ruha with the NZSO - Saturday 7 March, 7.30pm
Last Leaf, Wandering East - Saturday 14 March, 4.30pm & 7.00pm
Ara Hura - A Visionary Journey - Sunday 8 March, 6.30pm
SCHOOLS INFORMATION
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TICKETS
Matinee tickets are $15 per ākonga, and Kaiako tickets are free.
Ratios: there must be one adult for every 15 ākonga booked. Additional adults in attendance must pay the full price.
Evening tickets are $15 per tickets with adult tickets limited to 1 ticket per group of 10 children. Additional adult tickets available at full price.
Once invoiced, Schools tickets are non-refundable unless the Festival cancels the event.
Tickets are issued on a first come, first served basis. Schools sessions fill up quickly, so get in and request seats for your students as soon as possible. You can confirm final numbers in 2026. As demand exceeds availability for most Festival performances, we retain the right to limit the number of seats available to any one school.
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CONNECT TICKETS
Complimentary tickets are available for groups who experience barriers to participation, helping strengthen relationships between young people and performing arts.
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TRAVEL SUPPORT
A limited number of bus subsidies are available.
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BOOKING
We have an online booking portal to enable you to book for SCHOOLS events – matinee shows and allocation for evening shows. Register for our SCHOOLS booking portal here using the password ANZFA2026.
You will then receive an email from our ticketing team with a link to the portal to select shows and enter your bookings. You can view and update your bookings at any time. Invoices will be sent on Friday 30 January, however amendments may be made to bookings until the day prior to the event subject to availability.
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LINKS
SCHOOLS performances and experiences may relate directly to strands of the New Zealand curriculum. They may also have direct relevance to many of the NCEA achievement standards, levels 5–8. Engaging with professional arts experiences and performances fosters critical thinking. Book a SCHOOLS matinee performance and receive an Education Resource.
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CONTENT WARNING & AUDIENCE CARE
Age suitability is based on our recommendation only and we have provided content warnings where appropriate. The Aotearoa New Zealand Festival of the Arts takes no responsibility for any offence caused but please feel welcome to contact the SCHOOLS team at schools@festival.nz to discuss any concerns about a show’s content.
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ACCESS
Accessibility is important to us at Aotearoa New Zealand Festival of the Arts.
Where applicable, the events will have the relevant access symbols next to the event information.
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