Shows
Systems of power
Created by siblings Hariata and Tamati Moriarty, Waenga explores violence and racism within the justice system. The play is on at the new Toi Aro art space on Market Lane until the 5th of July.
Dilly Dallying
Comedian Melanie Bracewell is back with a brand-new hour about returning to unfinished things later in life. Dilly dally down to her show at The Opera House on the 19th of June.
Stilettoed skirmish
Sequins, sparkles, and staggering stilettos clash in the ultimate search for stardom – the Mx Capital Drag 2026 Finale – at Ivy Bar & Cabaret on the 31st of May.
Hey, Miss!
Remember when you had to pay 20c a text? Keegan Thomas and Aaron James Douglas do… catch them in an hour of early-2010s carnage in Hey, Miss! at the Cavern Club from the 7th to the 9th of May this NZ International Comedy Festival.
You’ll see!
The world’s only world-famous surreal sketch comedy circus trio Laser Kiwi comes home with their new show Everybody Knows, playing at The Hannah from the 1st to the 16th of May this NZ International Comedy Festival.
Tiny life slices
Wellington Improvisation Troupe (WIT) will create a world of multiple scenes in Elsewhere in the Building, an improv show at Thistle Hall on the 10th of April.
The stage as a storybook
“When a show reaches 75 performances, it means it’s doing something right.” Caburlesque 75th Show will slay the stage at The Fringe Bar on the 5th of April.
Oops Sari I’m Indian
Oops Sari I’m Indian is a new solo show from Jenice the Menace at Circus Bar on the 14th of March that celebrates and cleverly dismantles Indian stereotypes.
Music
The great evolution
We chat to The Veils frontman Finn Andrews before the indie rockers tear it up at Meow Nui on the 4th of July. Their eighth studio album Fragile World comes out on the 19th of June.
BYO fire extinguisher
Expect to wear out your dancing shoes when indie-rock outfit Clap Clap Riot plays Meow on the 22nd of May on their first Aotearoa tour since 2019.
Grungy glory
We Zoom with guitarist Scarlett McKahey about Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers’ new album GLORY (Deluxe) and debut Aotearoa tour, which reaches San Fran on the 23rd of May.
Living In The Light with a legend
We interview world-renowned guitarist and master entertainer Tommy Emmanuel ahead of his Living In The Light Tour at The Opera House on the 22nd of May.
Trip-hop dark pop
Georgia Knight crafts otherworldly pop from autoharp, dusty loops, synth textures, and avant-garde edges. Her tour of her new album Beanpole reaches San Fran on the 12th of April.
A joy ride with Steve Poltz
North American singer-songwriter and guitarist Steve Poltz is “calling all freaks” to join him at Meow on the 28th of March as he celebrates his 14th solo studio album JoyRide.
Shapeshifting through time
We chat with visionary Dutch New Zealand trio MY BABY about their new album Echo and upcoming Welly gig at San Fran on the 18th of March.
Shimmering, sublime
Aotearoa indie legends The Bats are finally hitting the road to celebrate their 2025 album Corner Coming Up. Catch the tour at St Peter’s Village Hall in Paekākāriki on the 13th and Meow in Wellington on the 14th of March.
Movies
Vive le cinéma!
The L’Oréal Groupe French Film Festival Aotearoa returns to Wellington from the 3rd to the 28th of June, giving audiences a taste of the best that French film has to offer.
Wonderful wāhine
The Paekākāriki Film Festival, curated by Andrew Armitage of Aro Video to the theme of Wonderful Wāhine, will be on across three Sundays in June at St Peter’s Village Hall.
Wellington Silver Screeners: Chelsie Preston Crayford
We chat with filmmaker Chelsie Preston Crayford ahead of the May release of Caterpillar, a multi-protagonist story that follows three generations of women all living under one roof.
Architects of imagination
The Resene Architecture & Design Film Festival, on between the 14th of May and the 1st of June, showcases the latest and most captivating films of the genre, providing insights into the brilliant minds and movements that shaped the world.
Thriving independent film
Snap Shot Shorts is back for season two, premiering six short films created by over 200 Pōneke creatives at the Embassy Theatre on the 11th of April.
Hot cannibal summer
A chat with director Callum Devlin about his debut film Weed Eaters ahead of its release in cinema. Four holidaying friends come across a strain of weed that gives them the most extreme case of the munchies ever recorded.
Wellington Silver Screeners: Tom Field
Wellingtonian Tom Field was drawn to filmmaking for its worldbuilding and complex characters from an early age. We chat about his short film monster & me and more.
Walk the soul back home
A chat with director Bart Schrijver on his new film The North, which follows two friends as they reconnect with themselves and each other hiking 600 kilometres across the Scottish Highlands.
Art
KIMI/You Are Here
A stainless steel tear drop hangs suspended amid the vegetation beside Waitangi Park. Created by Seung Yul Oh, the sculpture is a mirror to the shifting weather and people that pass it by.
In their gardens
Abigail Legg captures her titas (aunties) tending to their gardens in her photography exhibition Kababayan, on at Twentysix Gallery in Newtown until the 6th of June.
In their gardens
Abigail Legg captures her titas (aunties) tending to their gardens in her photography exhibition Kababayan, on at Twentysix Gallery in Newtown until the 6th of June.
Fibre-Optic Colonnade Carwash
Fibre-Optic Colonnade Carwash is a kinetic, light-based sculpture installed down the narrow corridor that runs beside Shed 21 on Wellington’s waterfront. Created by Eddie Clemens, the sculpture washes commuters in moving patterns of light and colour.
Elemental matter
Michelle Tahuaroa Dawson paints the isolated landscapes along the southwest coast of Te Waipounamu and collects hinewaiapu (igneous rock orbs) into sculptural assemblages in her exhibition Hinewaiapu – Deep South Rock at Pātaka Art + Museum.
The stories they tell
Bri Leone-Rhea Lawrence and Geo Aroha Thompson-Skipworth consider colonial displacement, relational restoration and the strength of Māori communities to rebuild and protect in their joint show Tāmata at Meanwhile Gallery.
Perfection Salad
Joint show Perfection Salad, on at Jhana Millers Gallery until the 16th of May, features works from Judy Darragh ONZM and Emily Hartley-Skudder, who explore hyper-consumerism and its plastic excess.
Big Flowers For A Wild City
Pōneke-based artist Martin Basher wanted to give Wellington a sculpture that reflects the vibrancy of the city. Big Flowers for a Wild City is the latest public art to occupy the four plinths outside Te Papa Tongarewa.
Events
DIY fabulousness
Think you could bring a dazzling, diamond-dappled burlesque performance to the stage for under $100? Watch competitors from across the motu give it their all in The Great DIY BurlesKiwi at The Fringe Bar on the 6th of June.
Haere mai
Seven years after closing its doors, Te Matapihi ki te Ao Nui Wellington Central Library welcomes Wellingtonians to discover, learn, and connect in the new space from the 14th of March.
Love Actually
This Christmas season, fill your cup at Love Actually in Concert, where you can catch the timeless classic on the big screen at Michael Fowler Centre accompanied by a live orchestra on the 20th of December.
Star-studded skirmish
Following three heats of jaw-dropping outfits and show-stopping spectacles, the Rising Star finale at Ivy Bar & Cabaret on the 29th of November guarantees fierce competition for the crown.
Do you like piña coladas?
Make genuine face-to-face connections at Sapphic Speed Dating Dinner Party and enjoy a four-course meal while Pōneke performer Ginger Velour jumps on the mic.
All things bird
Come one, come all to Explore Omnibirding with Giselle Clarkson, where the author and illustrator will guide readers through the inner workings of her new book and the wonders of the avian world at Tawa Library on the 3rd of October.
Embrace the chaos
Eyegum Music Collective’s multi-venue music and arts festival Great Sounds Great will take over Cuba Street Precinct on the 6th of September. We get the sneak peek from co-curator Ben Jones.
Hard hills and high fives
Brad Coleman created the Tip Track Marathon in 2017 as a joke that is still going even though no one is laughing. The ninth edition of ‘Wellington’s least favourite trail running event’ takes place on the 6th of September.
Personalities
The thespian of song
We were lucky enough to talk to global icon Engelbert Humperdinck, aka the king of romance, before he brings The Celebration Tour to Michael Fowler Centre on the 26th of June.
The thespian of song
We were lucky enough to talk to global icon Engelbert Humperdinck, aka the king of romance, before he brings The Celebration Tour to Michael Fowler Centre on the 26th of June.
Go towards truth
Tawhi Thomas (Ngāti Maniapoto) has just won Best Play by a Māori Playwright at Playmarket’s 2026 Adam NZ Play Awards. We got down to the nitty-gritty about his play Haere and more.
The next page
Award-winning author and illustrator Ruth Paul discusses her writing practice and her latest children’s book Farmer’s Pyjamas, published on the 1st of May.
Camera and a spear gun
An interview with Ricky Situ, who was named runner-up Wildlife Aotearoa Photographer of the Year for the Tūhura Otago Museum Wildlife Photography Competition with his stunning image Whimsical Lion’s Mane.
Circles of connection
Music Therapy Week takes place across Aotearoa from the 10th to the 15th of April. We chat with Wellington-based registered music therapist Sophie Sabri, who works with adults with disabilities at Evaro.
The work-art balance
Oliver Mander will direct Ben Elton’s Gasping, the first production of Wellington Repertory Theatre’s centenary season, at Gryphon Theatre from the 18th to the 28th of March.
The creative antidote
New Zealand singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Bic Runga will tour her sixth studio album and first in a decade this autumn. We Zoomed with the Sway singer ahead of the Red Sunset Tour at Michael Fowler Centre on the 2nd of April.