The 'Waikato Regional Theatre globe', produced by Cameron Neilson of Foster Group.
Kia Ora from the Theatre Manager
My wife recently went for a hike in rural Japan, she commented that one of the towns she walked through had a large theatre that seemed out of proportion for the tiny town.
Asking her guide, she discovered that the theatre served a community much wider than simply the town in which it stands. Thanks to Japan’s highly efficient train system, the theatre serves a population spanning hundreds of kilometres.
While we may not have the passenger trains coming from all directions here, we do have a wide catchment of communities, audiences and performers that we hope to serve with the new Waikato Regional Theatre.
Providing a hub and a gathering space for creative communities is a key objective of the Theatre and it was heartening to hear of another theatre fulfilling this role elsewhere.
As you’ll have seen if you’ve been down the South End recently, and can see from the latest drone photos at the link below, the Waikato Regional Theatre is rapidly emerging and rising up from its foundations.
You can now see the skeletal outlines of the auditorium, the additions to the iconic Hamilton Hotel façade and, from Sapper Moore-Jones Place, the loading dock and our back-of-house facilities. If you step onto the site, the foyer is now sketched by steel and its dimensions are truly impressive.
Slowly but surely, completion of the Theatre is getting closer.
Theatre site from the air in June 2024
The overall structure of the Theatre is now becoming clear, with the shape of the foyer on the river side and the extension along Victoria St from the Hamilton Hotel façade now being visible - the fly tower is the major bit still to appear. These great drone pics were taken a fortnight ago by Cameron Neilson of Foster Group.
See more of these drone shots of the Theatre site.
Roaring for the new Theatre
Andrew Miller from Roar Coaching is proud to be from Hamilton and the Waikato, so he is looking forward to the city and region taking the next step up with the opening of the new Waikato Regional Theatre.
Roar Coaching describes itself as “just a crew of down to earth, real AF, no BS humans on a mission to connect people to the skills, resources, and relationships they need to ‘smash-it’ in the areas that really matter to them”.
Recognising that spirit in the Theatre project is one of the reasons Andrew and Roar have been steadily donating to the Share the Stage fundraising campaign since its early days, which sees them included in its Business Collective Support scheme.
“I have a sense of pride in this town and its business community, and we’re seeing what we can achieve together with the Theatre,” says Andrew.
Waikato Times: Waikato Regional Theatre hosts debut performance - of sorts
By Mike Mather, 18 May 2024.
The new Waikato Regional Theatre might still be taking shape, but it has already hosted its first on-stage performance.
Well, kind of. The Waikato Times was this week granted an exclusive look inside the under-construction $80 million facility, soon to be the jewel in the crown of Hamilton’s entertainment precinct.
During this visitation, the Times bore witness to some impromptu on-stage acting courtesy of Paris Eyeington, a local thespian who just happens to be deeply involved in the years-long project.
The simplest way of describing Eyeington’s role is as rigger for Waikato firm Rigger Brothers, one of numerous companies involved in the construction project led by Fosters Construction.
The show must go on - and so too must the construction work at the Waikato Regional Theatre for rigger Paris Eyeington. Photo: KELLY HODEL / WAIKATO TIMES.
“I’m part of the structural steel crew, so everything steel, basically,” he explains
“It’s a lot of work with the crane ... A crane will lower a steel beam in and we will bolt it into place, maybe drill it into a wall.”
The work site is one of numerous theatre projects Eyeington has been involved with.
Since 2016 he has performed in 14 musicals and two plays, as well as being a member of the tech team for four other shows.
He has played Igor in Hamilton Musical Theatre's production of Young Frankenstein and just last month took to the stage in the role of Sydney Chaplin - brother of the famous Charlie - in Chaplin the Musical at the Meteor Theatre.
Read more on the Share the Stage site.
You can still 'Take a Seat' in the new Theatre!
You can still 'Take a Seat' in the new Waikato Regional Theatre.
Tangibly show your support for this exciting new performing arts centre being built in the South End of Hamilton’s CBD.
Donate $1500 to the Theatre, either in one go or over several scheduled payments, and you or your family’s name, or your business or group’s title, will be displayed on a seat in the auditorium.
To donate or just find out more, either visit sharethestage.co.nz/takeaseat or contact Momentum via momentumwaikato.nz/contact.