Te Ahurei Toi O Tāmaki Auckland Arts Festival Unveils Next Wave of Shows
Te Ahurei Toi o Tāmaki Auckland Arts Festival, running from 4–21 March 2027, has today revealed a further selection of artists and productions joining its 2027 programme, bringing contemporary dance, powerful theatre and live music from Aotearoa and around the world to stages across Tāmaki Makaurau.
Joining the previously announced Olivier Award-nominated The Choir of Man are internationally acclaimed contemporary dance company TAO Dance Theater, Luke Murphy’s genre-blurring Scorched Earth, new Auckland Theatre Company production The Boy from Vaiala, live music experience Twenty Sixteen from Amplified House, and Anthology of Wonder, a celebration of Stevie Wonder’s extraordinary back catalogue.
From contemporary Chinese dance and Pasifika storytelling, to some of the most enduring music of the past 50 years, the new additions continue the Festival’s tradition of bringing ambitious international work together with leading artists and productions from Aotearoa.
Festival Artistic Director Bernie Haldane says: “We want the Festival to offer Auckland audiences the chance to discover something new and see our own stories take centre stage. These latest shows bring together extraordinary international work, powerful stories and music to bring generations together. It’s a chance to share something special in the city we love.”
Making its Aotearoa debut, internationally acclaimed TAO Dance Theater brings its distinctive contemporary dance practice to the Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre on 5 and 6 March with two pieces 13 & 14. Founded in 2008 by Tao Ye, Duan Ni and Wang Hao, the company’s acclaimed Numerical Series has toured to more than 40 countries across five continents and been presented at more than 100 international arts festivals, with its stripped-back approach placing the human body, movement and space at the centre of the experience.
Scorched Earth comes to Auckland for four performances at The ASB Waterfront Theatre 18–21 March, bringing together dance and theatre in a dark and visceral psychological thriller inspired by John B. Keane’s The Field. A murder, an interrogation and a clouded world of fantasy and fear provide the setting for a story that probes a fundamental question of the Irish psyche: what right do we have to the land beneath our feet, and what are we willing to do to keep it, or take it? Created by Luke Murphy, whose multi-award-winning Volcano was a hit at Brisbane Festival in 2024, the work combines story, striking visuals and visceral movement, performed by five international artists.
The Festival Spiegeltent will become a time machine to one of the most unforgettable years in modern music history with Twenty Sixteen from Amplified House, playing 10–13 March. The powerful live music experience revisits the artists, songs and cultural moments that shaped 2016, celebrating the extraordinary legacies of David Bowie, George Michael, Prince, Leonard Cohen, Sharon Jones and more. Blending mainstage concert energy with nostalgia and heart, Twenty Sixteen is a show about memory, music, mortality and the artists who continue to soundtrack our lives long after they’re gone.
Arts Laureate Victor Rodger (Black Faggot, My Name is Gary Cooper) brings The Boy from Vaiala to the Waterfront Theatre in a world premiere. He reunites with acclaimed director and recently named Arts Laureate Anapela Polata’ivao ONZM (Sāmoa: Vailoa Faleata, Vaiusu, Fagae’e Safune) for the production, marking their first Auckland Theatre Company collaboration in 20 years. The production is a new collaboration between Auckland Theatre Company, FCC, Te Ahurei Toi o Tāmaki Auckland Arts Festival and Creative New Zealand’s Festival Commissioning & Presentation Fund managed by PANNZ.
Closing out the Festival’s final weekend, Anthology of Wonder will bring Stevie Wonder’s back catalogue live and loud to the Town Hall. Returning to the venue by popular demand, a super-fly ensemble led by Dixon Nacey will deliver the large big-band sound, impeccable grooves and funkadelic vibes that have made Wonder’s music endure across generations.
These new announcements join The Choir of Man, the first show announced for the 2027 Festival, which will transform the Festival Spiegeltent into an English pub for its Auckland season, complete with a real bar on stage and a cast of nine extraordinary performers singing, dancing, tapping, slam-poetrying and serving up a setlist spanning pop, rock, folk, Broadway and pub favourites.
The 2027 Festival will bring local and international artists to venues and spaces across Tāmaki Makaurau from 4–21 March, continuing the Festival’s role as one of New Zealand’s largest annual celebrations of arts and culture.
This latest announcement coincides with a round of limited time early bird offers, part of a range of ticket prices and initiatives to help more audiences experience the Festival. The previously announced The Choir of Man has already attracted a strong response, reflecting an appetite for the shared experience of live performance. Further 2027 Festival announcements will follow in the coming weeks.
Tickets for the newly announced shows go on public sale from today, with priority access for Festival Patrons, Festival Friends and 2026 ticket purchasers, followed by Subscriber access on 21 October and general public sales from 22 October. Full ticketing and booking information will be available from www.aaf.co.nz
