Windows over Wānaka
Michel Tuffery was a festival regular in our early years. Now he returns, as Creative New Zealand’s Senior Pacific Artist, with a student project tha …
A Rain Walk
We invite you to a rain walk – accompanied by the voices of children from Wānaka and Melbourne. With their guidance, the rainfall will become your ow …
A Careful Revolution
“We have not come here to beg world leaders to care. We have come here to let you know that change is coming whether you like it or not.” – Greta Thun …
Tax is Love
Is tax theft or is it love? A nanny-state or democratic government in action? Many of us want to pay as little as possible yet our panel argues that …
Participating in our democracy
Is it enough just to vote every three years? Can we debate issues and policies in depth at other times, and build some sort of collective decision-ma …
Fake News
What’s fake and what is true? Leaders like Trump like to call out any critical journalism as “fake news”, but the bigger issue is the way fake stories …
Breakfast with Papers
The perfect start to your Festival day kicks off at 9am at the Palace. Enjoy coffee and a pastry and a free newspaper as our panel discusses the news …
Mapping the Ancestral Landscapes of Te Waipounamu
Lakes Wānaka and Hāwea are part of an ancestral landscape of immense cultural significance to Ngāi Tahu; stories of people and events, place names, tr …
In Other Words
Two women writers – Selina Tusitala Marsh and Emily Writes – talk about the barriers and the opportunities for other voices in a writing tradition whi …
Silver Stone Wood Bone
From one note comes two. From two notes come many. Breath sounds, sounds of bone, wood, natural things. Bridget Douglas is the principal flute player …
Late Beethoven & The Dry Cardrona
Celebrating the partnership of music and poetry, the New Zealand String Quartet present the world premiere of The Dry Cardrona. Based on James K Baxte …
Taonga Moana : A love letter to the oceans
Aotearoa’s outstanding national chamber choir, Voices New Zealand, presents a breathtaking musical and visual homage to the beauty and vulnerability o …
ACE Brass
For over a decade, ACE Brass has been bringing world class chamber music into the concert halls, schools, and homes of New Zealand. They’ve even playe …
French for Rabbits
Dream-pop luminaries French for Rabbits have quietly built a reputation for creating ethereal, transcendental music, with songwriting that explores th …
The Chills
Formed in Dunedin in 1980, The Chills won deserved acclaim for their early singles including ‘Pink Frost’, ‘I Love My Leather Jacket’ and ‘Wet Blanket …
The Locals
They both began their music careers in Wānaka. Both shifted to Wellington and both have joined and formed new bands alongside their university studies …
Found in Translation
Sometimes the songs we fall in love with are not the songs their writers intended. And while the language of music may be universal, our interpretatio …
Tiny Ruins
The songs of Tiny Ruins have been treasured by crowds and critics for almost a decade. Hollie Fullbrook and her band span delicate folk, lustrous drea …
Into the Belly of Capricorn
Estère, aka Empress of Electric Blue Witchhop, is one of our finest acts and best kept secrets, opening for the likes of soul legends Grace Jones and …
Rail Land
Rail Land is an immersive live music experience with synthesizers, lights, and historic New Zealand Railways ephemera. Built around the critically acc …
The New Blue
Blue Smoke Records is proud to present the song- book of New Zealand’s first recording pop star, and the music that influenced her. Join music directo …
Carnivorous Plant Society
Carnivorous Plant Society is a gang made up of New Zealand’s most accomplished musicians performing psychedelic jazz. They merge filmic soundscapes an …
A Traveller’s Guide to Turkish Dogs
A Travellerʼs Guide to Turkish Dogs is the true story of a mad historian, immortal fishermen, and the Mother of Wolves; border crossings, buried treas …
#thatwānakatour
As you set out for Wānaka, hope that the journey’s a good one. Join tour guide Pete and driver Constantine on #thatwānakatour, a fun-filled trip lik …
Hello Darkness
An adaptation of the Peter Wells book by Victor Rodger. Read by Roy Ward Peter Wells wrote many books, made movies, and co-founded the Auckland Writer …
Remote Thoughts
For the last four years, Wanaka teacher Anna Shaw has been living and teaching in Wadeye, a remote indigenous community in the Northern Territory, SE …
Rants in the Dark
Wellington blogger Emily Writes’ best-selling book takes to the stage. Her heartfelt and hilarious writing explores her parenting experience, offering …
Up and Away
Up and Away is a playful and gentle theatrical performance exclusively for babies and their grown-ups. Two performers interweave elements of theatre, …
Me and my Nana
Joyful surprises are discovered alongside tender moments between a grandmother and her grandchild as they navigate a day together in this theatrical e …
The Griegol
Trick of the Light Theatre’s new show is an eerie, elegant tale, without words, but full of magic and mystery. It’s about death, love, grief and monst …
Tröll
It’s 1998. Otto is twelve, but online he’s thirteen and he’s pretty sure he gets away with it. He lives with his mum, dad, and sister, along with a ch …
The Artist
International circus sensation Thomas Monckton is back with his latest and greatest solo show, a physical theatre comedy masterpiece about a nutty pai …
Other (chinese)
“Putting people, not performer, centre-stage, this was our show of the year.” – Metro Magazine Real people. Real stories. From the heart. This show is …
Meremere
Meremere is a powerful, engaging work from an exceptional dancer, Rodney Bell | Ngāti Maniapoto. It’s a survival story that focuses on Rodney’s time l …
Owls Do Cry
Beloved New Zealand author Janet Frame’s landmark novel is brought to life on stage by the iconic theatre company Red Leap. Filled with fierce heart a …
The Hall
“When in doubt, sing loud.” From playwright Ro Bright and director Kitan Petkovski, the team behind the multi-award-winning Kiwi heartbreaker Daffodil …
Ultra Violet / The Autumn Ball Royal New Zealand Ballet
We welcome the Royal New Zealand Ballet back to the Festival with two brand new works. So new, that we have just rehearsal shots for one and the other …
