Your venue menu for the 2026 Aotearoa New Zealand Festival of the Arts

Wellington is in for a sophisticated mix of post-punk, experimental, gospel, and blues music. Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds is giving a New Zealand exclusive concert at TSB Arena on the waterfront. Renowned for exhilarating performances, the band is back for the first time since 2017. The Wild God Tour mixes songs from their latest album with favourites from the past 40 years of music-making. The cavernous TSB Arena is a spectacular space for what is destined to be a memorable concert. 

A combination of circus, drag, burlesque, and cheeky comedy makes up The Works by Briefs Factory. Expect soaring acrobatics set to a pumping soundtrack - bursting with sweat and sass. The Australian collective has redefined cabaret with glitter-drenched shows packed with dazzling physical performance. For its Wellington outing, it sets up shop at Tāwhiri Warehouse in Newtown. The newly renovated building is the Festival hub and provides a huge, versatile space for every imaginable performance. 

Jo Randerson premieres Speed is Emotional at Circa Theatre on the Waterfront. The story dives into Jo’s ADHD, lively parenting style, and the everyday chaos that comes with both. Their quick mind and sharp humour shape a performance full of honesty and heart. It’s a warm and witty look at living beyond labels, powered by a bold and funny artistic voice. In 2026, Circa celebrates 50 years of providing space for quality live theatre in Wellington.  

Shakespeare’s famous Scottish play is reimagined in ballet form. The Royal New Zealand Ballet’s production uses clear, sharp movement and a bold new score to bring the story to life. Choreographer Alice Topp shows how power and ambition can twist a path forward. The result is a gripping contemporary show where Macbeth and Lady Macbeth edge closer to their inevitable fall. The historic St James Theatre is the grand old dame of the city’s theatre scene. Its beautiful interior is a performance in itself.

Origonally commissioned by the festival in 1992, Waiora — Te Ūkaipō The Homeland is a moving look at family and the idea of home. Playwright Hone Kouka’s theatrical work is set in 1965. It follows a family moving south to begin again. A birthday gathering brings long-held tensions into the open as they face questions of culture, identity, and belonging. The Opera House in Wellington was built in 1914 and forms an important part of the city’s entertainment history.

Kiwi/Greek Composer John Psathas and pianist Dawn Hardwick (UK) present a powerful mix of music, film, and spoken word. The grand Great Hall at Massey University, with its sweeping high ceiling, gives Voices at the End a grand sense of scale. Part concert and part movie, it features two bold works. Listen and reflect as you sit with the big questions this experience raises about the future we’re moving toward.

Voices New Zealand is a nationally selected choir involving musicians of the highest calibre. Its inaugural concert was at the 1998 festival, so it’s only fitting that 28 years later, it performs again to celebrate its founder, Karen Grylls. Ara Hura — A Visionary Journey sees the now-famous group perform with taonga pūoro artist Horomona Horo and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. The Michael Fowler Centre’s magnificent concert hall will reverberate to waiata and old and new choral works.

A hand-crafted phone booth sits on the Wellington Waterfront, ready for The Red Phone Project. Step inside for a short, scripted chat with a stranger, a friend, or someone you didn’t expect. Using a vintage red phone and a teleprompter, this playful experience turns a simple conversation into theatre. In each brief session, you become both performer and audience. Part theatre, part social experiment, this free event takes up temporary lodgings near Wellington’s sparkling harbour.