Nelson Youth Theatre celebrates 25 Years of Awesome Theatre, encompassing 250 plays and musicals!
Past and present Nelson Youth Theatre members perform songs and big chorus numbers from a range of musicals, with numerous overseas professionals presenting video clips of their work or journeys to inspire the next generation!
Featuring songs from Chicago, We Will Rock You, Grease, Legally Blonde, Frozen, The Lion King, Oliver!, Mamma Mia!, Six, Aladdin, The Sound of Music, Annie, Madagascar, The Little Mermaid, 9 to 5, The Phantom of the Opera, Les Misérables, and others.
Touring in 2025 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the release of Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody!
Immerse yourself in the spectacle, grandeur and energy of the world’s greatest Rock band with Queen: It’s a Kinda Magic, celebrating the legacy of Queen and Freddie Mercury.
Bringing big sound, big screens, crazy lighting and outlandish costumes, this is the REAL ROCK EXPERIENCE!
Hear Dominic Warren performing lead vocals, guitar and piano ALL LIVE ON STAGE and in Freddie’s original key, and with all the wit, charm and bravado of the legend himself.
Get ready for a night of non-stop Rock anthems including We Will Rock You, We Are the Champions, Radio GaGa, I Want to Break Free, Somebody to Love, Don’t Stop Me Now, Another One Bites the Dust, A Kind of Magic, Bohemian Rhapsody and so many more.
Selling out year after year around the world, this is a rock concert extravaganza NOT TO BE MISSED!
Family Friendly | All Ages (PG) | Hearing Assistive Technology Available
Seats on the flat will be removed to make room for dancing.
Rows S, T & U in the Dress Circle may have restricted viewing of the projected content of this event.
Experience the greatest concert film of all time like never before! Stop Making Sense was shot over three nights at Hollywood's Pantages Theatre in December 1983 and features Talking Heads' most memorable songs.
You’re going to a movie but be prepared to leave your seats and dance for this one!
Newly restored in 4K to coincide with its 40th anniversary, this 1984 film was directed by renowned filmmaker Jonathan Demme and is considered by critics as the greatest concert film of all time.
Stop Making Sense stars core band members David Byrne, Tina Weymouth, Chris Frantz, and Jerry Harrison along with Bernie Worrell, Alex Weir, Steve Scales, Lynn Mabry and Edna Holt.
Take a look at the trailer here and get excited – we'll see you on the dance floor, Whakatū!
14+ | Audio Described | NZSL Interpreted | Hearing Assistive Technology Available
After wowing us in Thoroughly Modern Māui, award-winning Rutene Spooner returns to celebrate showband legacy, idolise the greatest Māori showman and tussle with the future of Māori in entertainment. This is everything but an impersonation show. Can you be like Billy without being the butt of the joke?
Aotearoa's newest Māori cabaret is hui-hopping to sweep you off your feet and Theatre Royal seats. If you loved Thoroughly Modern Māui (or missed it at our 2022 Festival), you MUST see this show!
Award-winning entertainer and playwright Rutene Spooner (Ngāti Porou, Ngāruahine) explores his personal connection with his childhood hero, Billy T. Infused with live music, humour, and show-band flair, the electrifying Be Like Billy? isn't just a tribute to Māori showmanship; it also prompts contemplation about the future of Māori entertainment—how to revel in joy without becoming the subject of mockery.
Joined by the flashest southern showband The Tekīra Mutton Birds, Rutene Spooner celebrates the showband legacy, idolises the greatest Māori showman, and tussles with the future of Māori in entertainment, to ask: Can you Be like Billy without being the butt of the joke?
"The Showband Era birthed some of Māoridom's most legendary entertainers. This production honours that lineage, reaching back to the infectious cheeky cackle we all know and cherish. But what does modern Māori showmanship entail?" - Rutene Spooner
“Be Like Billy? will surely go down as a true taonga of Aotearoa’s theatre history.” - Backstage Christchurch | Belinda Cullen Reid
"Spooner lays out this complexity for us in a show that starts with joy and celebration, with nostalgia, then pivots to something more complex when the audience is confronted with the division between laughing at and laughing with." - Flat City Field Notes | Erin Harrington
Originally commissioned by The Court Theatre and produced by Metro Māori Productions.
Supported by: Downing
Pick up some Good Vibrations at this unforgettable celebration dedicated to the music of The Beach Boys.
For nearly 60 years, the Beach Boys have embodied summertime. Sun, surfing, the beach, pretty girls in bikinis, driving with the top down. Favourites like “Surfin Safari”, “Surfin USA”, “Surfer Girl”, “Little Deuce Coupe”, “Barbara Ann” and “California Girls” turned the warm-weather months into a blissful utopia where perpetual happiness, young love, and endless freedom reigned.
Now, THE BEACH BOYS EXPERIENCE bring to the stage a mesmerising vocal wall of harmonies to capture the iconic sounds of one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed bands of all time.
Come have some Fun, Fun, Fun at the coolest, hippest, most far-out concert in 2025!
The 2024 Gala Concert is the culmination of a jam-packed year of performing at Nayland College.
This celebration of the Arts features items from Vast Dance Festival, the Solo Performing Arts Competition, The Addams Family, the Contemporary Music showcase, Rock Quest, the KBB Music Festival, the NZCF Big Sing and the Dance Showcase.
Join our instrumental groups, choirs, dancers and actors for this wonderful celebration of the Arts.
Come and enjoy homegrown country talent Zac Griffith, a 19-year-old award-winning country singer, songwriter/musician, live at the Theatre Royal Nelson.
Hear great country songs as well as some newly written songs of Griffith’s, and enjoy the music from him and a 6-piece backing band!
Seating is GENERAL ADMISSION, not allocated.
7pm: Solace (Best Band, 2024 Smokefreerockquest Nelson Regional Final)
7.30pm: Interval
8pm: The Beths
The Beths, the indie pop sensation hailing from Auckland, are set to make a triumphant return to their homeland for an intimate headline tour this September. After captivating audiences worldwide with their infectious melodies and dynamic performances – including standout performances across both Coachella weekends, and winning the coveted Album of the Year and Best Group Awards at the recent AMA Awards, The Beths are eager to bring their electrifying live set back to some of their favourite New Zealand stages.
Known for their catchy hooks and heartfelt lyrics, this homecoming tour promises to be a celebration of their journey from local heroes to international acclaim. Don't miss your chance to catch them live as they light up venues across the country with their signature blend of indie rock and irresistible charm.
One of Aotearoa’s all-time favourite bands returns to Nelson on their national tour. From the moment their debut EP Starlifter landed in 1998 until their swansong album Local Kid arrived in 2008, Pōneke’s Fur Patrol left an unforgettable legacy behind them.
Their debut album Pet rode high in the New Zealand Albums Charts for an astonishing thirty weeks, while the single Lydia knocked Destiny’s Child off the number one spot in the singles chart. Second album Collider was a rocking affair that saw the band taking Australia by storm and earning a reputation as a formidable and unmissable live act.
Now, some twenty years since the arrival of Collider, Julia Deans (guitar, vocals), Andrew Bain (bass), and Simon Braxton (drums) are taking to the road again to remind us how timelessly brilliant their stonking back-catalogue really is. Anyone who caught the band’s shows in 2022 will attest that they have lost none of their potency, power, or live energy, with the Ambient Light blog calling their Napier performance “a barnstorming show”.
Joining the bill will be Aotearoa Music Awards and Taite Music Prize finalist Tom Lark, fresh home from a UK tour and ready to warm up these shows in style.
Don’t miss your chance to hear your favourite Fur Patrol anthems live one more time when the band take to the stage.
Seats on the flat are out to make room for dancing.
Start your holidays off with a song in your heart! A sing-along with Kath Bee always puts a smile on your face. All the songs you love, including Sprinkle A Little Sunshine, Dragons Under My Bed, Individuality, Dad I wanna be a Camel, Blowing Bubbles, Magic in Me and more!
Everyone loves Kath Bee's performances, her down-to-earth manner, ability to connect with the audience, both children and adults - she always makes everyone feel special.
Winner of multiple awards including the 2020 and 2022 APRA NZ Children's Song of the Year, Kath's songs are catchy, uplifting and will stay with you and your child long after the concert is over. Bring your favourite soft toy to dance with, dress up in your favourite outfit and come ready for some actions, dancing, laughter and fun! Don't forget to bring your singing voice!
Kath always has giveaways, bubbles and very often some surprises during her shows. Plus she'll have books and ribbon wands to purchase and take away as a memento. She will be there after the show for photos and to sign your purchases. She can't wait to sing with you!
