2016 is the inaugural year of Off the Cuff! Join us monthly for improv, sketch comedy and anything else we have "up our sleeves". Nelson's entertainment company, Down With Monday, in partnership with The Historic Theatre Royal aim to bring you a new show each month that will give your laughing muscles a workout.

*All members of Off the Cuff previously performed in the highly successful improv show The Deep End.

Presented by New Zealand Comedy Trust

Hilarious French raconteur, Marcel Lucont hosts a top selection of the Comedy Festival's favourites including much-loved American cowboy Wilson Dixon, super-dry Welshman Lloyd Langford, two-time Fred Award finalist Jamie Bowen, and Angela Barnes from the UK whom Sarah Millican rates as "Brilliantly funny".

Chock-full of huge laughs and great stories, this will be an unforgettable two hours of stand-up! Bring your friends.

Part of the 2016 NZ International Comedy Festival powered by Flick Electric Co. To get The Latest on all the comedy shows on offer, info about the Fest, access to competitions and special deals, head to comedyfestival.co.nz.

Duration: 2 hours plus interval

Recommended Age: 16+, Age Restriction: R15
Occasional language, Adult themes

One of New Zealand's most loved actors, Mark Hadlow, stars in a one man theatre show as that most polarising of species - a middle aged man in lycra.

Bryan Cook is a property developer who has accumulated a small fortune building leaky homes. He's stressed out, self-medicating and self-loathing, killing himself to increase his bank balance while decreasing his golf score.

When things fall apart, he joins a men's cycling group to relieve stress - and makes a few startling discoveries in various cracks and crevices.

Achingly funny and poignant, MAMIL presents the male mid-life crisis in all its lurid glory.

"This production will be one of the highlights of the year. It is a must see show for men and women." Dominion Post

(No flash photography or recording allowed)

Nelson Repertory Theatre presents the comedy hit, Caravan by Donald McDonald

Five best friends, nudging forty and hating it, take their first holiday together in a caravan. One of them brings along his new and all-too-young girlfriend. In the caravan's confined space, tensions rise and the laughs begin! Then it rains for six days straight and the pressure of living in a confined space of a caravan soon tells on the friendship and the results are hilarious!

Caravan is pure fun. Its purpose is to make you laugh and it does this loud and often!  - Sydney Morning Herald

2016 is the inaugural year of Off the Cuff! Join us monthly for improv, sketch comedy and anything else we have "up our sleeves". Nelson's entertainment company, Down With Mondays, in partnership with The Historic Theatre Royal aim to bring you a new show each month that will give your laughing muscles a workout.

*All members of Off the Cuff previously performed in the highly successful improv show The Deep End.

The hysterical and uplifting Menopause the Musical is heading on another sell-out New Zealand tour in 2016. Packed full of one-liners about hot flushes and memory loss backed by an instantly recognisable soundtrack of comedy parody versions of pop classics, the all-singing, all-dancing comedy is set in at a department store, where four women with seemingly nothing in common meet by chance at a lingerie sale.

The all-female cast of make fun of their woeful lives experiencing "The Change", forgetfulness, mood swings, wrinkles, night sweats and chocolate binges.

The women bond as they realise that menopause is no longer "The Silent Passage", it is an unavoidable stage in every woman's life.

Previous New Zealand tours have sold out, so don't delay, call your friends and book your tickets today.

Ever wondered how a theatre works or wanted to have a better understanding of what is involved to make a production come to life? The Theatre Royal’s Open Day is the perfect opportunity to find out!

We are throwing open our doors and inviting you to step behind the scenes, giving you the opportunity to tread the boards of our stage and we will show you exactly how our theatre operates including the fly tower!

You will also have the opportunity to meet many of our local artists and companies who perform regularly at the theatre, join our Royal Family and find out about our technical training programmes that are available throughout the year.

It’s your chance to be ‘centre stage’! If you’ve ever wanted a look behind-the-scenes, to see how the magic of theatre really works, now is your chance.

The Deep End is an improvised comedy show where the actors take your suggestions and use them to create scenes. It's theatre on the spot- dangerous, thrilling and often hilarious! Each monthly show will have a new theme and a cast comprised of different actors from our skilled Nelson crew, plus the occasional surprise visiting actor, so come back each month to see your favourites and be wowed by the endless ways in which the intrepid crew can invent one-off sketches, songs and stories!

"...top rate improvisational comedy... as clever as any I've watched... fresh, witty and unexpected." -Nelson Mail

Live Arts Nelson’s Summer school will showcase their performance piece de resistance. 

The students have spent a week immersed in theatre, drama, dance, singing and music, visual and creative arts, and have been part of creating and/or performing this new piece of theatre.

A gold coin donation to see these kids show their amazing talent.

Applications are now open for the inaugural Live Arts Nelson Summer School! Once upon a time... in the future

Are you looking for a summer adventure? Do you want to spend a week immersed in theatre, drama, dance, singing and music, visual and creative arts? Would you like to be part of creating and/or performing a new piece of theatre to be staged at Theatre Royal, Nelson?

Live Arts Nelson Summer School, has lined up some of the region's top professionals to tutor and guide you in musical theatre, drama, improvisation, voice, dance, music composition, visual art and costuming. Using, 'Once upon a time in the future...' as our inspiration, this five day arts-fest will take a workshop format for the first few days before opening into a collaborative and inclusive creative experience, encompassing all genres and harnessing divergent ideas to create a performance piece de resistance.

Dates:
Monday to Thursday January 25 to 28 - 9.30am to 3.30pm
Friday January 29 – performance showcase!

Cost: $275 for four days tuition and the performance showcase.

You must be between 6 and 21 years to apply.

Numbers are limited and acceptance is by application only. To apply, download and complete the application form below.