"Join Maggie Taylor as she guides you through basic carpentry skills and chisels away at the stereotype that has kept women out of the toolbox for so long.”

So reads the flyer for The Pink Hammer Workshop, but when Annabel, Helen, Louise and Siobhan turn up, looking forward to learning carpentry skills from a pioneering, female furniture maker, they soon discover their tutor has disappeared – along with their pre-paid fees. They find Maggie’s husband instead; a disgruntled out-of-work builder, who knows nothing about the course, even less about GirlPower and is not impressed to find four sheilas amongst his claw hammers.

Not the sort of women to back down from a challenge, the group convince Woody to teach them the tricks of the trade in this hilarious and heart-warming Kiwi comedy.

Five unhappy people in a shed full of tools. What could possibly go wrong?

‘A damn good play. Very funny.’ – Roger Hall

“The Pink Hammer is Kiwi comedy at its best. It’s quirky as all hell; it’s very funny; it provides phenomenally strong roles for four women – and one guy! – but more than anything else, these are recognisable New Zealanders, which is why this is an outstanding play to produce.”
- Artistic Director, Ross Gumbley, The Court Theatre.

Grandiose Cabaret has a 10 year history in Nelson, usually held over Queens Birthday weekend and featuring a cast of dazzling cabaret performers from around Aotearoa. Due the global Covid -19 Pandemic, we had to cancel the usual weekender.

However, we can now reveal this very special Royal Deluxe edition held at the gorgeous historic Theatre Royal Nelson.

Your funny bone will be tickled at this risque R18 cabaret featuring an all local cast.

Prepare to be dazzled and spellbound by award winning Burlesque Performers, Cabaret Singers, Magicians and more!

The time has come to have some fun and our children need it most!

Few children’s books have stood the test of time quite like Dr Seuss’s 200 word masterpiece ‘The Cat in the Hat’.

Adapted for the stage the play tells the story consistent with the book of a brother and sister, bored at home on a rainy day...(without their Mother!!??) when they are visited by none other than ‘The Cat’ in his red and white striped Hat...(which they let in the door!!??). Their outspoken and outraged pet Fish (yip the fish talks...and is the babysitter!!) is astounded and concerned, but this cat will not be deterred. He will teach us all to make our own fun with nothing but a little imagination. "It's fun to have fun, but you have to know how." Along with his friends, Thing One and Thing Two (Hey we all have those types of friend’s) they turn the house upside down leaving mess everywhere but have no fear because The Cat brings in his red ‘Picker-Up Machine’ and all is back to normal before Mum walks back in the door. The Cat in the Hat performed a SOLD OUT tour of New Zealand in 2018 and has since 2019 been touring Australia. The production features a full scale set of the house and over 70 props that the cast use to bring to life every detail of the well-known book.

NELSON! Are you ready to Drag up your Life once again?! Kelly Fornia is bringing her drag lip-sync extravaganza all around the country this 2020 and you better believe we're stepping foot in Nelson again! You took our breath away with your energy last year and we're coming at you with even more this time!

Drag up your Life features a fabulous selection of Wellington's finest Drag Queens & Kings as we bring you lip-syncs and Drag stage challenge realness honey that'll leave you GAGGED and your wigs SNATCHED. Thanks to such amazing shows as RuPaul's Drag Race, Drag has now been brought into the mainstream limelight and we're here to show that New Zealand Drag talent is not to be overlooked because we can sashay, shantay, twirl and kick as hard as the rest of the world! Oh and did we mention our show is PG! Which means you can bring the whole family along and enjoy a night full of wonderful Dragtastic performances!

Our fabulous cast consists of:

Kelly Fornia - Mx Capital Drag 2018 & TVNZ on Demand's House of Drag Season 2
Robin Yablind - Mister Burlesque Aotearoa 2018 & Supreme Grand Tease 2019
Harlie Lux - Mx Capital Drag 2017 & Miss Pinup New Zealand People's Choice 2018
Yonic K - Wellington's favourite Aunty
Selina Simone - Talk show hostess & Member of Haus of Sin

Parihaka - the story of peaceful resistance and the heritage of our time and place.

As part of the Nelson Heritage Festival, Te Oro Haa presents the Parihaka story by weaving waiata, kapa haka, te reo Māori and ancient Māori sounds. Remembering the invasion of 1881, the Government reconciliation in 2017 and the Parihaka legacy into the future, this performance celebrates the uniqueness of our people, land and spirit.

One of New Zealand's theatre icons, 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

R15+
No flash photography or recording allowed

In order to make this acclaimed show accessible to everyone in the time when many are struggling, we have created a limited number of $10 tickets. However, it will not come as a surprise that the Theatre Royal is struggling as well, after months without income, and no large productions in the near future. We are therefore offering more expensive tickets, with proceeds going to the theatre and for you to show your support.

These performances have been cancelled.

All refunds are processed by Ticket Rocket. For cancelled shows, you do not need to do anything if you have bought your tickets online – the money will automatically be refunded to the card that made the transaction.

If you bought your ticket over the counter or over the phone, you will need to email
[email protected]  and give them

- The name you used to purchase your ticket
- The event(s) you have purchased the ticket for
- Your account name and number for a manual bank transfer to be processed back to. This must be a NZ account and not a credit card number.

Refunds may take up to 60 days due to the large number of cancellations. Thank you for your patience.

Following her smash hit Promise and Promiscuity, and after a sell-out Nelson Arts Festival, Olive Copperbottom is back! Penny Ashton brings Dickensian inspired orphaned hero Olive, and a squalid gaggle of hilarious Victorians, to crusty life. A rollicking romantic musical journey through fifteen gin soaked characters told with song, dance and questionable personal hygiene. It's Oliver! meets Blackadder with a saucy feminine twist.

Ashton's "...tour-de-force..."(Theatreview) won the Press Critic's 'Iron Chicken award for best indoor show at the Christchurch International Buskers' Festival 2018 and Best Overall Show at the Victoria Fringe in Canada 2017.

"...very very good...very very funny" Radio NZ National 2017

"...a one-woman show wonder." Canadian Broadcasting Corporation 2017

"It sparkles with intelligence, wit and verve." The Christchurch Press 2018

R13

Everyone's favourite ogre is back in the hilarious stage spectacle based on the Oscar-winning, smash hit film.

"Once upon a time, there was a little ogre named Shrek...." And thus, begins the tale of an unlikely hero who finds himself on a life-changing journey alongside a wisecracking Donkey and a feisty princess who resists her rescue. Throw in a short-tempered bad guy, a cookie with an attitude and over a dozen other fairy tale misfits, and you've got the kind of mess that calls for a real hero. Luckily, there's one on hand... and his name is Shrek.

Shrek presents a treasure trove of creative opportunities, including costumes, sets, puppets (there is a fire-breathing dragon after all) and more! Irreverently fun for the whole family, Shrek proves that beauty is truly in the eye of the ogre.

Over 60 million people worldwide have fallen in love with the characters, the story and the music that make Mamma Mia! the ultimate feel-good musical.

ABBA's hits tell the hilarious story of a young woman's search for her birth father. This sunny and funny tale unfolds on a Greek island paradise. On the eve of her wedding, a daughter's quest to discover the identity of her father brings three men from her mother's past back to the island they last visited 20 years ago.

The story-telling magic of ABBA's timeless songs propels this enchanting tale of love, laughter and friendship, creating an unforgettable show. A large cast, non-stop laughs and explosive dance numbers combine to make Mamma Mia!a guaranteed smash hit for any theatre.

A mother. A daughter. Three possible dads. And a trip down the aisle you'll never forget!