Events

SchoolFest events include Schools to Fest (S2F) and Schools Only (SO) performances, Workshops (WS), Writers Day (WD) and free Artist Talks. 

Jazz for Young People
SO
Jazz for Young People

Jazz for Young People

SchoolFest, Music 11 Mar

The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra draws on the vast repertoire at its fingertips, from historic compositions by the jazz greats to its own commissions.
No Man's Land
S2FNZ
No Man's Land

No Man's Land

SchoolFest, Music, History 02 Mar

Featuring 150 musicians from more than 20 countries, this multi-layered world music collaboration brings together the descendants of opposing forces in WWI and reunites them in friendship and musical solidarity.
Complexity of Belonging
S2F
Complexity of Belonging

Complexity of Belonging

Dance, SchoolFest 11 Mar

A daring and darkly humorous exploration of identity in the age of social media from two of dance and theatre’s most unflinching makers.
Waves
SO
Waves

Waves

SchoolFest, Theatre 04 Mar

The unofficial history of how Elizabeth Moncello invented the butterfly stroke with the help of fish, penguins and other aquatic friends while growing up on Australia’s Gabo Island in the 1930s.
Behind the Curtain
WS
Behind the Curtain

Behind the Curtain

Workshop, SchoolFest, Theatre 03 Mar

Fantasy meets reality in this behind the scenes look into making wonders of the imagination tangible with the magic of special effects.
Te Pō
S2FNZ
Te Pō

Te Pō

SchoolFest, Theatre, Music 02 – 03 Mar

A policeman, a priest and a blind man look for clues that will lead them to the missing playwright Bruce Mason in this eloquent and surprising comedy punctuated by Māori showband songs. From the same out-of-the-box team that produced the award-winning 360 – a theatre of recollections.
Kneehigh Lowdown
WS
Kneehigh Lowdown

Kneehigh Lowdown

SchoolFest, Theatre 02 Mar

Learn theatre from the best and the zaniest. Mike Shepherd from Kneehigh Creations talk all things theatre.
Dead Dog in a Suitcase (and other love songs) A New Beggars Opera
S2F
Dead Dog in a Suitcase (and other love songs) A New Beggars Opera

Dead Dog in a Suitcase (and other love songs) A New Beggars Opera

SchoolFest, Theatre, Music 01 – 02 Mar

Busting with wit, wonder and weirdness, this was one of The Guardian’s Top 10 theatre shows of 2014.The ever-inventive, multi-talented Kneehigh rework John Gay’s bawdy 18th-century musical satire The Beggar’s Opera.
Run Away with the Circus
WS
Run Away with the Circus

Run Away with the Circus

Workshop, SchoolFest, Theatre 07 Mar

For aspiring acrobats, contortionists and tightrope walkers - an introduction to circus performance from Compagnia la Finzi Pasca.
Rock 'N' Roll God
WS
Rock 'N' Roll God

Rock 'N' Roll God

Workshop, SchoolFest, Theatre 18 Mar

Hear how 2b Theatre turn a Greek classic into a contemporary extravaganza.
The God that Comes
S2F
The God that Comes

The God that Comes

Cabaret, SchoolFest, Theatre 16 – 17 Mar

Part play, part concert, all Bacchanalian, this booze-soaked rock ‘n’ roll cabaret is a one-man show overflowing with “deft wit and razor sharp humour” (Calgary Sun, Canada). 
Brass Poppies
S2FNZ
Brass Poppies

Brass Poppies

SchoolFest, Music, History 03 Mar

This ground-breaking new chamber opera from Ross Harris and Vincent O’Sullivan (Requiem for theFallen) powerfully portrays World War I as both a military story and one of domestic New Zealand.
Chalk About
SO
Chalk About

Chalk About

Theatre 02 – 03 Mar

This highly inventive show takes the old playground game of making chalk outlines and turns it into a look at how we fill in the outlines of each other’s identities.
Chalking About
WS
Chalking About

Chalking About

Theatre, Music 03 Mar

A hands-on workshop incorporating writing, drawing, talking and movement. 
A World Where Music Reigns with Anna Smaill
WDNZ
A World Where Music Reigns with Anna Smaill

A World Where Music Reigns with Anna Smaill

Writers Day, SchoolFest 10 Mar

New Zealand novelist Anna Smaill, in disucssion with Kate De Goldi, opens up about dystopia, music and writing a Man Booker longlisted novel.
Slam Poetry with Anis Mojgani
WD
Slam Poetry with Anis Mojgani

Slam Poetry with Anis Mojgani

Writers Day, SchoolFest 10 Mar

For an uplifting and radical SchoolFest experience, join US spoken word poet Anis Mojgani for a heart and soulfilled performance and workshop that will get your cogs ticking and your fingers snapping.
Life Online: Jamie Curry and Mallory Ortberg
WDNZ
Life Online: Jamie Curry and Mallory Ortberg

Life Online: Jamie Curry and Mallory Ortberg

Writers Day, SchoolFest 10 Mar

Hear local internet sensation Jamie Curry and US blogger Mallory Ortberg talk all things internet, feminism, pop culture and life on/offline.
WWI Stories: Marrying Truth and Fiction
WDNZ
WWI Stories: Marrying Truth and Fiction

WWI Stories: Marrying Truth and Fiction

Writers Day, SchoolFest 10 Mar

New Zealand YA author of WWI novel Evie's War Anna Mackenzie on ideas and how a single voice can speak for a generation.
The Devil's Half-Acre
SONZ
The Devil's Half-Acre

The Devil's Half-Acre

SchoolFest, Theatre 11 Mar

The award-winning team that delighted audiences with The Bookbinder and The Road that Wasn’tThere return with a darker, more adult tale of the uncanny.
Inside View
WS
Inside View

Inside View

Workshop, SchoolFest, Music 04 Mar

An exclusive look into the operatics of opera with the virtuosi behind Brass Poppies.
Concerto Italiano
S2F
Concerto Italiano

Concerto Italiano

SchoolFest, Music 27 Feb

A rare chance to experience Monteverdi’s Vespro della BeataVergine in its entirety.Well established as oneof the best European early musicgroups, Concerto Italianoare renowned for theirperformances of the work.
Modern Māori Quartet
S2FNZ
Modern Māori Quartet

Modern Māori Quartet

SchoolFest, Music 16 Mar

Waiata, wit and downhome warmth as the boys bring you their fresh take on the classic Māori showband and put their stamp on Kiwi classics and some of today’s biggest hits.
Page Turners
S2FFreeNZ
Page Turners

Page Turners

SchoolFest, Theatre 06 Mar

The stories of Wellingtonians – and trouble-makers – Te Rauparaha, Robin Hyde, Nancy Wake, James K Baxter and Carmen Rupe told from the set of a three-metre-high pop-up book. 
The Kiss Inside
S2FNZ
The Kiss Inside

The Kiss Inside

Dance, SchoolFest 04 Mar

Douglas Wright has dug deeply into the human psyche and returned with a visual poem full of provocative images and exquisite movement — all to a soundtrack combining classical Sufi music, Patti Smith and JS Bach.
Swing Symphony (Symphony No 3)
S2F
Swing Symphony (Symphony No 3)

Swing Symphony (Symphony No 3)

SchoolFest, Music 10 Mar

Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra leader Wynton Marsalis’s third symphonyis a “stunning achievement” (The Arts Desk) that takes you on a journey through jazz history.
Relict Furies
S2FNZ
Relict Furies

Relict Furies

SchoolFest 15 Mar

Premiered to great acclaim at the Edinburgh International Festival, Relict Furies gives a voice to World War I’s New Zealand “relicts” – the widows and sweethearts who waved their men goodbye and never saw them again.
Café Müller/The Rite of Spring Dress Rehearsal
SOFree
Café Müller/The Rite of Spring Dress Rehearsal

Café Müller/The Rite of Spring Dress Rehearsal

Dance, SchoolFest, Theatre 16 Mar

For the first time, as part of a season that also includes documentary and other film screenings, you can experience Pina Bausch’s iconic dance theatre works live on stage in New Zealand.
Arquitectura De Feria
S2FFree
Arquitectura De Feria

Arquitectura De Feria

SchoolFest 27 Feb – 19 Mar

A Catalonian fairground No. 8 wire-style, with seven fantastical hand-cranked rides put together from recycled material and scrap iron. Including a Ferris wheel where kids are propelled around on toilet bowls.
Le Grand Continental ®
S2FFree
Le Grand Continental ®

Le Grand Continental ®

Dance, SchoolFest 26 Feb

A 30-minute dance spectacular performed by 150 volunteers aged between 10 and 75. Afterward, the crowd will be asked to join in for a giant freestyle dance party.
The ACB with Honora Lee
SONZ
The ACB with Honora Lee

The ACB with Honora Lee

SchoolFest, Theatre 01 – 18 Mar

Quirky humour, playfulness and intergenerational love are at the heart of this adaptation of the 2012 novel by one of New Zealand’s most loved authors, popular with adults and children alike.
dirtsong
S2F
dirtsong

dirtsong

SchoolFest, Music 28 Feb

You’ll hear songs from 11 different Aboriginal languages in this soulful show, which will bring to you the heart of Australia and its most celebrated musicians, including Archie Roach and special guest artist Paul Kelly. 
Dame Kiri Te Kanawa with Voices New Zealand Chamber Choir
S2FNZ
Dame Kiri Te Kanawa with Voices New Zealand Chamber Choir

Dame Kiri Te Kanawa with Voices New Zealand Chamber Choir

SchoolFest, Music 13 Mar

This recital, featuring Schubert, Strauss and Brahms among others, allows you to hear Dame Kiri solo and alongside the “supreme polish and breathtaking accuracy” (The DominionPost) of Voices New Zealand Chamber Choir.
Fly Me Up To Where You Are New Zealand
VAS2FFree
Fly Me Up To Where You Are New Zealand

Fly Me Up To Where You Are New Zealand

SchoolFest, Visual Arts 27 Feb – 19 Mar

Tiffany Singh has been working with schoolchildren from Wellington, Auckland and Christchurch since 2012, helping them turn their ideas into the many thousand flags in this award-winning installation. 
La Verità
S2F
La Verità

La Verità

Theatre 02 – 03 Mar

Enter the world of a surrealist painting, with a heady mix of spectacular acrobatics, theatre, dance and music performed against the monumental Salvador Dalí backdrop that sparked this cirque show.