Esther Stephens

'That Bloody Woman' brings a new, fresh vitality to the world stage' It touches the spirit of humanity and packages it in a powerful mix of sexy-punk juxtaposed with the historically authentic, smokey haze, flashy lighting and emotionally charged totally awesome music that will literally rock you.

One hundred and twenty years after it was first published, Anton Chekhov's celebrated masterpiece Uncle Vanya makes its way back onto The Court Theatre's stage.

For the next 19 days, the AAF will once again envelop the city in vibrant music, dance, theatre and art. The 2017 programme, the final Festival curated by Artistic Director Carla van Zon before her retirement, serves the city seven world premieres, and 23 New Zealand premieres and events exclusive to Auckland. The programme includes works performed in English, M?ori, Cantonese, S?moan, Tongan, Spanish, French, Serbian, as well as audio description and New Zealand Sign Language.

Arts-lovers, take your marks… The annual Auckland Arts Festival (AAF) kicks off tomorrow, Wednesday 8 March.

Fans of Kate Sheppard have something extra to celebrate on Tuesday 5 July. To mark the opening of THAT BLOODY WOMAN, the rock opera by Luke Di Somma and Gregory Cooper about Sheppard's battle to win women the vote, The Court Theatre has announced 'Kate's Rates' to the first Tuesday of the season.

That Bloody Woman, the smash hit rock opera about Kate Sheppard, makes its triumphant return to the suffragist's hometown with a season at The Court Theatre.

The selection of outstanding plays we have chosen for The Meridian Energy 2016/17 Season give The Court Theatre the opportunity to create some genuinely great theatre and to present our audiences with memories that will be kept alive for a lifetime.