’Stat you? Riff Raff under wraps, but with a Valentine's Day Rocky Horror party to look forward to

The Waikato Regional Theatre will be called the BNZ Theatre for the next five years, as part of a partnership between the bank and Live Nation NZ.

The Waikato Regional Theatre will be known as the BNZ Theatre for the next five years, as part of a naming rights deal with Live Nation NZ.

The Tuesday announcement comes ahead of the regional theatre’s public opening on January 19.

BNZ chief executive Dan Huggins said the partnership reflected the bank’s long-standing commitment to the Waikato.

“We’re proud to support BNZ Theatre – Waikato’s premier new arts and entertainment venue located in the heart of Hamilton city,” Huggins said.

“Hamilton sits at the heart of New Zealand’s primary sector engine room – a city where agritech, research and rural enterprise intersect to drive billions in value for our national economy.”

An ensemble cast will take to the BNZ Theatre’s stage on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday nights in a unique - and entirely Waikato-made - multimedia production.

Incorporating drama, dance, musical theatre, kapa haka, projection and even puppetry, To The Stars/Ki ngā Whetū is a collaboration between about 500 performers and artists, all of whom either live in or whakapapa to the Waikato region.

Commissioned by the Waikato Regional Property Trust to mark the opening of Hamilton’s new $80 million performance venue, the show will tell a completely original story about a family - a grandfather, a mother and a child - who embark on what proves to be a journey of discovery.

Several cast members were in the Drama Room at Knighton Normal School when the Waikato Times went to investigate, deep in rehearsals under the watchful eye of co-directors Jeremy and Courteney Mayall, as well as the writing team - Dan Inglis, Scott Granville, and Aimee Anderson-O'Connor, and choreographer Alexis Holmes.

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