Wellington Theatre Awards Ngā Whakarākei O Whātaitai celebrate their 35th year, with the 2026 Awards ceremony announced for Sunday 6 December, alongside a new creative team!  

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Celebrating their 35th year, the Wellington Theatre Awards Ngā Whakarākei O Whātaitai are proud to announce that the 2026 awards evening will be held on Sunday 6 December at the iconic Wellington venue, The Hannah. The Awards are proudly presented by the Theatre Awards Trust.

 

The Trust is extremely excited to announce a new generation Creative Director for the 2026 Awards, Te Whanganui-a-Tara based director, producer and performer Parekawa Finlay (Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāti Maniapoto, Te Whakatōhea). When asked about this year’s awards, Parekawa replies, “Kei konei mātou. We are here.  I’m proud to be stepping into this role within the Theatre Awards to help usher in the next chapter of recognition and celebrate the creative ambition for our sector. There’s a powerful momentum building across our industry. I feel it in the work being made, in the voices coming through, and in the next generation of artists finding their place. Tangaroa’s wave is rising, and this year, I want the Awards to be part of that.”

 

An example of these new voices can be seen in the hosts chosen for this year’s Awards evening, Raureti Ormond (Ngāti Tūwharetoa) and Maeve O’Connell, both exciting, new generation theatre-makers based here in the capital, and making work throughout the motu.

On being chosen a co-host, Maeve says, "For more than three decades, these Awards have celebrated the extraordinary people who make Wellington theatre what it is. It’s a real privilege to be part of that legacy and to celebrate the artists who have come before us, the work being made now, and the generations still to come."  Raureti adds, “It’s important to celebrate excellence, innovation and craft in our rohe. I believe that Wellington, as the great head of Maui’s fish, leads the artistic vigour of our country.”

 

As the longest running event of its kind in Aotearoa New Zealand, the annual Wellington Theatre Awards Ngā Whakarākei O Whātaitai have honoured the achievements and contributions of the creatives who have made professional theatre in Te Whanganui-a-Tara, since 1992. As well as celebrating the theatre productions that have taken place in Wellington each year, the Awards have also helped embed the city as the cultural capital of Aotearoa - a place where talent and  imagination flourishes and creative minds choose to live and work.  Theatre Awards Trust Chair Peter Dengate Thrush remarks, “The Awards are one of the highlights of the Capital's busy theatre calendar, and they have been the launching pad for some of New Zealand’s most famous theatre careers. We eagerly await the chance to welcome new winners this year" 

 

Many past winners of the Wellington Theatre Awards are now household names, with successful theatre, film, writing, creative and composing careers that have been recognised both nationally and internationally.  

 

Parekawa Finlay continues, “I am eager for the 2026 Awards to be more than a celebration. I want them to be a gathering place for our arts whānau; a space where emerging and established makers stand alongside one another, where bold new work is championed, and where the next generation of makers can see a future for themselves in live art and theatre. A place where our artists, our stories and our creative ambitions are celebrated among the very best of Aotearoa. Nau mai, piki mai. Koinei te auahatanga o tō tātou reanga.”

 

2026 has been a time of renewal for the Theatre Awards Trust, with a new administrator, Jacqueline Coats, and recently a new trustee, Ross Young.  A Wellington local, Ross is a passionate advocate for the arts with a background in law and public policy, including senior roles at the BBC, the Commerce Commission, and Google.  Ross says: “I love the raw quality of theatre. You get to see a world on stage and a life lived. I'm honoured to join the Trust Board and celebrate the best of Wellington theatre.”

 

Tickets for the 2026 Awards ceremony will be on sale to the public from Monday 16 November through Humanitix.  Nominees for the 2026 Awards will be announced on Monday 23 November, ahead of the Awards ceremony on Sunday 6 December.