Venues

Herald Theatre, Te Papa Tū Wātea

Herald Theatre is Auckland Live’s home for cutting-edge new performance and drama. This is the place to come to see exciting new works. Everything from new theatre by top local and international playwrights, to international micro circuses, to local dance have all graced the Herald stage. It also plays host to some of the more theatrical shows at the New Zealand International Comedy Festival.

The theatre itself is our most intimate, with 186 seats. It also has its own theatre bar. The large foyer space spills outdoors to a courtyard area, and the walls of the foyer feature a stunning mural by Jeena Shin, installed in early 2014.

You’ll find Herald Theatre at the northern end of the Aotea Centre — you can get to the Herald theatre by travelling around the right hand side of the building from Aotea Square (please note, this is a steep route), or you can access from Mayoral Drive.

50 Mayoral Drive,
Auckland 1010

+64 9 309 2677
https://www.aucklandlive.co.nz/herald-theatre
online@aucklandlive.co.nz

Public Transport

Closest bus stops are on Queen St, located outside The Auckland Town Hall main entrance, and opposite The Civic on Queen St.

Visit Auckland Transport or download the AT app to see what public transport options are available.

Parking

Auckland Transport manages the carparks close to our venues, such as Civic carpark.

If you are driving in to see a show, please come early, and consider using alternative car park options in the central city. The Civic Carpark can fill up very quickly on show nights.

Visit Auckland Transport’s Parking in Auckland webpage for location information, rates and closing times.

We recommend downloading the AT Park app to avoid queues at the payment machines.

Taxi Rank & Drop Off

Taxis can drop off in the Auckland Council carpark next to The Civic car park entrance off Mayoral Drive. There is also a taxi stand on Queen Street opposite The Civic (theatre).

The best drop off point for the Herald Theatre is 50 Mayoral Drive, outside the Aotea Centre Stage Door, next to the Herald Theatre's main entrance.

Road closures

Auckland Transport is upgrading the bus stop facilities outside The Civic on Wellesley St from Queen St to Albert St and the road is closed to private motor vehicles including taxis and ride-share vehicles such as Uber from 7.00am to 7.00pm 7 days a week.

Auckland Transport has turned the section of Queen St both ways between Rutland and Wellesley Streets into an Essential Vehicle Area (EVA) and it is permanently closed to all private motor vehicles including taxis and ride-share vehicles such as Uber - view map

The Aotea Centre is a large, modern 5-storey building located in Aotea Square in Auckland's CBD. It is home to the Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre, one of New Zealand's largest auditoriums, and the Herald Theatre. Inside the Aotea Centre there are also multiple function rooms and spaces and The Terrace café.

The Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre is inside the main building. The Herald Theatre is to the right of the Centre — you can get to the Herald theatre by travelling around the right hand side of the building from Aotea Square (please note, this is a steep route), or you can access from Mayoral Drive.

Step free access, and wheelchair accessible seating and toilets

Hearing Loop

This theatre is equipped with a hearing loop. To connect to the hearing loop, switch your hearing aids to ‘tele’.
You can contact Ticketmaster at 09 970 9700 for advice on the best seats to use it in. Or during the Auckland Arts Festival you can contact the Accessibility Programme coordinator on access@aaf.co.nz or 022 1239 759.

Service dogs are welcomed

There is a grassed area nearby on the Aotea Square grass terraces.

Staff can provide water for Service dogs on request.

Mobility Carparks nearby

The Civic Car Park is nearby (under Aotea Square) and there is vehicle entry to the carpark from Greys Avenue or Mayoral Drive.

There is access to the Aotea Centre from Level 1 of the Civic Carpark (Civic Stairs corner) through a set of automatic doors labelled “Aotea Centre”. This will take you to Level 1 of the Aotea Centre, from where you can take the lift to all floors.

There are 20 mobility parking spots available, with locations as below:

Level 1 opposite Aotea Centre entry doors - 5x spaces, numbers 244 -248

Level 1 opposite Aotea Centre entry doors (next to the yellow booth) 4x spaces, numbers 207 - 210

Level 1 Town Hall corner 1x large space, number 271

Level 1 Sky Metro corner 5x spaces, numbers 9-13

Level 2 Town Hall corner 2x spaces

Level 3 Town Hall corner 3x spaces

During standard hours, the first 2 hours of mobility parking are free with usual rates applied afterwards. After 6pm and on weekends, mobility parking is free. Take your mobility card and entry ticket to a pay machine, and press the help button. 

Mobility equipment available at the venue

There are two courtesy wheelchairs available at the venue if you or someone you’re coming with has mobility needs. 
You can book one of these by calling Ticketmaster at 0800 111 999.

Other accessibility information

For every show, patrons with access requirements can call Ticketmaster on 09 970 9745 any time before 5pm on the day of the show and they will make sure the front of house team is aware of your needs.

You can find more information on the accessibility page of the Auckland Live website

Accessibility at Auckland Live Venues

For other accessibility information or requests please contact
Phone: 09 309 2677 and email: accessibility@aucklandlive.co.nz

More information about the venue

Take a virtual tour of the Aotea Centre:

Aotea Centre Virtual Tour. 

Look at photos of the Aotea Centre:

Aotea Centre - About the Venue

Look at a map of the Aotea Centre:

Venue information and map