Capital E is an organisation in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

, New Zealand, that creates theatre, events and activities for children. It was established in the 1992 and formerly named the Capital Discovery Place. Capital E is a council controlled organisation and part of

Wellington City Council Wellington City Council is a territorial authority in New Zealand, governing the country's capital city Wellington, and ''de facto'' second-largest city (if the commonly considered parts of Wellington, the Upper Hutt, Porirua, Lower Hutt and ...

's Experience Wellington. Capital E runs a themed children's playspace at their current premises in Queens Wharf, Wellington. The National Theatre for Children, MediaLab, OnTV Studio and the Capital E National Arts Festival are entities of Capital E.

History

Capital Discovery Place, Te Aho a Maui opened as a children's science centre and technology museum in

Te Ngākau Civic Square Te Ngākau Civic Square is a public square in central Wellington, New Zealand, between the Wellington central business district to the north and the Te Aro entertainment district to the south. Characteristics Te Ngākau Civic Square is locat ...

, Wellington in spring 1992. The concept was that the centre had a "strong New Zealand focus, with science treated as part of everyday life, and linked closely to arts and culture." The director who developed Capital Discovery Place, Te Aho a Maui was Philip Tremewan. It went into a purpose-designed building designed by

Rewi Thompson Rewi is a Māori-language given name and surname. People with the name include: Given name * Rewi Alley (1897–1987), New Zealand-born writer and political activist in China * Rewi Braithwaite (1897–1987), New Zealand footballer * Rewi Mani ...

and

Ian Athfield Sir Ian Charles Athfield (15 July 1940 – 16 January 2015) was a New Zealand architect. He was born in Christchurch and graduated from the University of Auckland in 1963 with a Diploma of Architecture. That same year he joined Structon Group A ...

. Capital Discovery Place was part of a global trend of centres with interactive exhibits to de-mystify science. Prior to the opening of Capital Discovery Place in 1990, an interim project, ''Video 90'', was run between

Te Papa The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is New Zealand's national museum and is located in Wellington. ''Te Papa Tongarewa'' translates literally to "container of treasures" or in full "container of treasured things and people that spring fr ...

and Capital Discovery Place, with nine young people from 11 to 17 years old recording to VHS and editing their views on 1990. In 1997, the organisation changed its name to Capital E. In 2013, the Capital E building in Te Ngākau Civic Square was yellow-stickered after an earthquake assessment triggered by the

2013 Seddon earthquake The 2013 Seddon earthquake measured 6.5 on the scale and was centred in New Zealand's Cook Strait, around east of the town of Seddon in Marlborough. The earthquake struck at 5:09:30 pm on Sunday 21 July 2013 (05:09 UTC) at a depth of , ...

and Capital E had to stop operating from the site. CapitalDiscoveryPlace_02

Capital E moved to 4 Queens Wharf, Wellington in the TSB Sports Arena building. PlayHQ is the name of the current venue of Capital E and includes an interactive playspace and workshop space. The venue hosts events such as in 2022 children's author Juliette MacIver reading her book, ''The Grizzled Grist Does Not Exist!'' (Gecko Press) as part of the Verb Wellington literary festival. MediaLab opened purpose built digital studios in 2014. In MediaLab young people learn skills in 'digital topics including VR, coding,

game design Game design is the art of applying design and aesthetics to create a game for entertainment or for educational, exercise, or experimental purposes. Increasingly, elements and principles of game design are also applied to other interactions, in ...

and music-making.' OnTV Studio is a space where school groups get to create a ‘live’ news show including in-front and behind the camera and other aspects of production. It is planned for Capital E to move back to Te Ngākau Civic Square in the renovated Wellington Central Library Te Matapihi, which is scheduled to open in 2026.

Organisation

Capital E is part of Experience Wellington which is the trading name of the Wellington Museums Trust, a registered charity established in 1995. Alongside Capital E, Experience Wellington also run the

City Gallery Wellington City Gallery Te Whare Toi is a public art gallery in Wellington, New Zealand. History City Gallery Te Whare Toi began its life as the Wellington City Art Gallery on 23 September 1980 in a former office block located at 65 Victoria Street, now ...

Wellington Museum Wellington Museum (formerly the Museum of City & Sea) is a museum on Queens Wharf in Wellington, New Zealand. It occupies the 1892 Bond Store, a historic building on Jervois Quay on the waterfront of Wellington Harbour. In 2013, it was voted ...

, Space Place at Carter Observatory,

Nairn Street Cottage Nairn Street Cottage is Wellington's oldest original cottage. It was originally built by the Wallis family, who lived in the cottage for three generations. Tours of the cottage are available to hear about these early British colonists and their d ...

, and the Cable Car Museum. At the beginning of 2023 there were 19 staff listed at Capital E including four at the National Theatre For Children part of Capital E. The director was Justine McLisky.

National Theatre for Children

The Capital E National Theatre for Children started in 1997. In 2023 it was led by Kathy Watson (Manager & Producer) and Lynne Cardy (artistic director).

Selected Performances

2007 ''Songs of the Sea,'' New Zealand tour to 14 centres and Australia 2007 ''Hinepau'' 2007 ''REM-Zone,'' co-produced by

Footnote Dance Footnote New Zealand Dance (founded in 1985) is New Zealand's oldest contemporary dance company. Based in Wellington, it has been described as "New Zealand’s most enduring and influential contemporary dance company." History Footnote was found ...

and Capital E 2014 ''Mr McGee & the Biting Flea'' based on books by

Pamela Allen Pamela Kay Allen (née Griffiths; born 3 April 1934) is a New Zealand children's writer and illustrator. She has published over 50 picture books since 1980. Sales of her books have exceeded five million copies. Early life and family Born in ...

, produced by Capital E and

Patch Theatre Company Patch Theatre Company, formerly New Patch Theatre, is an Australian theatre company founded in 1972 and based in Adelaide, South Australia, which performs works for young children. Patch has performed at international children's festivals in Ko ...

at the

Hannah Playhouse The Hannah Playhouse is a theatre venue situated on the corner of Courtenay Place and Cambridge Terrace in central Wellington, New Zealand. The Hannah Playhouse was given by Sheilah Winn (first cousin of Edith Campion, mother of Jane Campion) an ...

2022 ''Kiwi Moon'' based on the book by

Gavin Bishop Gavin John Bishop (born 1946) is an author and illustrator, from Invercargill, New Zealand. He is known for illustrating books from prominent New Zealand authors, including Joy Cowley and Margaret Mahy. Bishop's first published picture book was ...

, adapted by Rachel Callinan

Capital E National Arts Festival

The Capital E National Arts Festival is an event that programs theatre for children from New Zealand and overseas companies. The target age range is 2–14 years and the expected audience numbers are over 40,000 attendances.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Capital E 1992 establishments in New Zealand Arts organizations established in 1992 Theatre companies in New Zealand