Massive Theatre Company, also called Massive or Massive Company, is a professional theatre company in Auckland, New Zealand. The company was formed in 1990 by Samantha Scott, out of what had previously been Maidment Youth Theatre at the

University of Auckland , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...

. In 2004, the company took ''The Sons of Charlie Paora'' by

Lennie James Lennie Michael James (born 11 October 1965) is a British actor, screenwriter, and playwright. His work includes playing Morgan Jones in the television series, '' The Walking Dead'' and in its spin-off, '' Fear the Walking Dead'', and starring ...

to the

Royal Court Theatre The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a non-commercial West End theatre in Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England ...

in London. Through productions like ''The Sons of Charlie Paora'' and 2015's ''The Brave'', the company has "brought challenging topics affecting young Polynesians to the stage". It has also provided career development for actors such as

Anapela Polataivao Anapela Polataivao is a New Zealand actor, writer, and director of stage and screen. Background Polataivao was born in Samoa and has heritage from Vailoa, Vaiusu, Fagae'e and Safune. She grew up in South Auckland. Career Polataivao be ...

and

Beulah Koale Beulah Koale () is a New Zealand actor best known for portraying Officer Junior Reigns in CBS reboot series '' Hawaii Five-0''. Early life Koale was born at Middlemore Hospital in Auckland, and was raised in the nearby suburb of Otara. Koale ...

Production history

In 2011, the company produced the world premiere of a commissioned play by Lennie James, ''Havoc in the Garden''. The play, directed by Sam Scott, was performed at three Auckland venues, the Herald Theatre at the Aotea Centre, Mangere Arts Centre and Takapuna's Pumphouse. In 2017, the company's ''The Wholehearted'' was nominated for the Excellence Award in Ensemble Performance at the

Wellington Theatre Awards The Ngā Whakarākei O Whātaitai / Wellington Theatre Awards are the main theatre awards in New Zealand's capital city, Wellington established in 2015 after the previous awards sponsor ended their support. They are awarded annually. The prev ...

. ''The Wholehearted'' was created as a celebration of Massive Theatre Company's 25th anniversary in 2016. The play was directed by Sam Scott and Scotty Cotter, and featured a cast of seven:

Bree Peters Brittany Peters (born 18 April 1985) is a New Zealand stage, film and television actress, director, stunt performer and acting coach. She is best known for her recurring roles on the soap operas '' Shortland Street'' as Pania Stevens (2014–201 ...

, Renee Lyons, Kura Forrester, Pat Tafa, Denyce Su'a, Theo David and Villa Lemanu. It played at Mangere Arts Centre, Q Theatre Loft and Herald Theatre in Auckland,

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 ...

in Wellington and

Iona College Iona University is a private Roman Catholic university with a main campus in New Rochelle, New York. It was founded in 1940 by the Congregation of Christian Brothers and occupies a campus of in New Rochelle and a campus of in Bronxville, ...

in Hawkes Bay between March 2016 and September 2017. In 2018, the company produced ''Sightings'' by Fiona Graham, Miriama McDowell and Denyce Su'a.{{Cite web, title=New Zealand Theatre: theatre reviews, performance reviews – Theatreview, url=https://www.theatreview.org.nz/news/news.php?id=1671, access-date=2021-05-16, website=www.theatreview.org.nz, archive-date=16 May 2021, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210516212315/https://www.theatreview.org.nz/news/news.php?id=1671, url-status=live

References

Theatre companies in New Zealand Culture in Auckland 1990 establishments in New Zealand