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I think it’s high time we got a bit more artsy with our weeks. A bit more glitz. More glam. Trade out the sofa for those red velvet seats and indulge in some of that retro-revamp, classique kinda treatment. Know what I’m sayin’?
If you don’t, then all you gotta do is keep reading. ‘Cause once again, I’ve provided the latest and greatest stuff to get up to across our big, beautiful city this week, and a few other hints at what’s happening beyond.
And if, like myself, you’re a deadset weekend warrior, then check out what’s on Friday to Sunday with my carefully crafted blueprint on how not to waste you three weekly days of freedom.
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Jump to:
- Don't Miss
- Free And Budget-Friendly Events
- Food And Drink Events
- Arts And Culture
- Rainy Day Activities
- Uniquely Auckland Experiences
- Coming Soon
Don’t Miss
Auckland Live Cabaret Festival
3-15 June | The Civic | $$
Image credit: Auckland Live | supplied
Winter may be coming, but it's set to be bedazzled. And hella steamy. The hugely anticipated return of the Auckland Live Cabaret Festival is finally here, once again filling The Civic with a packed lineup that's sure to enchant. From a sexy-dangerous global cabaret/circus sensation, La Clique, to the supernatural pop concert-meets-dungeon nightclub Monster Songs, an interactive Disco Inferno and a whole lot more, including a secret Champagne Lounge.
Basement Theatre’s Winter/Matariki Season: SNART
3-7 June | Basement Theatre | CWYP
Image credit: Basement Theatre/SNART | supplied
Okay, so I'm obsessed with this: "imagine if stage and screen had a baby raised by Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Tim Robinson, and Twitter." Yup, exactly. That genre-bending, boundary-pushing, unholy baby is SNART, opening 3 June at Basement Theatre, and it looks to be the most beautifully unhinged hour I could’ve ever asked for. It's live animation meets theatre meets watching someone "being a bitch for an hour," AKA peak entertainment, and it's part of Basement Theatre’s chokka Winter/Matariki Season featuring 16 shows across two festivals. P.S. It's a 'choose what you pay' kinda sitch.
Pacific Dance Festival
6-22 June | Across Auckland | Free-$$
Image credit: Pacific Dance Festival | supplied
June is the month you, I, and everyone else after a rich hit of Pasifika can all dive headfirst into the luminous depths of Pacific Dance Festival. Commencing Thursday and blooming across three marvellous weeks of performances—featuring the eighteen-dancer strong, hula-informed, Hawaiian mythology PELE: The Goddess of Fire—there will also be free open rehearsals at Auckland Art Gallery, behind-the-scenes glimpses at the War Memorial Museum, and hands-on Cook Islands workshops with master artist Aunty Kura. Cheaaaa.
Checks K’Road Pop-Up
‘Til Mid June | 235 Karangahape Road | $-$$
Image credit: Checks | Instagram
Like a uni student coming home for summer, your fave steeze-lords, Checks, are hanging around their old stomping ground for a month. Yessir, they’ve popped up at 235 K’Road after rummaging through some recent season drip, as well as diving deep into the archives, discounted samples, and a few unproduced items for the heads. All priced from 20 bucks and nothin' north of a hundy. Go say hey—runs Wed-Sun, 11am-5pm.
Enamoured Events: Quiet Nights
3 June Weekly Thereafter | Enamoured Books | Free
Image credit: Enamoured Books | Instagram
Auckland’s first romance-only bookstore, Enamoured Books, is a wordy haven in Remuera where owner Ruby Wallace has curated every trope your heart desires. Following that special opening day in April (iykyk), Ruby is now introducing ‘Enamoured Events’. Part of this roll-out and starting this Tuesday, come swoon collectively in their cozy reading nooks with ‘Quiet Nights’—a series that lets you curl up with fellow romance enthusiasts every Tuesday evening. Worthy of a bookmark—no dog-earing required.
Food And Drink Events
Breakfast at Lebanese Grocer
Daily | Lebanese Grocer | $
Image credit: Lebanese Grocer | Instagram
Everyone’s favourite Lebanese Grocers is now waking up for breakfast. Visit the Uptown institution from 10am-12pm daily for a pick of a few tasty new offerings, including their delectable Jam Jibneh Toastie—AKA: Your New Morning Obsession—featuring house-made Lebanese quince jam, a signature three-cheese blend, and Yola’s za’atar. GOODBYE cornflakes.
PonsonBurger Festival
'Til 8 June | Ponsonby | $$
Image credit: PonsonBurger | Babiche Martens
I reckon burgers are one of an Urban Lister's favourite foods... and in any event, they're most certainly mine, and that's why the PonsonBurger festival is an absolutely essential addition to your calendar. This two-week annual event, now running 'til 8 June, will see more than 30 bars and eateries around Ponsonby putting their very best burger creations on show. Feelin' hungus? Here's more food news.
Sir Dave Dobbyn: Selected Songs
4 June | Auckland Town Hall | $$
Image credit: Live Nation | supplied
Call me loyal, but I simply cannot look past a chance to catch Sir Dave live—so for him to perform at Auckland Town Hall—for the first time ever—is very much at the tippity top of my must-attends for 2025. Part of the Auckland Winter Series, Dobbyn will blast out all the bangers this Wednesday, taking us on a journey through 45 years of Kiwi music history. Slice of Heaven? You bet.
NZ Opera—La Bohème: A Winter’s Tale Of Love & Loss with Auckland Philharmonia
‘Til 6 June | Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre | $$-$$$
Image credit: Andi Crown Photography | Instagram
NZ Opera have dropped a certified classique on us this week, and I’m more than ready to shed a tear from the unparalleled comfort of those iconic red seats. Set in post-war Paris, international director Bruno Ravella has stripped things back with his powerful take on Puccini’s gut-wrenching masterpiece La bohème. Pop down to Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre 'til 6 June to catch cast stacked with international stars alongside antipodean powerhouses. Then make your way to either Welly or Chch, as it’s a strictly limited sessions typa operation. Tissues recommended, emotional devastation guaranteed.
Maori Land Film Festival: Ka Rere Te Manu Film Awards Open For Submissions
Deadline 8 June | Online | Free
Rangatahi near and far, open up your taringas and dust off your lenses: submissions for Ka Rere Te Manu are now open, and if you’re under 25 and reckon your flick is something pretty slick, you could score a few goodies valued at over a grand. Award-winning entries will screen at the Ka Rere Te Manu Film Awards on 26 June, where shortlisted filmmakers will be cheered by their peers and have a bit of deserved time in the spotlight. Entries can be pre-existing or entirely new projects, and there are a few other ins and outs you'll probably want to check out here.
‘Heatwave’ And ‘Rituals’ Open At RM Gallery
Now Showing | RM Gallery | Free
Image credit: Raisa Mclean | Instagram
Fancy a rectangular-shaped, canvas-looking double-whammy only a stone’s throw from the Double Whammy we all know and love? Raisa Mclean’s exploration of the lingering intensity of summer, ‘Heatwave’, debuted on the wide, clean walls of RM Gallery last week. And fantastically enough, Tūī Diprose’s deep dive into contemporary ceremonial practices, ‘Rituals’, did the same.
Turua Gallery’s ‘Lock, Stock & Barrel’
13 June-13 July | Turua Gallery | Free
It’s the awaited return of everyone’s favourite art slanger's annual stockroom exhibition. Running from 13 June for precisely a month, Turua Gallery is back with ‘Lock, Stock & Barrel,’ showcasing everything canvasly orgasmic, including hidden gems and revisited collections from emerging to established artists. What’s more, the good framing folks at Sgraffito Framers have partnered up with TG for a deal on any artworks purchased during the exhibition period. How good? Super good.
Rainy Day Activities
Osakana Jewellery Wax Carving Block Course
First Six-Week Term From 10 June | Studio Pixi, Totara Vale | $$$
Image credit: Osakana Jewellery | website
Fancy making something beautiful over a lovely, laid-back couple of hours with like-minded folk? Fancy stretching that feeling of serenity over six joyful weeks? Who wouldn’t? And that’s why I’d like to bring to your attention Osakana Jewellery’s new six-week course, where you’ll design and hand-craft bespoke jewellery from start to finish. It’s a warm, welcoming, wintery kind of affair aimed at absolute newbies and previous workshop attendees alike, all kicking off from 9 June. Drop a quick email to Sarina to lock your spot, and if you’ve always wanted that perfect ring but have commitment issues, then here are some of their other cool one-off classes, no strings attached.
Unique Auckland Experiences
DARKFIELD
'Til 8 June | Aotea Square | $20-25
“The darkness surrounds you. You are completely alone, together, as a strange new world unfolds around you. Welcome to DARKFIELD…” Sound like fun?
A boundary-pushing, sensory expedition—DARKFIELD landed in Aotea Square a few weeks back, and if you haven't been down already, this is your last week. Set inside custom-built, pitch-black shipping containers utilising 360-degree binaural sound with special effects, SÉANCE and FLIGHT are two mind-bending, immersive experiences that will challenge your senses, exploring the depths of human psychology and perception.
Coming Soon
HAU [te Hī me te Hā] FESTIVAL
17-18 June | Basement Theatre | Free-$$
Image credit: Hau [te Hī me te Hā] Festival | supplied
Two weeks. Five shows. One iconic venue. Hau [te Hī me te Hā] Festival takes over Basement Theatre mid-June, and I feel this one's a bit of a no-brainer. From George Henare's powerhouse performance in TĀNE RORE to an all-woman, all-queer Matariki GARAGE PARTY, this festival delivers an extravaganza of fresh, authentic indigenous LGBTQiA2+ stories, single-handedly shifting the forecast for this winter to gale-force winds of change.
Roger Hall’s End of Summer Time (Auckland Theatre Company)
17 Jun–5 Jul | ASB Waterfront Theatre | $$
New Zealand’s favourite playwright, Sir Roger Hall, is bringing back his loveable grump, who’s here to steal the show again. Directed by Alison Quigan and starring Andrew Grainger, End of Summer Time is a hilarious solo play following retired cow cocky Dickie Hat, as he moves to the big smoke to be closer to his grandkids. Packed with Hall’s signature wit and heart, it’s a laugh-out-loud exploration of family, aging, and the chaos of life.
William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet
15 Jul – 9 Aug | ASB Waterfront Theatre, Parnell Village | $$
Shakespeare’s timeless tale of love and tragedy gets a bold, 1960s makeover in this atomic production of Romeo and Juliet. Directed by Benjamin Kilby-Henson, Theo Dāvid and Phoebe McKellar star as the star-crossed lovers in a world of Missoni prints and Pucci glamour. With a powerhouse cast including Miriama McDowell and Bronwyn Bradley, this electrifying reimagining celebrates love’s triumph over hate, but at a devastating cost. A fresh, stylish take on a classic that’s as relevant today as it was back when they were all into their frilly clothes and the word ‘doth’.
Auckland Philharmonic Six-Thirty Session: Beethoven 5
25 June | Auckland Town Hall | $$-$$$
Maybe you’re like me and kinda hate hump day. Maybe you’re also like me, and often try to schedule something a bit groovy to get through the mid-week blues. I call it ‘Faux Friday Night’, and it acts as half-time oranges for the soul, of sorts. And what better oranges to suck on than Auckland Phil’s new Six-thirty compact Sessions thundering Beethoven throughout the Town Hall. As the name says, strings are plucked at half six on the dot and come to a crescendoing end 75 minutes later with no interval in between. Dinner at eight, anyone?
Dracula's
26-28 June | The Civic | $$$
Image credit: Dracula's | supplied
There comes a time when you realise your soul is yearning for a vampire pulling off gravity-defying contortions in silks. And fortunately, this June, the universe is delivering. Yep, cult-favourite cabaret, Dracula's, is coming to Tāmaki. With two shows already sold out, they're releasing a third on Friday, 28 February. Ninja skills at the ready.
Peppa Pig's Fun Day Out LIVE!
28 & 29 June | Sky City | $$
Image credit: Peppa Pig's Fun Day Out LIVE! | Luke Gallagher
My two nephews', and just about every human two feet and below's, favourite lil piggy will be filling SkyCity with songs, dance, muddy puddles, and all manner of wholesome delights. That's right, Peppa, her family, and her friends go to the zoo and the beach for a special party this June in Peppa Pig's Fun Day Out LIVE! And if you're out of town, you'll be stoked to know she's on tour with additional shows in Wellington, Christchurch and Hamilton throughout July. Tickets live.
Cirque du Soleil: Corteo
30 Oct-2 November | Spark Arena | $$$
Image credit: Cirque du Soleil | Maja Prgomet
Cirque du Soleil is returning to Aotearoa this October, with the Auckland debut of Corteo. Directed by Daniele Finzi Pasca, Corteo is a festive parade imagined from a clown’s perspective, set on a double-sided stage. Expect grace, power, and comedy played out in a liminal space between heaven and earth. Tickets are live.
Not in Auckland? Check out what's on in Christchurch, Wellington, and Queenstown this year.
Main image credit: Pacific Dance Festival | Supplied.
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