Free Theatre Christchurch (est. 1979) is New Zealand's longest running producer of experimental theatre. The professional company serves as a laboratory for established and emerging artists to work together to create innovative, high quality performance work.
News and Views
CANTERBURY TALES
6pm-12am, Labour Weekend October 2013, Christchurch City Central.
Free Theatre produced the large-scale Canterbury Tales for FESTA 2013.
See www.canterburytales.org.nz for more information about this event and the many collaborators involved.
PUPPET PERFORMANCES AND WORKSHOPS: Stay tuned for upcoming performances and workshops with the puppets of CANTERBURY TALES!
A NEW WEBSITE AND THE FTC ARCHIVES: thanks to Canterbury Community Trust and Creative Communities we are able to bring you a new website and a presentation of some of the Free Theatre archives - 34 years of goodness! This summer we will be looking to present materials from the 1980s and 90s.
FREE THEATRE WORKING WITH CHRISTCHURCH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA: Peter Falkenberg recently directed a CSO production of Stravinsky's The Soldier's Tale for the 2013 Christchurch Arts Festival. Free Theatre members Emma Johnston and George Parker played the roles of the devil and the soldier respectively alongside contemporary dancer and choreographer Julia Milsom as the princess.
'BEST THEATRE OF 2012': Free Theatre's I Sing the Body Electric was rated the best theatre production of 2012 by the Christchurch Press: "this was a production to plunge into rather than politely nibble and analyse... theatre for all the senses. Outstanding".
NZ PLAYMARKET ANNUAL: Free Theatre features in the recent 2013 Playmarket Journal. Also see the 2012 journal with articles about our work in Christchurch including an article that refers to I Sing the Body Electric as an example of New Zealand theatre pushing the boundaries with contemporary technology.
SEARCHING FOR A TRANSITIONAL SPACE: Free Theatre has been part of the XCHC (Exchange) project, which has received Christchurch City Council funding towards a transitional multi-disiciplinary space in inner city Christchurch. The earthquake of February 2011 has made our spaces in the Arts Centre - the University Theatre (pictured above) and Nibelheim - off limits and Old Queen's Theatre in Hereford St has been demolished. Since then, we have performed in diverse spaces, including St Mary's Church in Addington, The Tannery and the Jack Mann Studio.
FREE THEATRE IN AMONGST IT: Alongside our ongoing Free Theatre work - including post-quake productions such as: Canterbury Tales, I Sing the Body Electric, Hereafter, and The Earthquake in Chile - members have been involved in high profile post-earthquake initiatives such as Gap Filler, Life in Vacant Spaces, Arts Circus, The River of Arts and the Festival of Transitional Architecture (FESTA). This involvement was featured in a Listener article last year.
Please click HERE to read our October 2013 Newsletter
