| Ngaio Marsh Theatre | |
| Opened: | 1967 2019 |
| Demolished: | October 2016 |
| Capacity: | 330 seated, 1000 standing |
| Website: | https://ucsa.org.nz/venue/ngaio-marsh-theatre-haere-roa/ |
The Ngaio Marsh Theatre is a theatre at the University of Canterbury Students' Association in Christchurch, New Zealand.
The Ngaio Marsh theatre was named in honour of Dame Ngaio Marsh, who was a director and patron of theatre, especially Shakespeare, at the University between 1942 and 1969, and indeed the theatre's opening production — Shakespeare's Twelfth Night — was directed by Marsh in 1967.[1] The theatre replaced the Little Theatre, which had been destroyed by fire in 1948.[2]
The theatre was extensively damaged during the 2011 Christchurch earthquakes, and was subsequently demolished in October 2016.
The rebuilt theatre, within Haere-roa, the University of Canterbury Students’ Association building at 90 Ilam Road in Christchurch, New Zealand, was officially opened on 2 August 2019. The opening involved a student production of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, chosen because actor and honorary alumnus Sam Neill had appeared in a production directed by Ngaio Marsh in 1969.[3]
The new theatre is available for short-term or long-term hire. Full AV and technical facilities and orchestra pit are available. A retractable seating structure allows for capacity of 330 seated and 1000 standing.