Courtroom drama has a peculiar capacity to grip an audience.

It's been nearly seven years since Rob Mokaraka tried to orchestrate his own violent death, calling 111 then threatening the attending police.

Doris is a housewife and businesswoman taking her first steps in the corporate world; George is an accountant away from home at a conference.

Playwright, screenwriter and theatre and film director Sir David Hare is taking a few days off in New Zealand.

The inspiration that got one Auckland teen aiming for the stage was Dorothy, the green and yellow spotted dancing dinosaur on The Wiggles.

Simon Prast graduated from the University of Auckland with a law degree before the lure of the stage proved stronger than that of the bench.

Ralph "Karate Kid" Macchio was happy to oblige with an interview or two to promote the performances of Flashdance, the musical his daughter Julia stars in.

"Karate Kid" Ralph Macchio arrives in New Zealand this week to see his daughter, Julia, who is starring in Flashdance - the Musical.

Taking dance to provinces and to the young is company focus.

Leading arts organisations are warning of job losses, higher ticket prices and fewer performances as they face budget cuts.

Listing racist remarks and restrictive stereotypes may seem simplistic at first, but this is mere preparation for some smart theatrics.

COMMENT: It sounds weird but this Broadway musical is a reminder of what is truly great and inspiring about America.

Geraldine Brophy's robust, stripped down treatment of HMS Pinafore suggests their inimitable brand of musical mirth could easily win over a new generation.

To celebrate its silver jubilee, Tim Bray Productions is bringing back favourite shows from its repertoire and The Lighthouse Keeper's Lunch is first.

Extra dates have been added to the Pop Up Globe following "overwhelming demand", organisers have announced.

Stage show brings 80's movie Flashdance to life, writes Dionne Christian.

Tim Bray appreciates the past of Auckland's theatre industry and how it has become home.

On April 23, Auckland will be the first city in the world to mark 400 years since the death of playwright William Shakespeare.

Roger Hall's collaboration with British singer songwriter Peter Skellern throws up an entertaining confection celebrating the joys and hazards of grandparenting.

It's a risky ambition to tackle the meaning of love - how we find it, how it changes us and how it feels to have loved and to have lost.

At 70, Henare is taking on his biggest role ever as the Sultan in the popular blockbuster Aladdin, which opens in Sydney in August.

Last year, it staged 111 shows - 62 in its regular programme, 23 in the Fringe, 26 in the NZ Comedy Festival and more than 100 "other" events.

A couple of years ago, playwright Roger Hall well and truly put the "grand" into grandparenting.

One of the largest cultural hubs to be developed in the world could be influenced by one of Auckland's smallest theatres, The Basement.

This Flaxworks production mentions the boyfriends but ignores the image, and instead presents a girlish Jean, enthusiastic and sweet.

No subject is off-limits in Dawn French's stage show Thirty Million Minutes, which tackles even the most harrowing of topics with charm and good humour.

In Antony & Cleopatra the clash of civilisations is set against the intimacy of a tender love story.