Mana Little Theatre
Mana Little Theatre is a small but vibrant community theatre in Plimmerton, Porirua, New Zealand. We usually put on four shows per year, each having a two-week run, and also hold occasional musical events.
Email: mltcommittee@gmail.com
Web: manalittletheatre.org.nz Tickets: mlttickets@gmail.com
Shakespeare in Love
Between Wednesday 13 May 2026 and Saturday 23 May 2026
I will have poetry in my life. And adventure. And love. Love above all
This stage adaptation of the 1998 film is a wildly playful, funny, energetic and romantic work of historical fiction set in Elizabethan London with rival theatres and a demanding queen who very much wants, “a comedy - with a dog.” It was adapted for the stage by writer Lee Hall (Tony & Olivier Award-winner), based on the screenplay by writers Marc Norman (Academy Award-winner) and Tom Stoppard (Tony, Olivier & Academy award -winner).
It uses many of the plot devices commonly found in plays of the Elizabethan era – cross-dressing disguises, mistaken identities, suspicions of adultery, sword fighting, a comedic nurse and even visions of ghosts plus a play within a play…and a dog.
The plot follows a struggling young playwright William Shakespeare - penniless and indebted to two demanding producers. He is tormented by writer’s block until he meets the beautiful Viola de Lesseps, daughter of a wealthy merchant, whose fiery passion for poetry and drama leaves her secretly longing to be an actor. Both are despondent when they learn that Viola’s father has promised her to the toxic Lord Wessex in order to gain a title for their family. Under the veil of secrecy, Will and Viola’s passionate love affair becomes the basis of the very play he is writing – Romeo and Juliet. With opening night – and the wedding day – fast approaching, the plots race toward a parallel conclusion.
Will it all work out in the end or are the two star-crossed lovers destined for tragedy?
Mana Little Theatre
Easy Money
Between Wednesday 27 August 2025 and Saturday 6 September 2025
THE PLAY: EASY MONEY By Roger Hall
Directed by Teresa Sullivan
A comedy plot driven farce loosely based on Ben Johnson’s Jacobean Tale The Alchemist, set in the current day. A laugh a minute tale of greed, described by Hall as having “no moral, no message – just entertainment”
An Australian couple is based in a swanky Auckland harbourside Airbnb, armed with a loose plan to shake down as many self-satisfied cashed-up “neighbours” as possible; in the hope of a quick payday and an early retirement. All about greed and how a fool and their money are soon parted; with double crosses, dirty tricks and dodgy dealings….It’s so audacious, you can see the dollar signs flickering in the eyes of their marks.
(Revised in 2022 to update and change ethnicity)
Mana Little Theatre
Wāhine Auaha: Short Play and Comedy Festival
Between Wednesday 4 June 2025 and Saturday 14 June 2025
A celebration of Greater Wellington’s creative women at Mana Little Theatre
Our festival features three short plays written and directed by local women, interspersed with stand-up comedy by female comedians!
Our plays:
Glitter Girl
A glitter-covered apparition darts through the crowd at Rhythm & Vines 2014, and our protagonist falls in love. A slice of life queer flirtation.
Stormy Weather
Chrystal thinks her husband is having an affair. She wanders into a beauty salon in a rain storm. Will confiding in Lindsay, the owner, help clear her thoughts?
Stuck
Bridget is upset the role of temporary manager of her work has been given to Simon and not her.
When they find themselves accidently stuck in the office together, things are about to become very unstuck...
A range of comedians for each show will have you all laughing!
We will be proudly displaying art in our theatre foyer by local female artists.
A fundraiser for Women's Refuge will run throughout the festival.
Mana Little Theatre
21: Minutes
Between Wednesday 26 March 2025 and Saturday 5 April 2025
The End of the World is nigh! The Four Horsemen are riding!
Witness the residents of Upper St Crumpsley in their last 21 minutes on Earth- narrowly avoiding the dangers of quinoa, praying for mercy from the Galdergogg and casually packing for a 'lovely summer holiday' (wink wink). Be careful not to join the revolution!
21 Minutes is an original comedy play by UK-based writer Hugo Lewkowicz, making its NZ debut at Mana Little Theatre in 2025.
Please notes this performance contains swearing, some sexual references and the unmentionable C-word (Cults!)
Running time: EXACTLY 2 hours and 10 minutes, including interval.
Mana Little Theatre
The Incredible Vanishing
Between Saturday 26 October 2024 and Sunday 1 December 2024
“The Incredible Vanishing” by Denise Coffey is based on the poem “Goblin Market” by Christina Rossetti. It tells the story of a clash between two worlds - the upper world of humans vs the underworld of the Marsh Goblins ruled by Queen Marshesity.
The goblins have entered the upper world and enticed children to the underworld. Hundreds of children have vanished! Can our heroes, PC Parker, Jenny Jones and Bert Sparky rescue them from the clutches of the Marsh Goblins before it’s too late?
Will good overcome evil or will the children be lost forever?
A delightful, funny (and just a little bit scary) play suitable for children over the age of 5 and the young at heart.
Following postponement due to illness we are pleased to offer new dates from 23 November to 1 December 2024
Mana Little Theatre
The Miser
Between Wednesday 31 July 2024 and Saturday 10 August 2024
Welcome to austerity…
For the first time in NZ, see Sean Foley and Phil Porter’s Olivier-nominated adaptation of Moliere’s classic comedy
Harpagon hoards his money from his spendthrift children, while planning to marry them off for the greatest reward. But his children have their own plans, while the servants have plots of their own. Cue duels, swordfights, and secret identities, until things come to a head with the theft of Harpagon’s beloved money
Bring laughter and colour to your winter evening with this bawdy, fast-paced farce, a critique of austerity as relevant now as the 1600s
The Miser Mana Little Theatre 31 July to 10 August
Mana Little Theatre
Miscast
Between Wednesday 22 May 2024 and Saturday 1 June 2024
Traditional casting gets thrown out of the window in this high energy cabaret show!
The Miscast cabaret showcases a range of Wellington talent performing songs from roles they would never be cast in. By changing the roles, the dynamic and meaning of each song are altered, showcasing musical theatre in ways you’ve never seen or imagined! Results range from touching, thought provoking to downright hilarious!
With upbeat dance numbers, passionate ballads and dramatic storytelling through song, Miscast features new and old favourites from the world of musical theatre, with a twist.
We are also including a cabaret experience ticket for this show which includes a ticket, drink and platter*!
This is not one to miss!
This show contains mature content, and is not suitable for children.
Mana Little Theatre
The Mother
Between Wednesday 13 March 2024 and Saturday 23 March 2024
Anne loved the time in her life when she prepared breakfast each morning for her two young children. Years later, spending hours alone, Anne convinces herself that her husband is having an affair. If only her son were to break-up with his girlfriend. He would return home and come down for breakfast. She would put on her new red dress and they would go out.
Mana Little Theatre
All The King’s Women
Between Wednesday 15 November 2023 and Saturday 25 November 2023
All The King’s Women is the life of Elvis as seen through the eyes of women who met him. Eight segments cover the period from his 11th birthday when he got his first guitar until after his death at Gracelands. Along the way he competes for the last of his favourite peanut butter in a Tupelo supermarket at 3am, his first tv appearance, meeting Andy Warhol and President Nixon, buying a pink Cadillac, etc… The women he met: some enthralled, some appalled, all obsessed!
Mana Little Theatre
Emma
Between Wednesday 20 September 2023 and Saturday 30 September 2023
Highbury, England. 1815.
Enter Emma Woodhouse: Jane Austen's most maddening, endearing heroine.
Beautiful, spoiled, vain and irrepressibly witty, Emma attempts to organise the lives of the inhabitants of her sleepy little village and is a bit too accustomed to having her own way, although only her friend Mr. Knightley seems to notice.
Pledging never to marry, the mischievous Emma Woodhouse is nevertheless the self-appointed "matchmaker of Highbury."
This highly theatrical adaptation of one of Jane Austen's greatest novels captures the most beloved episodes in the novel, and allows the audience to follow along with their favourite characters.
Mana Little Theatre
Rumors
Between Wednesday 31 May 2023 and Saturday 10 June 2023
A dinner party that goes wrong when the guests arrive to discover the host may have shot himself, the wife has is missing and the staff have disappeared. This romp of a play is set in New York in the 1980’s and includes rumours of affairs, a car accident, necks going out, back spasms and deafness and the intervention of the police.
Mana Little Theatre
The Father
Between Wednesday 22 March 2023 and Saturday 1 April 2023
The Father is a tragi-comedic award-winning play and Oscar winning film by Florian Zeller (translated by Christopher Hampton) that will have you both laughing and crying.
Eighty-year-old Andrew was once a tap dancer who now lives with his daughter Anne and her husband in Wellington. Or, was he an engineer whose daughter Anne lives with her new lover, Peter, in Auckland? Who are these strange people who appear in HIS apartment? Why on earth does his furniture keep disappearing? Why does his daughter keep trying to foist a ‘helper’ on him – he doesn’t need anyone and he’s NOT going to give up his flat - he’ll outlive everyone!
This extraordinary play gives audiences an insight into the mind of someone with dementia and it does so with humour and sometimes brutal honesty. A must see.
Mana Little Theatre
Robin Hood
Between Thursday 17 November 2022 and Sunday 27 November 2022
All is not well in Plimmerton and Kāpiti! The wicked Sheriff is growing rich on the many taxes he is forcing the poor townsfolk to pay and he is just about to become even richer. Maid Marian is about to turn 21 and inherit a vast fortune, and the Sheriff is hatching a horrible plan to make sure that he will inherit the cash and marry Maid Marian to boot! All that stands in his way is the very brave and dashing Robin Hood and their loyal band of Merry ‘Men’: the confused Little John, charmer Will Scarlet and the forever hungry Fryer Tuck. Of course Robin’s mum Alana Dale is there to cheer him on too!
Will they succeed in thwarting the evil plot and beat the Sheriff and his villainous henchmen?
Mana Little Theatre
