Depot Theatre

Downstage Theatre, under the direction of Anthony Taylor, opened a second theatre at 12 Alpha Street called The Depot in 1983. The Depot was set up to promote New Zealand works, including more experimental and alternative productions, and offered a space for new and amateur talents to develop. The theatre’s name was in reference to the Courtenay Place bus depot in front of the theatre and was later renamed The New Depot.

 The Depot notably staged plays by Māori playwrights including Rore Hapipi (Rowley Habib), The Gospel According to Tane by Selwyn Muru and directed by Rangimoana Taylor, and Roimata by Riwia Brown. According to playwright Hone Kouka, The Depot “held its arms wide to Maori and Polynesian people”.

In Ta matou mangai: our own voice (1999), Kouka explains that during the 1990 International Festival of the Arts, The Depot was run entirely by Māori artists who facilitated a programme of Māori plays, storytelling and music. The theatre adopted the kawa of the Marae: guests were welcomed with a powhiri and karanga, food and shoes were not permitted inside, and prayer, speech and kōrero with the audience were embedded in each performance.

By 1991 it had passed into the stewardship of Taki Rua, a co-operative whose members included Kouka, Colin McColl, Philippa Campbell, and Philip Mann. Kouka explains that the name describes a weaving pattern, “to go in twos”, which signified “the bicultural aspect of the theatre”. The new theatre was originally called Taki Rua Depot, but the group agreed to drop “Depot” from the title after a suggestion from McColl and Kouka. 

Taki Rua closed the doors to its physical location in 1997 but is still active as Taki Rua Productions. Taki Rua Productions have toured works by Māori and Pacific writers internationally. In 2024, filmmaker Whetū Fala released a documentary called Taki Rua Theatre – Breaking Barriers which screened at the New Zealand International Film Festival.