Court Theatre (New Zealand)

The Stone Chamber was one of the city's most magnificent structures, but it was impractical for a theatre company, as there was little room for an audience and a lack of toilets.

The performance space was previously lecture room D.[6] From 1977 to 1978, Randall Wackrow served as sole artistic director, standing down in 1979 with the appointment of Elric Hooper.

[3][9] Hooper declared his intent to balance the theatre's repertoire with "three main thrusts — the classic, the contemporary and the indigenous".

The Court began staging productions in the Shed's foyer with safety measures in place in August 2020 and on 21 September 2020 announced that the main auditorium would be reopening.

[16][17] In July 2020, the Court entered into a lease agreement with the local council for a new venue in the city centre that was yet to be built.

[18] At that time chief executive Barbara George said that the last profitable show for the theatre had been Jersey Boys in the 2020/21 summer season.

The city block, surrounded by Armagh, Colombo, Gloucester and New Regent Streets was already the location of the Isaac Theatre Royal, which was later followed by music venue The Piano.

[25][26] The bulk of the funding (NZ$46,000,000) was provided by the Christchurch City Council, with the theatre company itself and supporter donations making up the remainder.

It sustains a full-time professional staff and an ensemble acting company and is administered by the Court Theatre Trust.

Its education programme provides training for school-age students and adults, regularly liaising with high school and tertiary institutions as well as other community groups.

The most public face of their work is the improv comedy show "Scared Scriptless" which is staged every Friday night at 10:15 pm.