It began in 1921, and enjoyed a reputation as one of New Zealand's leading theatre groups from the 1920s to the 1960s, with notable alumni including Dame Ngaio Marsh and Sam Neill.
With the exception of some brief pauses, the club has continued to be the primary non-musical theatre society of the university, and remains active today, with a membership numbering from dozens to hundreds and typically staging at least two or three productions each year.
The Society was most notably active in the 1942–1969 era under Dame Ngaio Marsh, with critically acclaimed productions (especially of Shakespeare plays) and a 1949 theatre tour of Australia.
The Society was wound up in the early 1990s due to financial difficulties but was resurrected by an ad hoc committee in October and November 1993, and restarted as a full student club in the beginning of 1994.
However, with the Ngaio Marsh Theatre out of service following the 2011 Christchurch earthquake, performances primarily took place in the Jack Mann Auditorium on the College of Education campus.