BOLD RETURN TO THE STAGE

After two years of disruption for the Auckland Theatre Company caused by COVID-19, Jonathan Bielski presents an intriguing, optimistic programme for 2022 as he takes the reins as the company’s artistic director.

While putting together his first season for the Auckland Theatre Company, Jonathan Bielski reflected on this time of upheaval and the lessons of the pandemic. “The season is really built around a concept of connection, and re-establishing those connections which have been lost and disrupted and prevented the last two years,” he says. He’s taking over as artistic director after two years punctuated with cancellations and confusion for Auckland’s flagship theatre company. But as Aotearoa embraces 2022 with a sense that there’s light at the end of the tunnel, Bielski also chose to be optimistic in planning his first programme.

“There’s a real act of hope inside of here, and as the broader New Zealand society is looking forward to the traffic light system and re-opening and some degree of normality, at the same time, we’re also taking that same step of faith for our company in that we’re planning a beautiful big season in 2022.”

With the exception of one production, 2022 will be all about the ‘big play’ experience, with Bielski saying we can expect “large casts and big sets and luscious costumes”, as well as “wonderful New Zealand actors bringing to life theatre on a big scale”. He says: “That is really what the company is well known for, this very high-quality standard of theatre making, and although I’m the new person in the chair, that’s very much what I want to continue doing.”

Bielski’s line-up is sure to appeal to a range of audiences, with a mix of plays that are classic and contemporary, comedic and dramatic, and local and international. But it’s the amount of Kiwi talent on show that excites Bielski the most. “I’m particularly proud that we will have six New Zealand plays in the season,” he says. “ATC has always been a big supporter of New Zealand writing, so to have six of our eight productions from New Zealand writers, and three of them being world premieres, is pretty exciting stuff.”

Bielski believes those theatregoers hoping for shows that have already enjoyed international renown will be satisfied, too. “Grand Horizons, North by Northwest and Long Day’s Journey Into Night are big, internationally famous productions and plays that people will feel sit naturally within ATC’s offering.”

The year 2022 is a year of collaborations for ATC, working with other theatre companies to bring to life a number of the shows in the programme. “One of the things I wanted to do with this idea of connections is for us to have connections within the artistic community,” says Bielski.

“So over the course of a year, we have got these wonderful deep partnerships that we’re easing into that help us to realise these productions.”

Overall, Bielski’s vision for his first ATC season is simple in that he wants people to “have a great night out at the theatre”.

“Some nights it’s going to be a lot of fun and a lot of laughing, and on other nights, we’re going to be provoking thinking differently about the world and learning some things through someone else’s eyes,” he says. “I think the theatre can do all of those things. And across the whole programme that’s what I hope audiences will be able to discover within there – both joy and entertainment, but also reflection and learning and provocation.”