- Saturday 30 Aug 2025, 6.30pm to 8.30pm
- Tuesday 2 Sep 2025, 7.30pm to 9.30pm
- Wednesday 3 Sep 2025, 7.30pm to 9.30pm
- Thursday 4 Sep 2025, 7.30pm to 9.30pm
- Friday 5 Sep 2025, 6.30pm to 8.30pm
- Saturday 6 Sep 2025, 6.30pm to 8.30pm
- Tuesday 9 Sep 2025, 7.30pm to 9.30pm
- Wednesday 10 Sep 2025, 6.30pm to 8.30pm
- Thursday 11 Sep 2025, 7.30pm to 9.30pm
- Friday 12 Sep 2025, 6.30pm to 8.30pm
- Saturday 13 Sep 2025, 6.30pm to 8.30pm
30 August 2025
Six Characters in Search of an Author
Performed by The Court Theatre Youth Company, Luigi Pirandello's revolutionary play blurs the lines between reality and fiction.
Six fictional characters, abandoned by their creator, invade a rehearsal in progress and demand to be brought to life by a new author.
The Father explains that they are unfinished characters in search of an author to finish their story. The Director initially believes them to be mad, but as they begin to argue among themselves and reveal details of their story, he begins to listen. While The Director is not an author, he agrees to stage their story despite disbelief among the jeering actors. But the characters’ existential agenda collides with the more light-hearted ambitions of these theatre artists, whose open rehearsal “audience engagement event” becomes darkly entangled with the characters’ tragic story.
This intimate adaptation of Luigi Pirandello’s absurdist classic highlights the comedic tension between melodrama and the contemporary sensibilities of the acting company, all while prompting us to question our own perceptions of reality.
“A seminal play that allows actors to dig deeply into the text and explore the many facets of theatre and the relationship between actor and character, character and audience, audience and actor.” – Ben O’Brien-Limmer, The Court Theatre Education and Engagement Manager
Six fictional characters, abandoned by their creator, invade a rehearsal in progress and demand to be brought to life by a new author.
The Father explains that they are unfinished characters in search of an author to finish their story. The Director initially believes them to be mad, but as they begin to argue among themselves and reveal details of their story, he begins to listen. While The Director is not an author, he agrees to stage their story despite disbelief among the jeering actors. But the characters’ existential agenda collides with the more light-hearted ambitions of these theatre artists, whose open rehearsal “audience engagement event” becomes darkly entangled with the characters’ tragic story.
This intimate adaptation of Luigi Pirandello’s absurdist classic highlights the comedic tension between melodrama and the contemporary sensibilities of the acting company, all while prompting us to question our own perceptions of reality.
“A seminal play that allows actors to dig deeply into the text and explore the many facets of theatre and the relationship between actor and character, character and audience, audience and actor.” – Ben O’Brien-Limmer, The Court Theatre Education and Engagement Manager
Location
The Court Theatre, 129 Gloucester Street, Central City
The Court Theatre, 129 Gloucester Street, Central City
Event contact
The Court Theatre
0800 333 100
communications@courttheatre.org.nz
courttheatre.org.nz/home/six-characters-in-search-of-an-author/
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