The society\u2019s first play this year – Funny Money by Ray Cooney – opens on March 18.<\/p>\n
The newly refurbished Rotorua Shambles Theatre after a flood in November 2025. Photo \/ Megan Wilson<\/p>\n
\u201cEverything\u201d the society did this year would be a celebration of 75 years, Carrington said, \u201cand this is the first cab off the rank\u201d.<\/p>\n
She said the theatre provided \u201ca sense of community\u201d for those involved, including her own children. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s provided several generations of people connection and friendship.\u201d<\/p>\n
Society treasurer Charles Edwards said it was \u201cheartbreaking\u201d to cancel its play Much Ado About Nothing due to the flood, and he said the decision was \u201cquite traumatic\u201d for most members.<\/p>\n
He was thankful for members\u2019 clean-up efforts and financial support.<\/p>\n
Forty shows in 65 years <\/p>\n
Actor Martin Hampson, 83, said he had done \u201cabout 40-odd shows\u201d at the theatre, the first in 1961.<\/p>\n
A society member for 65 years, he believed he was the longest-standing active member.<\/p>\n
\u201cNobody else has knocked me off my perch when I\u2019ve said that,\u201d he said with a laugh.<\/p>\n
Hampson said he had \u201cabout six lines\u201d in Funny Money. He would also be stage manager for the first time.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt 83, I\u2019m breaking out into new jobs.<\/p>\n
Actor Martin Hampson has been a member of the Rotorua Little Theatre Society for 65 years.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor years and years, I was saying, \u2018Oh, this is the last time you\u2019ll see me on stage, I\u2019m too old to do this\u2019. <\/p>\n
\u201dI had a lightbulb moment about three or four years ago and I thought, \u2018This is really good for old people \u2026 \u2018<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the socialising. You get in a play, and you have rehearsals Tuesday, Thursday, Sunday, and it gets you out of the house.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hampson said the theatre\u2019s significance was evident from the flood, \u201cwhich I think could very easily have put it into recession\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt could have been just too much, because all the arts are struggling for funding and it\u2019s quite hard to keep these societies afloat.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said the theatre was looking \u201csmart and refurbished and ready to go for another 75 years\u201d.<\/p>\n
The Rotorua Shambles Theatre has undergone a significant interior rebuild after a flood in November 2025. Photo \/ Megan Wilson<\/p>\n
Much ado about something<\/p>\n
Jenny Hotch, director of Funny Money, said the play was about \u201cmistaken identities several times over, and \u00a3735,000\u201d.<\/p>\n
Hotch said it was set in the 1970s, which had proven \u201ca bit of a challenge\u201d for costumes and set.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve sourced an orange velour sofa \u2026 and all sorts of other things that in the \u201980s and \u201990s were just discarded and are now looked on as treasures.\u201d<\/p>\n
The former society president and committee member had directed \u201cmore productions down there than I can remember\u201d.<\/p>\n
Her fondest memories included watching people with no experience gaining confidence from doing things \u201ca bit outside their comfort zone\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut once they get the hang of it, away they go.\u201d<\/p>\n
Former Rotorua mayor Steve Chadwick pictured in 2021. Photo \/ Andrew Warner<\/p>\n
Former Rotorua mayor Steve Chadwick, a \u201cdedicated\u201d theatre patron, attended the celebratory afternoon tea last month along with actors, backstage workers and supporters.<\/p>\n
She said the theatre was showing \u201ca bit of new heart\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201dYou remember the floods … well, it wasn\u2019t much ado about nothing, it was a complete rebuild, really, that was needed.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been so well done, and I think we\u2019ve got an even better and more beautiful space.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the cultural heart of a community just has to keep throbbing.\u201d<\/p>\n