Nocturnalists are spirited members of Auckland\u2019s nighttime scene, and in this series they take us on a tour of their favourite spots in the city after 5pm. Today: Tracy Grant Lord.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Photos by Sophie Miya-Smith shot on location at Auckland Town Hall and Ground Wine Bar.<\/p>\n
Award-winning, internationally renowned set and costume designer Tracy Grant Lord has worked with everyone from the Royal New Zealand Ballet to Singapore Dance Theatre and has staged shows across the globe. But when she\u2019s not creating magic in some far-off city, she calls T\u0101maki Makaurau home. Working on both costume and set design helps to give Tracy\u2019s work a sense of synchronicity: \u201cThat\u2019s one of my strengths as a designer; I have a very holistic approach to world-building,\u201d she says. Emma Gleason sat down with Tracy at a hidden-gem bar on O\u2019Connell Street (more on that later) to discuss her own world: the Auckland city centre.\u00a0<\/p>\n
What does a normal work week look like for you?<\/p>\n
It depends what I\u2019m working on. It could be research, it could be drawing, it could be model making, it could be buying\u2026 When shows are in production, I\u2019ll be attending rehearsals, I\u2019ll be attending fittings.<\/p>\n
A few fabric swatches inside of Tracy\u2019s notebook (Photo: Sophie Miya-Smith)<\/p>\n
And where\u2019s home for you?<\/p>\n
I live just above the city \u2013 it\u2019s the area that includes the art gallery, the library, the university, the theatres. I work at the Town Hall, I work at the Aotea Centre, I work at The Civic. When I\u2019m in Auckland, that\u2019s my stomping ground. I walk to get around.<\/p>\n
How long have you lived in the city?<\/p>\n
My husband and I moved in at the beginning of 2023, coming from a property in South Auckland that we\u2019d been in for 23 years.<\/p>\n
Was the move much of a change for you?<\/p>\n
We feel incredibly connected here, socially and culturally. We just feel like we\u2019re inside our community. It\u2019s been life-changing for us both. I can\u2019t tell you how well-timed it all has been. It\u2019s given us both a life force, a rejuvenation. And it\u2019s been a beautiful transition into our next 20 years. It was sad to leave the old place, but also, I never thought I\u2019d be embracing city life. It\u2019s great.<\/p>\n
\u201cI never thought I\u2019d be embracing city life\u201d (Photo: Sophie Miya-Smith)<\/p>\n
You picked such a good part of town.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I love it. It\u2019s really beautiful. The parks [Albert Park and the Auckland University grounds] are great for walking.<\/p>\n
And there are always people around, workers and residents and students. It makes for such a lively, late-night neighbourhood and it\u2019s really interesting seeing how that\u2019s impacted the city. What do you enjoy about Auckland after dark?<\/p>\n
There\u2019s something magical about dawn and dusk in the city. I just love light. Because we do a lot of storytelling with light on stage, I\u2019m very aware of where light is coming from \u2013 the angles of light, colours, the time, what different weather patterns do to light. And because there\u2019s so much glass in the city, mirror glass, dawn and dusk are reflected and go a completely different colour in those moments\u2026 And then, of course, we get the illumination of the city\u2026 At pavement level, it\u2019s fabulous.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s talk about the Auckland Town Hall. You\u2019re very familiar with that venue. What\u2019s your personal history with it?<\/p>\n
We had a photograph of my mother on the stage of the Town Hall with the organ behind her, that\u2019s my earliest memory. I was taken there as a child to hear the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra (NZSO) for the first time. I just fell in love with the orchestra and the sound they were making in a space like that. I must have been 10 or 11. And now, my husband and I have been going to the Auckland Town Hall to listen to the NZSO for around 28 years. It\u2019s sort of my regular.<\/p>\n
Does the Town Hall still have magic for you, or does it feel like a second home by now?<\/p>\n
It feels incredibly familiar. It\u2019s a special place. It\u2019s a good design\u2026 it\u2019s kind of an Edwardian horseshoe, and it was built like that because they are seriously phenomenal [for acoustics].<\/p>\n
Town Hall, \u201cit\u2019s a special place\u201d (Photos: Sophie Miya-Smith)<\/p>\n
Given your line of work, you must get to attend a lot of shows?<\/p>\n
Yes, of course\u2026 I do see a lot and I like to see a lot.<\/p>\n
What are some of your other favourite venues around the city?\u00a0<\/p>\n
I adore The Civic. And I\u2019ve done a few shows there. The musical I\u2019m doing at the moment, & Juliet, is the biggest show I\u2019ve done in there. My other shows are generally in the KTK \u2013 the Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre \u2013 which is the main stage of the Aotea Centre. The ASB Waterfront Theatre is also really fabulous\u2026 I think the relationship between the audience and the format there is really, really good, and as a designer, you can do some really big, epic looks \u2013 it\u2019s got a really big stage. The Q Theatre is great too, it\u2019s also sort of that horseshoe shape and a really flexible space\u2026 I did my apprenticeship at the Mercury Theatre. So I have incredibly fond memories of that too.<\/p>\n
Wow! That\u2019s an Auckland icon.<\/p>\n
They\u2019ve just done a beautiful refurbishment\u2026 I hope that I will get to work in there.<\/p>\n
And it\u2019s going to open again!<\/p>\n
Yeah. It\u2019s really exciting.<\/p>\n
What is it about going out at night to the theatre, ballet or a show that\u2019s so magical for people?<\/p>\n
We get to engage with the community. There is something quite spiritual about congregation. As we all know, there\u2019s a reason why we all congregate together and have a kind of collective experience.<\/p>\n
Do you think that the performing arts industry, particularly at night, influences or changes the fabric of Auckland\u2019s central city?<\/p>\n
Of course! It brings people into the city that would never normally come in. They have a reason to come to the city and they are excited about that. And as the city gets more and more attractive, and transport gets so much easier, they\u2019ll be able to get off that train on Queen Street outside those venues.<\/p>\n
One of Tracy\u2019s favourite spots for a post-show debrief, Ground Wine Bar (Photo: Sophie Miya-Smith)<\/p>\n
When I see people dressed up and walking down Queen Street, I always wonder \u2018what have you been to see?\u2019 Where would you go after a show?<\/p>\n
Ground is very good.<\/p>\n
Ah yes, where we are now. How did you find out about this spot? It\u2019s so intimate and subterranean.<\/p>\n
The wine shop upstairs, Cahn\u2019s. [Ground is in the same building, on the lower floor.] It\u2019s been open since December 2024. You can come here after a show, have a nice wine and some antipasti.<\/p>\n
And debrief.<\/p>\n
Absolutely. You want to be able to do this. Especially if you\u2019ve got guests or people in town. It\u2019s such a nice place.<\/p>\n
Taking the antique elevator down to Ground\u00a0 (Photos: Sophie Miya-Smith)<\/p>\n
What about if you were to take someone out for a nice meal, where would you go?<\/p>\n
Alma! Or Kingi for a special occasion. Gilt is very good. I like that bistro, European vibe. Again, it\u2019s for special occasions. But the beauty of it is that it takes us just five minutes to walk down here. You don\u2019t need to book 10 days in advance; we can just go down and see if there\u2019s a table and generally, there is a table.<\/p>\n
Are there any other nighttime spots that you particularly adore in town?\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Viaduct. I love going near the water. I love being around the boats \u2013 I adore them\u2026 Shout out to Janet of Wyoming.<\/p>\n
Yes, she\u2019s often moored in the Viaduct. I always check on that boat too!<\/p>\n
She\u2019s been gone for quite a while, but she\u2019s back. And then I\u2019m always curious about any other big boats that are in. And I\u2019m always daydreaming about what venues could be on our waterfront.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can go to Ground after a show, have a nice wine and some antipasti.\u201d (Photos: Sophie Miya-Smith)<\/p>\n
The waterfront is pretty special. Last New Zealand Fashion Week I went to a show outside Shed 10. The sun had just set, the city and harbour were glittering and Auckland had never looked better.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sometimes she looks amazing. I was invited to help with one of the Fashion Week shows and I had the best time. And I love Shed 10.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I really enjoy seeing things at The Civic for the New Zealand Film Festival \u2013 that\u2019s coming up soon \u2013 with everyone staring up at the ceiling in wonder. It never gets old. Where\u2019s the best view in the city, in your opinion?<\/p>\n
Head to any rooftop. There are lots of bars [Queens Rooftop, Sunset, Bar Albert] or you can just head to the top floor of a parking building. Anywhere with a view.<\/p>\n
Any other thoughts about Auckland after dark?<\/p>\n
I just love it. And I\u2019m proud. I think we should all be very proud. It\u2019s an incredibly beautiful city. Being on the water and being so small and having the amenities it has, it\u2019s so easy\u2026 we\u2019re really, really lucky.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Nocturnalists are spirited members of Auckland\u2019s nighttime scene, and in this series they take us on a tour…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":380750,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[194058,198035,156,111,139,198036,69,143,122222],"class_list":{"0":"post-380749","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-auckland-theatre","9":"tag-auckland-waterfront","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-new-zealand","12":"tag-newzealand","13":"tag-nocturnalist-s2-tracy-grant-lord","14":"tag-nz","15":"tag-partners","16":"tag-performing-arts"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/380749","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=380749"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/380749\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/380750"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=380749"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=380749"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=380749"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}