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Foyer, auditorium, main stage, smaller stage, workshop, wardrobe, rehearsal room, green room: just three months into her tenure as executive director of the Court Theatre, Gretchen La Roche navigates confidently through what will soon be the new $56 million playhouse, set to open next year.

This will be the theatre’s first permanent residence since the 2011 earthquake forced its relocation from the city’s Arts Centre. Yet, La Roche seems innately familiar with this place, as if she’s always belonged here.

In many ways, she has. As a seasoned musician who spent nine years as principal clarinetist for the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra, an experienced arts administrator (most recently serving as a senior manager at Creative New Zealand), and an avid concert attendee, La Roche has amassed a wealth of experience both backstage and on stage.

“It’s very difficult to work in performing arts if you don’t have some experience of the performing arts,” she remarks back in the converted granary that has housed the Court for 13 years. “Understanding the pressures, knowing where people are coming from, and grasping what they aim to communicate—these elements are crucial. Numbers on a page don’t capture that full, nuanced picture.”

La Roche’s immersion in the arts began in Tairāwhiti Gisborne. Her mother, Margaret Dunsmore, was a trained pianist, while her father, Ian Dunsmore, founded the Gisborne International Music Competition and ran a sports and music shop. “Records, guitars, clarinets—it had everything from that era.”

Her childhood was rich in classical and contemporary music and included brass bands due to the family’s Salvation Army background (although she left the church in her early teens). Her father also worked with the Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council’s central region branch, showing a keen interest in meeting artists and understanding their needs.

For a determined young musician—she started learning clarinet at age 8—Tairāwhiti provided an enriching environment. “People often assume big cities offer more opportunities but don’t realize how special opportunities in smaller cities can be.”

After studying music at the University of Auckland, La Roche secured a two-year scholarship to London’s Royal Academy of Music. She immersed herself in “everything that was free or affordable—dance, theatre, galleries, orchestras, and quirky happenings in strange little rooms.”

Upon returning home, she embarked on a varied career spanning performance, production, and arts administration. “I always knew I’d have a broad career. What do they call it now? A portfolio career? I just thought of it as eclectic.” She played for the Auckland Philharmonia, helped found contemporary music ensemble 175 East, performed with Chamber Music New Zealand, and participated in the New Zealand Actors Company’s gender-switching production of Leah.

Her role as principal clarinet with the CSO brought her to Christchurch, where she met her future husband, Mark La Roche, who was principal timpanist. “We were known as the Aucklanders.” She also worked as Creative New Zealand’s programme adviser for Te Wai Pounamu and took on a part-time sponsorship role at the Court Theatre in 2009.

After the 2011 earthquake, as CEO of the CSO, she managed the orchestra’s move to its new $9.5 million facility. Following a brief leadership stint at Chamber Music NZ, she accepted a senior management role at Creative New Zealand to help overhaul the contestable funding structure.

When CNZ CEO Stephen Wainwright announced his departure last year, La Roche seemed an obvious successor. “I did consider it but this opportunity came up at the right time. I missed Christchurch—there’s incredible energy here now—and everything aligned with moving into the new building after challenging times.”

Amidst growing competition for funding, at-home entertainment options, Covid lockdowns, and economic downturns eroding audience numbers and inflating costs, investment in the arts hasn’t kept pace. “The survival of the Court Theatre is remarkable given its extensive school visits, drama classes, education programs, improv events, and mainstream productions,” says La Roche. The Court is now New Zealand’s largest professional theatre company and the only one in the South Island.

Ross Gumbley, former artistic director and now artistic adviser for the new theatre, recalls joining the Court as a student actor in 1985. He attributes part of its success to its physical size within the neo-Gothic Arts Centre. “You were a metre away from the audience; you had to be good. Production standards and costumes had to be outstanding.”

Gumbley emphasizes the importance of a balanced relationship between those managing finances and artistic direction. “A successful theatre requires mutual understanding and respect between those responsible for finances and art. Skewing this balance can tip any theatre ‘out of whack.'”

The Court Theatre maintains a balanced program of classic, contemporary, and New Zealand plays. Despite staging the lowest proportion of New Zealand work among major producing houses in 2023 according to Playmarket statistics, it isn’t afraid to occupy middle ground in terms of scale.

After the earthquake left the theatre without a venue, within 10 months—thanks to fundraising efforts led by Dame Maggie Smith—the Court raised $4.6 million to convert an old grain store in Addington. It reopened with Sir Roger Hall’s aptly titled “A Shortcut to Happiness.”

Despite facing financial challenges—including an operating loss growing from $1.5 million to $1.8 million due to increasing production costs and new wage agreements—the theatre persevered. Allegations of a toxic work culture led to staff departures and leadership changes.

Steve Wakefield, then acting CEO and now chair of the Board of Trustees, reflects on overcoming these challenges: “Our organization was in crisis but we stood up and realized what needed to change.” A successful run of “Something Rotten!” and a $700,000 grant from the Court Foundation Board helped stabilize finances.

Under La Roche’s leadership and artistic director Alison Walls since late 2022, preparations are underway for the new theatre’s grand opening. The last show at The Shed will be Baz Luhrmann’s “Strictly Ballroom the Musical,” followed by an inaugural performance at the new venue.

Part of Christchurch’s 2012 Central Recovery Plan and backed by government and council funding alongside theatre-raised contributions, this new facility is designed by London’s Haworth Tompkins with Athfield Architects. It promises a contemporary playhouse wishlist with an Elizabethan-style courtyard auditorium seating 377 people, a 135-seat studio theatre with movable seating, rehearsal spaces matching main stage dimensions, education studios, community spaces, and integrated production facilities.

The new Court Theatre aims for openness with large windows showcasing workshops and education rooms visible from the street. “We want it to be an invitation for everybody,” says Gumbley. “Reducing elitism is crucial; we don’t want anyone feeling they can’t afford to be here.”

Located near Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre and other arts venues like Isaac Theatre Royal and The Piano, this new theatre will be part of a broader arts neighborhood—a fitting metaphor for community-driven theatre.

“It’s critical we have community theatre,” La Roche stresses. “Professional theatres shouldn’t be isolated; we need to support grassroots efforts because we’re all driven by a love for theatre.”

Audience numbers are slowly rising. A 2024 Ministry for Culture and Heritage report shows 31% of New Zealanders attended a performance in the previous year—up from 22% the year before—though pressures from various entertainment forms persist alongside funding challenges.

Murray Lynch from Playmarket notes some theatres are producing fewer but higher-quality productions due to economic constraints. Long before Covid-19, large professional theatres with full-time companies were declining.

Today only four producing houses—The Court Theatre in Christchurch, Auckland Theatre Company (ATC), Circa Theatre in Wellington, and Centrepoint Theatre in Palmerston North—maintain year-round programs. Many others serve as receiving houses or operate without dedicated venues.

Despite these challenges, Ross Gumbley remains optimistic about live theatre’s future: “As we tire of endless screen time at home, live theatre offers unique community experiences that can’t be replicated elsewhere.”