Theatre company offered temporary performance space in Wellington Hockey Stadium

Wellington City Council has advised that award-winning Silver Noodle Soup Film and Theatre Company has found a temporary home at the National Hockey Stadium thanks to the Aho Tini Strategy.

Silver Noodle Soup is one of the many creative groups and artists that will soon be rehearsing in new-found places and underutilised spaces throughout the city as part of Council’s commitment in its Aho Tini 2030 Arts, Culture and Creativity Strategy to provide spaces for the creative sector.  

Wellington City Council adopted the Aho Tini 2030 at a Council meeting on 26th August 2021. Aho Tini 2030 is a bold strategy to inform Council through the next ten years of innovation and creation in Wellington. Aho Tini 2030 combines the review of the 2011 Arts and Culture Strategy, together with the original Aho Tini principles (2018), to give a new direction for cultural wellbeing. It will enable Wellingtonians and visitors to explore and experiment with their own creativity.

Wellington Hockey Chief Executive Lisa Jones says they’re delighted to welcome Silver Noodle Soup to their home at the National Hockey Stadium and added “we are excited to see the wonderful work that Silver Noodle Soup does in action and look forward to a long and happy partnership. It’s a pleasure to have the opportunity to work with them and provide them with our pavilion to use as their new home base.”

Council's consultation with the creative sector in 2021 revealed that artists need access to more spaces where they can develop and showcase their work, says Aho Tini Programme Manager Sophie Jerram. 

Jerram advised “in response to this consultation, Council has been busy working with custodians of places that can be matched with artist needs and enabling spaces to be available for hire in venues around the city. 

“We are excited to celebrate the arrangement between Silver Noodle Soup and the Wellington Hockey Stadium. It is a great example of the creative sector in Pōneke utilising unconventional spaces to meet their needs. 

“We look forward to supporting more places to open their doors to support creativity in the city.”

Silver Noodle Soup is a theatre and film-making company where young disabled people are fully included in the leadership and direction of all aspects of theatrical and cinematic creativity, development, and production. They were recently named Rising Star and Arts & Culture category winners at the 2022 Wellington Airport Regional Community Awards.

They will be using the large, accessible, pavilion space at the Stadium to deliver drama classes and film-making workshops from October through to December.

Silver Noodle Soup founder Bernadette Macartney notes they’re all looking forward to using the new site as the base for weekly drama classes, film-making workshops, and probably some performances.

Macartney shares “what's great for our group is that the club rooms are fully accessible for our members, including ramp access, accessible toilets, and a kitchen. We love the site’s homely aesthetic and sporty vibe too! 

“It's also good to have somewhere safe and pleasant outside where we can grab some fresh air and take a break. We can't wait to make the move and settle into our new home base.

Wellington Hockey making its space available for art sector development follows the announcement the Hannah Playhouse is re-opening later this year. 

If you're a creative individual, group or organisation looking for space, or a custodian looking to make space available, visit Council’s Creative Spaces and Aho Tini website sections for more information.

And check out Silver Noodle Soup at the upcoming Disabled Artists’ Festival of Theatre (DAFT) with events and shows happening at venues around Wellington.

Image: Silver Noodle Soup Film and Theatre Company