Auckland Live brings Red Phone to Aotea Centre
An audience to audience performance experience
Published: Monday 16 February 2026
Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland - Tuesday, 10 February 2026: Red Phone arrives at the Aotea Centre for the very first time, offering audiences a rare opportunity to experience this internationally celebrated work.
Created by Artistic Directors Sherry J. Yoon and Jay Dodge from Canadian interdisciplinary theatre company Boca del Lupo, this acclaimed work transforms the simple act of conversation into a compelling, intimate performance.
Anyone can walk up and take part in this free, participatory experience. It invites two people at a time to step into custom-built phone booths, each equipped with a vintage red telephone and teleprompter, and engage in a scripted phone conversation.
Once inside, people are connected by phone with either a friend they’ve come with or another audience member, and prompted to choose from a selection of scripts. For the Auckland season, celebrated New Zealand playwright Victor Rodger ONZM (Black Faggot, The Savage Coloniser Show) was invited to create a unique script for our audiences.
Guided only by the text and the voice on the other line, you become both performer and audience, discovering the theatrical potential of a single conversation.
Director of Auckland Live Daniel Clarke says, “Red Phone sits somewhere between theatre and social exchange, inviting people into a moment of kōrero that is playful, intimate and unexpected. It invites audiences to connect with their inner performer and take a leap into curiosity – the very spirit this work thrives on. We’re delighted to present this work at Aotea Centre, giving Aucklanders the chance to step into the experience and discover how powerful a simple conversation can be.
Red Phone has toured across Canada, Norway, and Latin America for the last seven years and New Zealand marks another significant moment in the company’s global journey. Presented by Auckland Live in association with PANNZ and Aotearoa New Zealand Festival of the Arts, the installation will play as part of the 2026 Aotearoa New Zealand Festival of the Arts in Wellington before coming to Auckland.
Discover what unfolds when two strangers or friends meet in a moment of shared storytelling. Red Phone arrives at the Aotea Centre on Wednesday, 4 March for a limited four-day showing.
“Red Phone manages to break down the boundary between artist and audience; it unifies the moments of production and consumption of art.” - La Nacion News
Wednesday, 4 March - Saturday, 7 March 2026
Level 3, Circle Foyer - Aotea Centre
FREE
No booking required; just show up during Aotea Centre's opening times or when you are attending a show in the venue. Participation is first-come, first-served, with short waits expected at peak times.
