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We’re outies for 2025. Thanks to everyone who’s worked with us, supported us, and come to our shows this year. Thought we’d share this beautiful graphic we got from @slthomasson last week, which tracks everywhere we’ve ever performed our work in Aotearoa — it’s research towards a book on touring that’s coming out next year. Look forward to adding to this, and heading further afield in 2026. If you have the means, and want us to keep doing what we're doing, we’d love you to consider become a patron through regular support or a one-off donation. Check out our patron page through the link in the bio. Catch you on the flip side. R+H

Thrilled to announce that we're taking The Bookbinder to @artscentremelbourne and @hotagc next April-May. Can't wait to perform in Naarm / Melbourne for our first time since 2014 (what the heck), and make our first trip to Yugambeh Region / Gold Coast. Tickets through link in the bio. Hope to see you there. "They say you can get lost in a good book. But it’s worse to get lost in a bad one…" An old man sits down to read the tale of a bookbinding apprentice. As his words fill the room, the story slips off the page and into the workshop around him. The Bookbinder is a dark fairy-tale brought to life through inventive puppetry, paper art, shadow play and atmospheric storytelling, echoing the imaginative worlds of Coraline and The Labyrinth. First performed in the back room of a second-hand bookshop, this award-winning production has since travelled the world – from the attic of Aotearoa/New Zealand’s oldest bookbindery to New York’s Lincoln Center – touring Australia, South Africa, the UK, Canada, China and the USA. It has received numerous honours, including Best Theatre and Best in Fringe at @nzfringe 2014, the International Excellence Award at @sydneyfringe 2014 and the Children’s Theatre Award at @fringeworldperth in 2015. A one-man performance from Trick of the Light Theatre, made for readers, dreamers and bookworms alike.

Happy @nzfringe launch! Can’t wait to be there with a development season of our impractically titled new work, I Don’t Know Much About Art But I Know What I Lick. This is a show about fine art for messy people. The gallery is a space with particular rules of engagement. Young children do not know these rules and embrace art in the way that makes the most sense to them: physically. In I Don’t Know Much About Art But I Know What I Lick, Trick of the Light Theatre (The Bookbinder, The Griegol) join forces with internationally acclaimed performance designer Meg Rollandi on a new show for children (5 and under) and their accompanying adults. Guided by two performer attendants, audiences are invited to explore a gallery set up for kids, featuring satirical and interactive reworkings of iconic art pieces - The Mona Lisa with eyes that actually follow you, the Birth of Venus in a paddling pool clam shell... 28 Feb - 1 Mar 10am, 12pm, 2pm @urbandreambrokerage 113 Taranaki

Development in a dark room about development in a dark room. Many thanks to @d_dog_nodder for coming to play / film, and to @splendid.nz, @jamesgilberd_photospacegallery and @aucklandlive for their support. Pleasure as always to work at @teauaha and bittersweet to be there one last time. Such a waste to lose this space. Arohanui to all the team — hope to cross paths somewhere soon.

Round up of reviews for The Griegol at @hannahplayhouse. Such a delight to bring this back here and share it with audiences here and @taurangafestival. Hope to be back before too long.

Home again home again after remounting and touring The Griegol with these beauties. Many thanks to @performingartsnetworknz, @hannahplayhouse, @taurangafestival and @baycourt.tauranga for making it possible. Hope to bring this back again before too long. Watch this space.

Performing #TheGriegol @taurangafestival today.

Been watching the bike lane take shape at the crossing revamp on the corner of Courtenay and Kent Terrace and it’s open just in time for the show! @hannahplayhouse is super connected by bus and bike lane, so now that this wild weather’s behind us, you have the option to leave the car at home. (@wgtncc @andrewlittlenz We are a small business who operate in the cbd and flippin love a bike lane. Roll on the Golden Mile.)

We’re opening tonight! Like for real! Here is an accessibility guide so you know what to expect of you’re coming to see The Griegol at @hannahplayhouse.

We thought we were opening a show tonight, but Tāwhirimātea had other plans! Hope everybody is cosy and safe . If you were booked in to see the tonight, you should have received an email from Eventfinda – check your spam folder if this hasn't come through. A result of the cancellation is that there are now only two chances to catch The Griegol @hannahplayhouse and opening on Friday is pretty much packed to the rafters. Get it quick if you want to snaffle up the last few tickets to this or Saturday night.

UPDATE Oh, blow! 🍃 Due to the Red Weather Warning in place for Wellington and Wairarapa on Thursday 23 October 2025, Wellington City Council has instructed the closure of all WCC venues – including the Hannah Playhouse. This means we cannot proceed with our performance of The Griegol on Thursday night. Please stay home and stay safe. All tickets for the opening night of The Griegol are now valid for the performance at 7pm Friday 24 October – we look forward to sharing this show with you then instead. Ticketholders have been emailed an update via Eventfinda with more details. Limited tickets remain for Friday; extra tickets have been released for Saturday. Get in quick before the opportunity sweeps right by. www.eventfinda.co.nz/2025/the-griegol/wellington Stay safe, whanau. Lots of love, Trick of the Light.

The Griegol opens tomorrow @hannahplayhouse. Huge thanks to @performingartsnetworknz for making this season possible. It’s been such a joy to get this company back together, bring in some new additions, and push this show further. Can’t wait to share this with audiences here and @taurangafestival. Opening night @hannahplayhouse is filling up, and tickets are moving fast across the season. Move quick if you want to see it. Photo: @juliezhuu

Rehearsing The Griegol with Elle Wootton and Paul Waggott. Opening @hannahplayhouse this Thursday and running 23-25 Oct. Then @taurangafestival 28 Oct. Opening night in Wellington is on its way to selling out. Move fast to get your tickets. Video by @soph.helm

Rehearsing The Griegol with Stevie Hancox-Monk and Tristan Carter. Opening @hannahplayhouse this Thursday and running 23-25 Oct. Then @taurangafestival 28 Oct. Video by @soph.helm

Got the band back together. So good to have the fam back in the room, and to welcome into the fold Pete Davison and Anne Larcom who are tagging in as op and SM. One week today til we open The Griegol at @hannahplayhouse. Get your tickets before they go.

We’re in @thepostnz today talking wordless theatre and #TheGriegol @hannahplayhouse 23-25 Oct and @taurangafestival 28 Oct Tickets link in the bio

One week til we reunite with these old mates, seen here kicking out the jams @maries_crisis_nyc. Don’t know what they were singing, but Tristan did a good bit. See them in The Griegol @hannahplayhouse 23-25 Oct

Just over two weeks til we open #TheGriegol @hannahplayhouse, and to celebrate here’s @deanjnz’s new cut of the trailer dropping into your phone screens at 16x9. @taurangafestival’s already sold out, get your tickets for Pōneke before they go. 23-25 Oct @hannahplayhouse From Trick of the Light Theatre (The Bookbinder) comes a charming, moving, and wildly inventive work. After their grandmother passes away, a child suspects they are being pursued by the smoke demon shapeshifter of the old woman’s stories. The Griegol is a dark fantasy in the vein of Spirited Away, for older children and adults. Drawing from the techniques of silent film, it utilises silhouettes, smoke, puppetry, live music, and live animation. With the operation kept in sight, audiences see both the stage effects and how they are made. Combining hi-fi with lo-fi technology, and the mythic with the everyday, The Griegol is a show without words about death, love, and monsters. After winning Director, Composer, and Production of the Year at the 2022 Wellington Theatre Awards, and touring to the USA, The Griegol returns to the Hannah Playhouse this October. Recommended for ages 7+ Contains references to death and grief

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