Auckland Theatre Company (ATC) is the largest professional theatre company in Auckland, New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

. It was founded in 1992 following the bankruptcy of Mercury Theatre, Auckland's original professional theatre company which had been the largest subsidised company in the country.

The current artistic Director is Colin McColl

Colin McColl (director)

Colin McColl ONZM is a distinguished director in theatre, opera and television from New Zealand. He is a leading figure in the world of professional theatre in the country, winning numerous awards as well as working internationally with major national companies. McColl's career spans more than 30...

 who took up the position in 2003. The previous artistic director was Simon Prast

Simon Prast

Simon Prast is a director and actor from Auckland, New Zealand. Prast was the founder of the Auckland Theatre Company and director of the first Auckland Festival AK03.-Early life:...

, a stage and screen actor.

Unlike most of the other theatre companies which receive core funding from Creative New Zealand

Creative New Zealand

The Arts Council of New Zealand Toi Aotearoa is the national arts development agency of the New Zealand government, investing in artists and arts organisations, offering capability building programmes and developing markets and audiences for New Zealand arts domestically and internationally...

, ATC does not operate a venue, instead placing shows in various venues around Auckland. The two most-used venues are the Kenneth Maidment Theatre (commonly known as The Maidment) in the Auckland University

University of Auckland

The University of Auckland is a university located in Auckland, New Zealand. It is the largest university in the country and the highest ranked in the 2011 QS World University Rankings, having been ranked worldwide...

 campus and the Sky City Theatre.

Since November 2008, Philippa Campbell

Philippa Campbell

Philippa Campbell is a New Zealand film producer, dramaturg and the Literary Manager of the Auckland Theatre Company. Her production company is Escapade Pictures.-Biography:...

 has been the ATC's Literary Manager.

In 2009, the company's productions included the classic Bruce Mason

Bruce Mason

Bruce Edward George Mason, CBE was a significant playwright in New Zealand who wrote 34 plays and influenced the cultural landscape of the country through his contribution to theatre. In 1980, he was awarded the prestigious CBE.The Bruce Mason Award, one of the most important playwrighting...

 play The Pohutukawa Tree, directed by McColl with lead actress Rena Owen

Rena Owen

Rena Owen is a New Zealand actress in film, theatre and television. She is of Maori, Torres Strait Islander and Pakeha descent. Owen is most well known in the lead role of Beth in the cult classic movie Once Were Warriors directed by Lee Tamahori...

. The cast included Stuart Devenie

Stuart Devenie

Stuart Forbes Devenie is an actor and theatre director in New Zealand whose career spans three decades on stage and screen. He has performed in theatre productions nationally and internationally. In the 1980s, he was the Artistic Director of Centrepoint Theatre in Palmerston North and has been a...

 who has also worked as a director for the company.
In December 2010, the Company moved into the lower ground floor of the Mt Eden War Memorial Hall in Balmoral, New Zealand

Balmoral, New Zealand

Balmoral is a suburb of Auckland, New Zealand that is bordered by Mount Eden, Epsom, Mount Roskill and Sandringham and is located approximately 5 km from the centre of Auckland. It was named around the turn of the 20th century and derives its name from Balmoral Castle, the Scottish country...

, refitting the space to include their administration offices, box office and two rehearsal spaces.