No. 3 Roskill Theatre comes home to Puketāpapa
After being in limbo for the past couple of years, No.3 Roskill Theatre celebrate the opening of their new permanent home at 1234 Dominion Road.
What is especially exciting is that this is the first ever dedicated theatre space in Puketāpapa / Mt. Roskill, and finally provides a dedicated base for the company to create work for their neighbourhood.
No. 3 Roskill Theatre was born when a group of local creatives had the idea of using the location of Toa Fraser's 2005 film “No.2” as a theatre space. This ignited a collaboration between Mt Roskill residents – and friends – John Leach of events company JLP Presents, with Tanya Muagututi’a and Pos Mavaega of Pacific Underground.
Despite the house in the film being depicted as No. 2, it’s actually No. 3 Roseman Avenue. The company decided to take that as their name to keep the connection to the movie, the house, and Puketāpapa. It’s literally where they all come from.
No. 3’s debut in the 2021 Auckland Arts Festival broke new placemaking ground. Their show ‘Love to say Goodbye’, held in the backyard of the old state house at 3 Roseman Ave, was a sensation and set the scene for them to provide artistic leadership within their region.
Roskill South is the most diverse neighbourhood in Auckland. It's a suburb the size of Dunedin, with 151 nations – but no artistic infrastructure. The No. 3 Trust saw the need to secure a building for the company to work out of to increase the amount of cultural capital within the community.
No.3 company continues with their current show ‘Welcome Home’, which tells a musical and comedic story of the ‘Real Housewives of Roskill’ as they dream about being the ultimate hosts for their new neighbours. Amidst redevelopment, rehousing, and roadworks, they endeavour to maintain the Spirit of the Community.
'Welcome Home' will be developed in No. 3's new base at 1234 Dominion Road, and performed at May Road School in November. Watch this space for more news about the show closer to the time!