The Little Theatre's home on Aubrey Street was originally built for the joinery firm Kristiansen & Sons in 1951. A permit for the factory was issued on 15 March 1951 - it was to be built by the company themselves and the estimated cost was £3500.
In 1954 the building was bought by the Little Theatre. It was their first permanent home after 21 years in existence.
In 1986 the building was extended at a cost of $5,550 - it was to provide an alternative entrance to the stage and extra wardrobe space. This addition was named the "Strang Extension".
The theatre company celebrated its 80th birthday in February 2013.
Puke Ariki holds a collection of material from the New Plymouth Little Theatre including programmes, reviews, photographs, minutes and correspondence (1933 - 1999).
Related documents:
History of New Plymouth Little Theatre Society Inc. (Taranaki Research Centre Information Files)
New Plymouth Little Theatre Players - Early Actors (Ruth & Amy Gentles, 1983, Taranaki Research Centre Information Files)
Society Lays Schemes for Raising £1,000 (Taranaki Daily News 4 May 1954)
Little Theatre Society's Rooms Delight Visitors (Taranaki Daily News 22 March 1955)
A notable occasion in amateur drama (Taranaki Herald 24 April 1964)
Strang Extension (Taranaki Herald 21 June 1986)
That Special Magic (Ragtime 12 March 1993)
On stage for 60 years (Daily News 29 March 1993)
Triple Play (Daily News 12 April 1993)
Small but perfectly formed (Taranaki Daily News 16 February 2013)
Please do not reproduce these images without permission from Puke Ariki.
Contact us for more information or you can order images online here.
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