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With its performances across Australia and New Zealand having been seen by more than 650,000 patrons since 2016, the Pop-up Globe’s 2019/20 season will be its last in Australasia for some time with the company to focus on international touring from next year.

Set to perform in Auckland from 13th December to 1st March, the temporary Auckland theatre will then be dismantled as the company will then head overseas.

Commenting on the impending departure, Pop-up Globe’s Artistic Director and founder Dr Miles Gregory stated “naturally, the decision to finally pop down for good in Auckland is bittersweet - it is where Pop-up Globe started, it is where we produce all our work, and it is due to the extraordinary support of so many people and organisations that Pop-up Globe exists at all.

“But wherever we tour in the world, we will aim to make New Zealanders proud that their support started us off.”

Pop-up Globe’s farewell Auckland season, ‘The Summer of Love’, presented by Anthony Harper will feature a brand-new flagship production of Romeo and Juliet directed by Miles Gregory and the return of Miriama McDowell’s hugely popular Much Ado About Nothing.

All shows will be performed in the Anthony Harper Pop-up Globe at Ellerslie Racecourse.

Speaking of the sponsorship, Dr Gregory added “we are delighted our sponsor Anthony Harper will be presenting our last NZ summer season and to celebrate the remarkable partnership between our firms, for this final season we are renaming our Auckland playhouse the Anthony Harper Pop-up Globe theatre.”

Looking to performing in international markets, Dr Gregory advised that “(we have) been working hard for years to create a template that allows productions of the highest quality to take on the challenge of international touring with the best chance of success.

“It’s been an incredible adventure that has been peppered with great achievements and steep learning curves.

“After three and a half years and five seasons the company is now at a stage both creatively and technically where it is producing its very best work at a world-class level. The time has come to pop down in Auckland and make the Pop-up Globe an export of which kiwis can all be proud.

“We will retain our headquarters, and our production and rehearsal facilities in Auckland, employing New Zealanders and supporting our international touring.

“And we’ll continue to fly the flag for Kiwi innovation and creativity around the world for years to come.”

The dream of Shakespeare scholar Dr Gregory, Pop-up Globe was created in Auckland in 2016 as a one-off event to mark the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death.

Partnering with an old school friend Tobias Grant, who bought into what others said was an impossible vision, the duo put all of their resources on the line to deliver what was to become a smash-hit in the New Zealand entertainment and arts scene without any Creative New Zealand funding.

To date there have been 1206 performances at Pop-up Globe.

Images show the Pop-Up Globe in Melbourne. Courtesy of Pop-Up Globe.

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