At the behest of Live Nation, we were invited to attend the official public opening night of the Waikato Regional Theatre (renamed the BNZ Theatre) on Friday, January 23. featuring kiwi soul singer TEEKS.
Hamilton’s long‑awaited BNZ Theatre opened its doors last night with a sense of civic pride and cultural renewal, marking a significant moment for a city that has watched several beloved venues disappear in recent years. The new theatre, rising from the restored façade of the 1923 Hamilton Hotel, manages to feel both rooted in history and confidently contemporary. Its debut performance, a 75‑minute set from Māori soul artist TEEKS, offered a gentle, introspective start to what promises to be a new era for Waikato’s performing arts scene.
The BNZ Theatre’s design is one of its most striking achievements. The preserved hotel frontage anchors the building in Hamilton’s architectural past, while the expanded structure behind it embraces the needs of modern performance. The result is an intriguing fusion: heritage fittings and textures woven into a sleek, purpose‑built venue capable of hosting everything from opera to touring pop acts.
Its location in the heart of the city gives it an immediate advantage. With bars and restaurants lining the ground floor, the theatre sits within a lively pocket of central Hamilton that naturally encourages pre‑show buzz. Even on opening night, with crowds still learning the layout, the atmosphere felt vibrant and welcoming.
Inside, the building continues to impress. The upper gallery, available for private hire, features minimalist bars, contemporary chandeliers, and an temporarily exposed ceiling where ducting and steel beams mingle with the lighting fixtures. It’s a look that while currently unfinished, somehow lands as a deliberate industrial‑modern blend.
The theatre’s circulation has clearly been designed with efficiency in mind. Six entry doors spread across three levels keep queues moving, and the dedicated downstairs bar gives patrons a place to gather before the show without clogging the main foyer. Once inside the auditorium, the seating layout is one of the venue’s quiet triumphs. Stepped, sloped, and staggered rows combined with a raised stage ensure excellent sightlines from nearly every angle. Even with taller audience members in front, visibility remains strong; a detail that seasoned theatre‑goers will appreciate.
After the musicians, a pianist and a string sextet, quietly took their places, TEEKS emerged to enthusiastic applause. Dressed simply in black, he carried himself with a humility that contrasted with the richness of his voice. His baritone, warm and velvety, filled the room with ease, becoming the anchor of a performance that leaned heavily on emotional intimacy rather than spectacle.
Across the evening, he moved through a selection of his well‑known tracks alongside new material and a handful of covers. His brand‑new song Poetic, a wry reflection on toxic relationships, stood out as one of the more playful moments in an otherwise earnest set.
The performance was at its strongest when TEEKS allowed his voice to take centre stage, unadorned by excessive production. His ability to switch seamlessly between English and te reo Māori added a natural fluidity to the evening, demonstrating how comfortably te reo now sits within mainstream music. His tribute to D’Angelo and a tender rendition of Stevie Nicks’ Landslide showcased his influences without overshadowing his own artistry.
A surprise appearance from Maisey Rika, a mentor and collaborator who has played a significant role in TEEKS’ career, added warmth and emotional depth to the night. Their duet was among the most memorable musical moments, offering a glimpse of the dynamic range that the set occasionally lacked.
While TEEKS’ vocal performance was consistently strong, the overall pacing of the show remained firmly in slow‑to‑mid‑tempo territory. His music naturally leans toward introspection, but the absence of any significant rhythmic or dynamic shift meant the set unfolded with a gentle sameness. It was soothing, certainly, and often moving, but rarely surprising.
The staging reinforced this sense of restraint. The musicians remained seated throughout, and TEEKS himself occupied the centre of the stage with minimal movement, occasionally sitting for a song but otherwise maintaining a steady presence. The lighting design, too, was understated: overlapping spotlights on a curtain, with subtle LED strips providing soft accents. It created a calm, moody atmosphere, but offered little visual variation.
There were moments when the string players sat idle for several songs, leaving only piano and voice to carry the performance. While the stripped‑back sound suited TEEKS’ soulful style, the underuse of the ensemble felt like a missed opportunity to introduce more texture and contrast.
None of this detracted from the enjoyment of the evening (the audience was clearly captivated) but it did raise questions about how the theatre will handle more technically demanding productions. TEEKS’ set, beautiful as it was, did not push the venue’s acoustics, lighting capabilities, or staging potential to their limits. It was a gentle christening rather than a full test drive.
Despite the performance’s understated nature, the BNZ Theatre itself emerged as the true star of the night. Its thoughtful design, excellent sightlines, and integration into the city’s hospitality ecosystem position it as a vital addition to Hamilton’s cultural infrastructure. The partnership between Live Nation and BNZ signals a commitment to bringing both international touring acts and local talent to the region; a welcome development for a city that has seen too many stages go dark.
TEEKS’ opening‑night performance may not have been the most adventurous showcase of what the theatre can do, but it set a warm, soulful tone for the venue’s future. As the BNZ Theatre begins to fill its calendar, Hamilton audiences can look forward to seeing how this space transforms under different artistic visions.
For now, the theatre stands as a beacon of renewal; a place where heritage meets modernity, and where the city’s cultural heartbeat can grow stronger once again.
Check out upcoming events at the BNZ Theatre here