Central Christchurch City Venue Hire

The heart of our venue offering is Papa Hou (meaning treasure box in te reo Māori). It’s a special space because it is set up to be a fully functional and flexible black box. A black box theatre is adaptable depending on your specific requirements, providing hirers, and particularly artistic hirers, more scope to be creative.

As well as providing the traditional theatre style, it can be set as cabaret, banquet, runway and other iterations of these. It has an in-house sound and lighting system, projector, specialized circus rigging and curtains. We’ve tried to think of the basics, and more. We’ve tried to keep it simple, with the ability for any group to increase infrastructure for greater complexity. Anything we don’t have can easily be accessed through our hire partners or your own providers. There is easy pack-in and pack-out access.

Papa Hou also comes with a dedicated foyer, which acts as a great space for guests to gather, with an optional bar add-on. We have on-site catering and can work with you to get the right solution for your group. At the back of the theatre, you will find a purpose-built green room and changing area. We’ve thought of everything to make your event run smoothly!