Our venues, events and performances are accessible for all entertainment lovers; including people who are deaf or hard of hearing, blind or have low vision, or reduced mobility.
Please contact us once you have booked your tickets and/or prior to coming to a show or performance regarding any access requirements, support or information you, your family or friends may need.
Contact us: Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm
Phone: 09 309 2677
Email: accessibility@aucklandlive.co.nz
At the show or venue: Please ask for assistance or advice from any of our experienced and knowledgeable uniformed staff members. They will ensure you and your guests have the best experience possible.
The Bruce Mason Centre in Takapuna is currently rated Gold for accessibility by Be.Lab (formerly Be. Accessible).
The Auckland Town Hall, The Civic, Aotea Square and Aotea Centre are rated Silver. We are constantly work on improving our scores, and offering our patrons and visitors a truly accessible experience.
At Auckland Live, accessibility is at the heart of our work. As part of that, we make sure our venues are accessible and offer a range of accessible performances for all live arts and entertainment lovers. See below for our upcoming accesible performances.
Designed for patrons who have mobility restrictions or are wheelchair users. Familiarise yourself with the layout of our venues from the comfort of home.
Take an Accessibility Virtual Tour of the:
Aotea Centre
The Civic
Auckland Town Hall
Bruce Mason Centre
Each tour provides a virtual pathway through the venue, using easy, navigational tools to assist with wayfinding. The tours include 3D images of the venues, colour-coded pathways for patrons depending on the level of mobility, and step counts to key areas such as wheelchair seating, box offices, bathrooms, and lifts.
All Auckland Live venues can be accessed by wheelchairs and walkers and have elevators and ramps for those with difficulty accessing stairs.
We have seats at all our venues which are specially designed to be accessible for wheelchair users.
Please note, walkers can be a hazard and for the safety and wellbeing of all audiences they must be removed from the theatre prior to the event starting. One of our friendly uniformed staff can return your walker to you any time you require it.
To book wheelchair seats in our venues please contact Ticketmaster on 09 970 9711.
Be sure to specifically request wheelchair seats. This is not a general sales line.
Companion seats are available for those booking wheelchair seats.
We have two wheelchairs available at each venue if you or someone you’re coming with has mobility needs.
You can request one of these by calling us on + 64 9 309 2677.
Drop-off points are located close to all our venues for those who require step-free access or cannot walk long distances. These drop-off points are not car parks but places where cars can temporarily stop to let passengers out.
Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre, Aotea Centre: This venue can be accessed internally from Level 1 of the Civic Car Park and Myers Street off Mayoral Drive next to the CRL train station construction site.
Herald Theatre: 50 Mayoral Drive, outside the Aotea Centre Stage Door, next to the Herald Theatre's main entrance.
Great Hall and Concert Chamber, Auckland Town Hall: Directly outside the Auckland Town Hall on Queen Street, close to the main entrance. Take the Accessibility Virtual Tour of the Auckland Town Hall.
The Civic: On the corner of Elliott Street and Wellesley St West.
Please note that the bus stops located directly outside The Civic’s main entrance on Queen Street and Wellesley Street are for buses only and can be extremely busy during peak times.
Take the Accessibility Virtual Tour of The Civc
Bruce Mason Centre: A dedicated drop-off zone is located just up from the main entrance, running parallel with Killarney Street. This can be accessed from either Killarney Street or The Promenade.
Take the Accessibility Virtual Tour of the Bruce Mason Centre
Shed 10: Drop-off point is located at the roundabout to the left of Shed 10 on Queens Wharf.
The Cloud: Drop off-point is located at the roundabout to the right of The Cloud on Queens Wharf
The Civic Car Park has mobility parking spots and is a short distance from Aotea Square, Aotea Centre, The Civic and Auckland Town Hall, as well as other Aotea Arts Quarter venues, making it a great option for attending shows and events.
During standard hours, the first 2 hours of mobility parking are free with usual rates applied afterwards. After 6pm and on weekends, mobility parking is free. Take your mobility card and entry ticket to a pay machine, and press the help button.
There are 20 mobility parking spots available, with locations as below:
It is important, however, to remember that sometimes all our venues are filled with events. Make sure you have a backup parking plan.
Visit our Parking and Transport page for more information.
All Auckland Live venues have lifts and there is clear directional signage indicating where the lifts are located inside all of our venues.
At the show or venue, please ask for assistance and directions from any of our uniformed staff members.
Once you have walked inside the Aotea Centre the lifts are located in the left-hand side of the building and are accessible from Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3 foyers and from Level 1 of the Civic car park.
In the Auckland Town Hall, there is a glass lift in the central atrium in close proximity to the Great Hall and the Concert Chamber. It is accessible from both the Queen Street and Greys Avenue entrances.
Once inside the Bruce Mason Centre the passenger lift is on the right side of the venue, it is accessible from the Ground Floor Foyer via the main entrance and the rear entrance via the Auckland Transport parking building.
The Civic passenger lift is located on the Ground Floor of The Civic foyer. When arriving inside the main entrance the lift is on the left-hand side of the venue via the Door C Circle corridor.
The Shed 10 passenger lift is located at the left-hand side of the building and is accessible from the Ground Floor foyer via the main entrance.
The Cloud's accessible lift to the Mezzanine level is located on the left-hand side towards the end of the building and is accessible from the Ground Floor via the North & South main entrances.
All Auckland Live venues have accessible toilets and there is directional signage indicating where these toilets are located throughout each venue.
At the show or venue please ask for assistance and directions from any of our uniformed staff members.
Visually impaired patrons can call Ticketmaster on 09 970 9745 any time before 5pm on the day of the show to ask them to alert Auckland Live's front of house staff of their arrival time and any assistance that may be needed at the venue.
At the show or venue: Please ask for assistance or advice from any of our experienced and knowledgeable uniformed staff members. They will ensure you and your guests have the best experience possible.
Guide dogs are welcome at all our venues.
Audio description captures the visual elements of a show that a blind or visually impaired person might otherwise miss, and describes them in clear and vivid language.
Trained audio describers provide a live, concise and factual description of the action and visual elements of the show, which you listen to through an earpiece attached to a pocket-sized radio. We give theatergoers who are taking advantage of our audio-descriptions a set of introductory notes to listen to before the performance. The notes include a description of the stage set, props, costumes, etc.
Before or after each audio-described performance, audience members using the audio description can walk through the set on stage, touch set pieces, feel the costumes, and handle key props.
It’s important that you book in advance for a Touch Tour, as our group sizes are limited.
Make sure you are the first to know when audio-described performances and touch tours go on sale by signing up to our mailing list.
Email your full name and email details to: accessibility@aucklandlive.co.nz
Hearing aid loops are available at The Civic, Aotea Centre (in the Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre), Auckland Town Hall (the Great Hall and the Concert Chamber), and the Bruce Mason Centre.
To use the loop, just switch your hearing aids to 'tele'.
There are particular areas in each venue that are covered by the hearing aid loop. To use it, you will need to make sure you book tickets in the right section of the relevant theatre.
Please contact Ticketmaster (09) 970 9700 and request these seats specifically.
These shows are for audience members who are deaf or hearing impaired. Trained interpreters, usually standing to the side of the stage, interpret the script during the performance using New Zealand Sign Language.
Be the first to know when sign language-interpreted performances go on sale by signing up to our mailing list.
Email your full name and email details to: accessibility@aucklandlive.co.nz
Auckland Live offers relaxed performances for some shows.
Relaxed performances are just that – relaxed, and held in a comfortable, non-distracting, or non-aggravating environment. They are tailored for audience members with an autism spectrum disorder, a sensory or communications disorder, or learning difficulty.
Shows offering relaxed performances are accompanied by a Visual Story, a document which explains at a glance the venue and the show. This helps audiences attending become familiar with their visit in advance.
You can sign up to be informed when relaxed performances are happening in our venues and/or request a Visual Story by emailing accessibility@aucklandlive.co.nz.
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