Another String to Our Bow
There are many great initiatives run by the parents, volunteers and businesses who dedicate their time to living and thriving on the Coromandel Peninsula. Across our communities you’ll find sporting clubs where kids play, explore and embrace the incredible outdoor opportunities available to them. These spaces help young people build resilience, teamwork and confidence while enjoying the environment we are so lucky to call home.
But thriving communities also create space for quieter pursuits. Chess clubs, reading groups and other indoor activities give young people a place to develop focus, imagination and conversation skills while disappearing into the worlds of fiction and non-fiction.
In recent years, another creative outlet has been growing across Mercury Bay – the performing arts.
Back in 2024, I gathered together a small group of local parents, grandparents, teachers and former students who recognised a gap in our towns. While there were many opportunities in sport and academics, structured opportunities in performing arts – acting, singing and dancing – were limited.
From that conversation, Mercury Bay Performing Arts was born.
The performing arts open a new world for young people. Through rehearsals, stagecraft and storytelling, our tamariki (children) learn to express themselves in creative and courageous ways. Alongside directors, vocal coaches and choreographers – as well as costume, make-up, sound and lighting teams – students discover that a production is much more than what happens on stage. It’s a true collaboration where every role matters.
In 2025 we staged our first major production, Disney’s Aladdin Jr. Across eight shows we sold out every performance, with audiences responding with cheers, smiles and standing ovations. For our young performers, it was the reward for months of commitment, teamwork and growth.
That success inspired us to dream even bigger.
This year Mercury Bay Performing Arts proudly presents Disney’s Beauty and the Beast Jr., featuring more than 50 local students on stage – and many more working behind the scenes.
Our cast ranges from 8 to 18 years old and represents seven schools across the region, from Pauanui to Te Rerenga. Many are involved in sports and other activities, but several times a week they come together with a shared goal: creating something special for a live audience.
Watching these young people grow in confidence, friendships and self-belief has been one of the most rewarding parts of this journey. Performing arts help students step outside their comfort zones, discover new strengths and develop skills that will stay with them long after the curtain closes.
Like many people who live here, I proudly say, “This is my town.” Mercury Bay Performing Arts is a not-for-profit organisation built on community spirit, with volunteers working to create positive opportunities for our youth.
We would love the wider community to come along and enjoy the show. Tickets for Disney’s Beauty and the Beast Jr. are now on sale.
Finally, a heartfelt thank you to the businesses and organisations who have stepped forward to support the production and help make these opportunities possible for our young performers.
Last year, after making a very last-minute decision to join Mercury Bay Performing Arts with a friend, I was offered the exciting opportunity of a role in Aladdin Jr.,and what started off as yet another after-school commitment, quickly turned into one of my most rewarding experiences.
Beauty and The Beast Jr. will be my last musical here in Whitianga; however, in only two years I already feel like I have learnt so much, and a whole new form of creativity has been introduced to me. Just last year, I couldn’t even imagine singing anywhere but on roadtrips, let alone in front of hundreds of people. Rehearsals are always filled with laughter, collaboration, and the shared beauty of bringing a story to life.
However, my favourite part will always be watching and supporting the other students grow into their voices and confidence.
Productions provide young people with an environment to express themselves, which is always needed in any community. It brings tamariki from all across the Whitianga area together with a shared goal, whilst promoting unity and all forms of creativity. I cannot wait to see just how far we’ve come when we perform Beauty and The Beast Jr. on stage in May. Everyone has worked so hard, and I am so, so grateful to have a place here.
Words by Isabella White
Mercury Bay Performing Arts and Coromind Proudly Present Beauty and the Beast Jr.
Show Dates:
Thursday 7th of May 6:30 p.m.
Friday 8th of May 6:30 p.m.
Saturday 9th of May 2:00 p.m.
Saturday 9th of May 6:30 p.m.
Thursday 14th of May 6:30 p.m.
Friday 15th of May 6:30 p.m.
Saturday 16th of May 2:00 p.m.
Saturday 16th May 6:30 p.m.
Venue: Coro Club Main Hangar, Whitianga
Tickets available at the Whitianga i-site Information Centre (66 Albert St) or call 07 866 5555
POUNAMU SPONSORS: Whitianga Marina, Aotearoa Gaming Trust (via Whitianga Hotel), Pub Charity Limited (via Smitty’s Sports Bar & Grill and The Coroglen Tavern)
GOLD SPONSORS: Abby Lawrence of Richardson’s Real Estate, Smitty’s Sports Bar and Grill, The Lost Spring Thermal Pools and Day Spa, Whitianga Lions Club
SILVER SPONSORS: CFM, The Coromandel Informer, Mercury Bay Big Band, NZ Move It, Merge Marketing NZ, Mike Brown, Dr Jane Buckley, Coromandel Chambers Limited
BRONZE SPONSORS: Whitianga Community MenzShed, Whitianga Butchers, Guthrie Bowron Whitianga, The Monkey House, Whitianga Community Services Trust, Total Storage, Coroclub Main Hangar, The Popata Whanau, Natal Property Group, Mercury Twin Cinemas Whitianga, Slice Slice Baby Whitianga
In Partnership with Coromind Magazine
Words by Fabian Roberts and the Mercury Bay Performing Arts
Coromind: Coromandel’s Collaborative Magazine
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