The Royal New Zealand Ballet's national tour of The Sleeping Beauty opens in Wellington on Thursday night, and Invercargill audiences will get their turn at the Civic Theatre on Wednesday 18 November.

The company is reviving Greg Horsman's fairytale production, first staged in 2011, when more than 42,000 people saw it around the country. Horsman left the RNZB for Queensland Ballet in 2012, and the production has been staged there several times since.

Set to Tchaikovsky's score, the ballet tells the familiar story of a princess who pricks her finger, falls into an enchanted sleep and is woken by true love. Gary Harris designed the sets and costumes, Jon Buswell the lighting, and Wellington's Wētā Workshop has supplied the production's magical elements.

Live orchestras will accompany the Wellington, Christchurch and Auckland seasons under conductor Hamish McKeich. In Invercargill and the other regional centres, the company will dance to a recording by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.

Artistic director Ty King-Wall said it was wonderful for the company to return to The Sleeping Beauty to close its 2026 season.

Free warm-up before the show

The Invercargill performance starts at 7.30pm, with tickets through Ticketek. Before the show, the company's Warm Up, Curtain Up! event lets audience members watch the dancers go through their warm-up on stage from the auditorium. It is free, needs no ticket or registration, and anyone interested should gather in the theatre foyer 10 minutes before the start time.

The tour is supported by NZCT, whose grants general manager Ben Hodges said it would give thousands of New Zealanders beyond the main centres "the chance to experience the magic of world-class live ballet".

The tour runs:

  • Wellington, St James Theatre, 29 October to 7 November
  • Christchurch, Isaac Theatre Royal, 11 to 14 November
  • Invercargill, Civic Theatre, 18 November
  • Dunedin, Regent Theatre, 21 and 22 November
  • Hamilton, BNZ Theatre, 27 to 29 November
  • Auckland, Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre, 3 to 12 December
  • Palmerston North, Regent on Broadway, 16 December
  • Napier, Municipal Theatre, 19 and 20 December

The Invercargill date sits between the Christchurch and Dunedin seasons and is the only South Island stop outside those two cities. Subscribers booking more than one show from the company's 2026 season can save up to 20 per cent.