TSB Showplace

TSB Showplace at 92-100 Devon Street West is Taranaki's principal theatre and conference complex, operated by New Plymouth District Council through its New Plymouth Event Venues arm. It combines a restored 1920s proscenium theatre with a flexible black-box auditorium and a function room, which lets the site handle everything from an intimate dinner for six through to a touring production or a conference approaching 1,000 delegates.

Spaces and capacities

• TSB Theatre - the original and restored New Plymouth Opera House, with a maximum capacity of around 955. Published configurations include up to 915 theatre style, up to 450 cocktail, up to 350 dining and up to 60 meeting style.
• Theatre Royal - a fully flexible multi-purpose auditorium and black-box space, capacity 527.
• Alexandra Room - a blank-canvas function room with a maximum capacity of 200, used for themed events, weddings, corporate functions, seminars, expos and workshops.
• Meeting Room and Theatre Royal Lounge - smaller rooms suited to breakouts, briefings and pre-function hospitality.

Meeting and event capability

The combination is unusual for a regional New Zealand centre: a full-scale performance auditorium for plenary sessions and gala presentations, a second auditorium that can run concurrent streams, and a function room for catering, trade displays and breakouts. Conference organisers can therefore run a multi-stream programme, an exhibition and a gala dinner without moving delegates between buildings. In-house event staff and catering support are available through the venue.

History

The site's theatrical history runs back to Alexandra Hall in 1883. After a fire in 1916 the building was reconstructed and reopened as the New Plymouth Opera House in 1925. A major renovation and extension in 1997-98 added the Theatre Royal auditorium and the Alexandra Room, and the restored Opera House was renamed the TSB Theatre. The whole complex was inaugurated as TSB Showplace at a gala weekend on 6 and 7 February 1999. In 2025 the venue marked 100 years on the 1925 building. It is a regular host for the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra's regional touring programme.

Location

The Showplace sits in the heart of New Plymouth's CBD arts precinct, within walking distance of hotels, restaurants and bars, the Len Lye Centre, Puke Ariki and the Coastal Walkway. That walkability is a genuine logistical advantage for multi-day conferences, since delegates rarely need transport between accommodation, sessions and evening functions.

Suitability for meetings and events

The primary purpose-built conference and performance venue among New Plymouth venues, suited to association conferences, AGMs, awards nights, product launches, gala dinners and multi-stream corporate programmes for groups from a handful of people up to roughly 1,000.