The Malthouse sits on Colombo Street in Beckenham and has been part of Christchurch's performing arts life for decades. It is best known as the home of Canterbury Children's Theatre, which the venue describes as delivering quality live theatre for over sixty years — generations of local children have had their first taste of a live show here.
The building brings three things together under one roof: the theatre productions staged by Canterbury Children's Theatre, the Malthouse Drama School offering drama classes for young people, and Malthouse Costumes, a hire collection of more than 3,000 bespoke, beautiful costumes that reaches well beyond the theatre's own stage.
That combination makes The Malthouse a genuine hub for young performers and their families — a place to watch theatre, learn theatre, and dress a production of your own. The venue also welcomes community support through its Givealittle page, one way to help keep sixty-plus years of children's theatre going for the next generation.
On Colombo Street in Beckenham, The Malthouse has been part of Christchurch childhoods for a very long time. It is the home of Canterbury Children's Theatre, an organisation with more than sixty years of quality live theatre behind it, and the building gathers three strands of the performing arts in one place: the shows on stage, the drama classes that train the next round of performers, and a costume collection of over 3,000 bespoke pieces available for hire.
That combination is rarer than it used to be. A single address where children can watch theatre, learn theatre, and dress a production of their own makes The Malthouse something of a hub for young performers and their families in Christchurch.
Six decades is a remarkable run for any theatre company, let alone one devoted to young audiences. Since it began, Canterbury Children's Theatre has given generations of Cantabrians their first taste of live performance — the darkening of the house lights, the rise of the curtain, and the realisation that the people telling the story are right there in the room.
Live theatre asks something of its audience that a screen never does: attention, imagination, and a willingness to join in. Children, it turns out, give all three generously. That exchange — between a stage full of performers and a young audience leaning forward in their seats — is what The Malthouse has been hosting for over sixty years.
What's on changes through the year, and the theatre's Shows page is the place to find current listings, so it is worth a look before you plan a visit.
For children who come out of a show already re-enacting scenes on the car ride home, the Malthouse Drama School is the natural next step. Drama classes give young people the chance to try the other side of the footlights: speaking up clearly, moving with purpose, working as an ensemble, and learning that the confidence you build on stage has a habit of following you off it.
Because classes happen in the same building as a working theatre, learners are surrounded by the real thing — the stage, the costumes, the atmosphere of a venue that has been hosting performances for decades.
Behind the scenes sits one of the venue's quiet treasures: Malthouse Costumes, a hire collection of more than 3,000 bespoke, beautiful costumes. The word bespoke matters here — these are crafted pieces rather than mass-produced ones, and a collection of this size represents years of making and care.
The collection also reaches well beyond Beckenham. Costume hire puts that craft within reach of school productions, community groups and anyone with an occasion that calls for something more characterful than the wardrobe at home. Browsing a collection of that scale is an experience in itself — and hiring from it supports the venue's wider work.
The Malthouse is at 71 Colombo Street, Beckenham, Christchurch. Show details, class information and costume hire arrangements are all handled through the venue, and its website is the best first stop for current information.
For families, an outing here is pleasantly simple: check what's on, arrive with time to settle in, and let the show do the rest. And for anyone who believes children's theatre is worth keeping alive, the venue's Givealittle page offers a direct way to help — supporting a Christchurch institution that has been turning on the house lights for young audiences for more than sixty years.