Lights, camera, Onehunga!2 min read
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When TV producers needed an authentic community theatre for a new series, local institution, The Dolphin Theatre, fitted the brief perfectly.
It is just one of many Onehunga landmarks that have been in the background of films or TV shows in the past year. While The Dolphin posed as a theatre based in Tauranga for new series, Happiness, the Onehunga Community House played the role of 1900s California for a Netflix adaptation of East of Eden. Well-loved New Zealand show, The Brokenwood Mysteries, was also spotted filming on Onehunga Mall in 2024. Although the production team was tight-lipped on the day, viewers of the show would recognise the lead character’s famous 1971 Holden Kingswood car from a mile away!
The more eagle-eyed among us may also recognise the hallways of Royal Oak Intermediate in the recent released film, Tinā, filling in for a school in Christchurch.
When the Onehunga Community News spoke to The Dolphin Theatre president, Mike Daley, in August last year, he was sworn to secrecy about the show that was being filmed there, but is free to talk now that Happiness has premiered on screens.
The theatre received a makeover to fit the needs of the show, which is set in a community theatre in Tauranga. This included a paint job and alterations to the foyer, which are still in place, if the show gets a second season.
Location scouts were searching for a classic community theatre with a raised stage, stadium-type seating, a rehearsal room and a large foyer. Mike thinks the show, and the set, really captures how special community theatre is.
“It looks like a million bucks on screen,” he says.
“It feels lived in, solid and inviting, which is how we think of the Dolphin – as a warm, inviting space for the audience, the cast and crew and volunteers that makes you feel at home. That really comes across on screen.”
To see Dolphin Theatre on TV, find Happiness on demand on Three Now, and to see it in real life, buy a ticket to an upcoming show at dolphintheatre.org.nz
