Established in 1992, Auckland Theatre Company is Auckland's premier professional theatre company and one of the leading theatre companies in New Zealand. The Company presents a mainbill season of seven to eight plays to over 80,000 people from throughout Auckland and the Upper North Island each year. By the end of 2014, Auckland Theatre Company will have presented 149 professional productions. Currently led by Colin McColl, one of the country's leading theatre directors, the Company employs some of the finest and best loved creative talent in New Zealand including Amanda Billing, Shane Cortese, Keisha Castle-Hughes, Lisa Chappell, Stuart Devenie, George Henare, Mark Hadlow, Raymond Hawthorne, Elizabeth Hawthorne, Theresa Healey, Michael Hurst, Robyn Malcolm, Rena Owen and Jennifer Ward-Lealand. Auckland Theatre Company is one Creative New Zealand's Arts Leadership organisations. It is also one of ten regional amenities considered an essential contributor to the well being of residents in the Auckland region and necessary to make the region a vibrant and attractive place to live in.