After more than 100 weddings, umpteen events, a baby with major heart surgery, and then premature twins during lockdown, Nic Roland and Manu Fuhrimann are selling The Playhouse Theatre.
Nic says there are simply too many superlatives to describe their 15-year journey at the Westdale Rd event-entertainment venue, but mostly it has been rewarding in a community they love.
Manu was a trained chef from Switzerland and Nic a video editor for TV news, before the couple purchased The Playhouse in their late 20s, working 365 days a year to run both a café and events centre.
“It was a big leap for us back then,” he says. “A huge ‘let’s do it!’ But we were young and full of energy, and we were able to devote ourselves to this sort of venture.”
Nic has always been in charge of entertainment, including a collection of vinyl for his DJ nights, while Manu takes care of the restaurant. The perfect yin-yang partnership, Nic says.
Life got even more hectic when their first son, Reggie, was born eight years ago and required “super complicated” heart surgery from three days old.
It happened right in the middle of their wedding season at The Playhouse. Nic was left in charge of the venue, flying to Auckland every weekend for five weeks to be with Manu and Reggie through his recovery.
“It was crazy times,” Manu says now.
Two years later almost to the day, Manu had an emergency caesarean in Wellington to deliver their twins nine weeks premature, just before the Covid lockdown. Though they were flown back to Nelson’s special care baby unit, lockdown meant Manu was alone in the hospital with the twins and Nic and Reggie couldn’t visit for five weeks.
“But we totally got through it,” Nic says. “And the boys are amazing.”
While Reggie has a pacemaker, Manu says it hasn’t held him back at all - he loves his sports.
Post Covid, with three young boys, they quit lunches at the café and focused on events, from weddings and birthday parties, to the live acts that make their off-the-beaten-path venue a destination.
Now, it’s time to consider the next decade.
“We’re not worried about selling at all,” Nic explains. “It’s almost like: ‘let’s put it out to the universe and see what the universe delivers’.”
“It’s paradise here and we love our community,” Manu continues. “It’s more about where we are at in our life and do we do something else?”
Regardless of whether the venue sells, the couple are taking a radically different direction this year - both have been accepted into AUT’s Master’s in Applied Artificial Intelligence which they will study online.
Ironically, technology is a challenge at The Playhouse, where cellphones have poor coverage and it’s one of the reasons Nic uses vinyl for music instead of digital.
“I think AI is such an interesting, expanding development that’s going to continue to grow,” he says.
It will be a continuation of study for Manu who has just completed a Bachelor of Commerce degree in accounting and economics, which she began in 2006. Now it’s on to the next chapter.
