Shows
Funnier than ever
One of Britain’s most celebrated comedians, Alan Davies brings his brand-new live show Think Ahead to the capital, reflecting on family life and the everyday absurdities of modern middle age at Michael Fowler Centre on the 8th of August.
Laughs on lock
Known across Australia for her upbeat, playful, and inclusive comedy, Kirsty Webeck will ward off your winter blues with wondrous words that’ll flow faster than your dehumidifier fills at The Fringe Bar on the 9th of August.
Check out Local Library
Under the direction of Conrad Newport, Peter Hambleton and Jude Gibson are having a great time rehearsing Dave Armstrong’s highly anticipated new comedy Local Library, running at Circa Theatre from the 25th of July to the 22nd of August.
Our brand of sausage
New Zealand’s surreal sketch comedy circus trio Laser Kiwi is making a new sausage (series of work-in-progress shows) titled It’s a Sign, the second of which takes place at Newtown Community Centre Theatre on the 17th of July.
Systems of power
Created by siblings Hariata and Tamati Moriarty, Waenga explores violence and racism within the justice system. The play is on at the new Toi Aro art space on Market Lane until the 5th of July.
Dilly Dallying
Comedian Melanie Bracewell is back with a brand-new hour about returning to unfinished things later in life. Dilly dally down to her show at The Opera House on the 19th of June.
Stilettoed skirmish
Sequins, sparkles, and staggering stilettos clash in the ultimate search for stardom – the Mx Capital Drag 2026 Finale – at Ivy Bar & Cabaret on the 31st of May.
Hey, Miss!
Remember when you had to pay 20c a text? Keegan Thomas and Aaron James Douglas do… catch them in an hour of early-2010s carnage in Hey, Miss! at the Cavern Club from the 7th to the 9th of May this NZ International Comedy Festival.
Music
Fuel your dance
Celebrating wāhine DJs of Pōneke, Girls Torque offers electronic, bass, house, and techno all night long at Valhalla on the 15th of August.
Salvation through song
Known for playing guitar and drums in bands like The Beatniks, Chump Change, and Ani Saafa, Aotearoa indie artist Logan Edwards has just released his debut solo EP Belong to Someone Else and will unveil it at a special gig at San Fran on the 23rd of July.
The angels we wrestle
Delaney Davidson, one of our best, brightest, and most beloved singer-songwriters, unveils his 11th studio album Baby Heavyweight on the 26th of June. We chat with the multi-instrumentalist about his music and the world it reflects.
Get ‘Appy with Menzies
Te Whanganui-a-Tara crooked alt-country rockers Menzies have released their debut Holding My Cold Hand, Even Though Yours Is Warm: part concept album, part Aotearoa coming-of-age story.
Memories, moments, momentum
Playing Vogelmorn Upstairs for the first time on the 17th of July, Wellington-based ensemble Mehana will celebrate 10 years of bringing the rich musical traditions of the Balkans to Aotearoa.
The great evolution
We chat to The Veils frontman Finn Andrews before the indie rockers tear it up at Meow Nui on the 4th of July. Their eighth studio album Fragile World comes out on the 19th of June.
BYO fire extinguisher
Expect to wear out your dancing shoes when indie-rock outfit Clap Clap Riot plays Meow on the 22nd of May on their first Aotearoa tour since 2019.
Grungy glory
We Zoom with guitarist Scarlett McKahey about Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers’ new album GLORY (Deluxe) and debut Aotearoa tour, which reaches San Fran on the 23rd of May.
Movies
Raw, truthful, uncensored
On in Wellington between the 15th and the 26th of July, Doc Edge returns this year with 75 films showcasing powerful documentary stories from across the globe.
Vive le cinéma!
The L’Oréal Groupe French Film Festival Aotearoa returns to Wellington from the 3rd to the 28th of June, giving audiences a taste of the best that French film has to offer.
Wonderful wāhine
The Paekākāriki Film Festival, curated by Andrew Armitage of Aro Video to the theme of Wonderful Wāhine, will be on across three Sundays in June at St Peter’s Village Hall.
Wellington Silver Screeners: Chelsie Preston Crayford
We chat with filmmaker Chelsie Preston Crayford ahead of the May release of Caterpillar, a multi-protagonist story that follows three generations of women all living under one roof.
Architects of imagination
The Resene Architecture & Design Film Festival, on between the 14th of May and the 1st of June, showcases the latest and most captivating films of the genre, providing insights into the brilliant minds and movements that shaped the world.
Thriving independent film
Snap Shot Shorts is back for season two, premiering six short films created by over 200 Pōneke creatives at the Embassy Theatre on the 11th of April.
Hot cannibal summer
A chat with director Callum Devlin about his debut film Weed Eaters ahead of its release in cinema. Four holidaying friends come across a strain of weed that gives them the most extreme case of the munchies ever recorded.
Wellington Silver Screeners: Tom Field
Wellingtonian Tom Field was drawn to filmmaking for its worldbuilding and complex characters from an early age. We chat about his short film monster & me and more.
Art
Walk the Line
Jewel-like discs of pounamu meander along the Cenotaph memorial precinct mapping the path of the Waipiro Stream in Joe Sheehan’s sculpture Walk the Line.
Boy with Red Apple
In his exhibition Silent Screams of Memories, on display at Enjoy Gallery until the 29th of August, Telly Tuita revisits a dark chapter of his childhood.
The Grove
We talk to Whanganui-based artist and sculptor Glen Hayward about The Grove, a collection of 16 copper-headed nails of varying heights installed in 2022 within the waterfront’s Whitmore Plaza.
Brutality and beauty
George Watson’s (Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Mutunga, Moriori) latest exhibition The Choice, on at Te Pātaka Toi Adam Art Gallery until the 11th of October, brings together a dearth of references: from the farm and the villa to 19th-century English literature.
Elemental beginnings
Tom Mackie’s exhibition Portals, on at Jhana Millers Gallery until the 11th of July, deals with material memory – each scar, mark, and stain evidence of its elemental beginnings.
KIMI/You Are Here
A stainless steel tear drop hangs suspended amid the vegetation beside Waitangi Park. Created by Seung Yul Oh, the sculpture is a mirror to the shifting weather and people that pass it by.
In their gardens
Abigail Legg captures her titas (aunties) tending to their gardens in her photography exhibition Kababayan, on at Twentysix Gallery in Newtown until the 6th of June.
In their gardens
Abigail Legg captures her titas (aunties) tending to their gardens in her photography exhibition Kababayan, on at Twentysix Gallery in Newtown until the 6th of June.
Events
DIY fabulousness
Think you could bring a dazzling, diamond-dappled burlesque performance to the stage for under $100? Watch competitors from across the motu give it their all in The Great DIY BurlesKiwi at The Fringe Bar on the 6th of June.
Haere mai
Seven years after closing its doors, Te Matapihi ki te Ao Nui Wellington Central Library welcomes Wellingtonians to discover, learn, and connect in the new space from the 14th of March.
Love Actually
This Christmas season, fill your cup at Love Actually in Concert, where you can catch the timeless classic on the big screen at Michael Fowler Centre accompanied by a live orchestra on the 20th of December.
Star-studded skirmish
Following three heats of jaw-dropping outfits and show-stopping spectacles, the Rising Star finale at Ivy Bar & Cabaret on the 29th of November guarantees fierce competition for the crown.
Do you like piña coladas?
Make genuine face-to-face connections at Sapphic Speed Dating Dinner Party and enjoy a four-course meal while Pōneke performer Ginger Velour jumps on the mic.
All things bird
Come one, come all to Explore Omnibirding with Giselle Clarkson, where the author and illustrator will guide readers through the inner workings of her new book and the wonders of the avian world at Tawa Library on the 3rd of October.
Embrace the chaos
Eyegum Music Collective’s multi-venue music and arts festival Great Sounds Great will take over Cuba Street Precinct on the 6th of September. We get the sneak peek from co-curator Ben Jones.
Hard hills and high fives
Brad Coleman created the Tip Track Marathon in 2017 as a joke that is still going even though no one is laughing. The ninth edition of ‘Wellington’s least favourite trail running event’ takes place on the 6th of September.
Personalities
The craft of a comedian
We sit down with Chris Parker to Take a Good Hard Look at his epic comedy career and latest show, which kicks off his Aotearoa tour at St James Theatre on the 4th of September.
Through the window
We caught up with Isabel Corfiatis – filmographer, director, editor, and many things in between – to discuss the film Music and the Mystical Experience ahead of its screening on the 18th of July at Roxy Cinema as part of the Doc Edge Festival.
Rock band redemption
Nick Sceats’ novel Paper Husbands tells a story of rock band redemption. We caught up to chat about the book, the process of writing it, and the album that accompanies the text.
The thespian of song
We were lucky enough to talk to global icon Engelbert Humperdinck, aka the king of romance, before he brings The Celebration Tour to Michael Fowler Centre on the 26th of June.
The thespian of song
We were lucky enough to talk to global icon Engelbert Humperdinck, aka the king of romance, before he brings The Celebration Tour to Michael Fowler Centre on the 26th of June.
Go towards truth
Tawhi Thomas (Ngāti Maniapoto) has just won Best Play by a Māori Playwright at Playmarket’s 2026 Adam NZ Play Awards. We got down to the nitty-gritty about his play Haere and more.
The next page
Award-winning author and illustrator Ruth Paul discusses her writing practice and her latest children’s book Farmer’s Pyjamas, published on the 1st of May.
Camera and a spear gun
An interview with Ricky Situ, who was named runner-up Wildlife Aotearoa Photographer of the Year for the Tūhura Otago Museum Wildlife Photography Competition with his stunning image Whimsical Lion’s Mane.