Shows
You’ll see!
The world’s only world-famous surreal sketch comedy circus trio Laser Kiwi comes home with their new show Everybody Knows, playing at The Hannah from the 1st to the 16th of May this NZ International Comedy Festival.
Tiny life slices
Wellington Improvisation Troupe (WIT) will create a world of multiple scenes in Elsewhere in the Building, an improv show at Thistle Hall on the 10th of April.
The stage as a storybook
“When a show reaches 75 performances, it means it’s doing something right.” Caburlesque 75th Show will slay the stage at The Fringe Bar on the 5th of April.
Oops Sari I’m Indian
Oops Sari I’m Indian is a new solo show from Jenice the Menace at Circus Bar on the 14th of March that celebrates and cleverly dismantles Indian stereotypes.
An incredible story
Music Portrait of a Humble Disabled Samoan shares the extraordinary life journey of musician and disability advocate Fonotī Pati Umaga at Tāwhiri Warehouse from the 12th to the 14th of March for the Aotearoa New Zealand Festival of the Arts.
Gleeful abandon
D’Things N Such is Wellington’s freshest, wildest, and most unhinged theatrical experience. We chat with director Seiyan Thompson-Tonga ahead of the 14-date Circa run from the 13th to the 28th of February.
Standout stand-up
Now that there are no more public holidays in sight, lift your spirits at the stacked Weekend Laughs calendar coming to Abandoned Taproom Petone on the 20th and 21st of February, the 27th and 28th of February, and the 6th and 7th of March.
The chosen one
Do Star Wars and Star Trek have beef? They do now, thanks to the latest Caburlesque show that will see a lineup of stars perform burlesque, pole, cabaret, and belly dance acts to determine the top wookie of space travel at The Fringe Bar on the 7th of February.
Music
Living In The Light with a legend
We interview world-renowned guitarist and master entertainer Tommy Emmanuel ahead of his Living In The Light Tour at The Opera House on the 22nd of May.
Trip-hop dark pop
Georgia Knight crafts otherworldly pop from autoharp, dusty loops, synth textures, and avant-garde edges. Her tour of her new album Beanpole reaches San Fran on the 12th of April.
A joy ride with Steve Poltz
North American singer-songwriter and guitarist Steve Poltz is “calling all freaks” to join him at Meow on the 28th of March as he celebrates his 14th solo studio album JoyRide.
Shapeshifting through time
We chat with visionary Dutch New Zealand trio MY BABY about their new album Echo and upcoming Welly gig at San Fran on the 18th of March.
Shimmering, sublime
Aotearoa indie legends The Bats are finally hitting the road to celebrate their 2025 album Corner Coming Up. Catch the tour at St Peter’s Village Hall in Paekākāriki on the 13th and Meow in Wellington on the 14th of March.
Fearless and formidable
On her first solo headline tour in eight years, singer-songwriter Theia will perform songs from her 2025 album Girl, In A Savage World plus more favourites at Meow on the 5th of March.
Sepulchral sounds
On Saturday the 7th of March, Merciless Deathfest II rises from its sepulchre to deliver an unforgiving metal ritual at Valhalla.
A family affair
Settle in for an intimate evening full of fan favourites, new material, and unmistakable charm with multi-instrumentalist Avalanche City (Dave Baxter), who will play Wairarapa Events Centre on the 20th of February and Meow Nui on the 7th of March.
Movies
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.
Walk the soul back home
A chat with director Bart Schrijver on his new film The North, which follows two friends as they reconnect with themselves and each other hiking 600 kilometres across the Scottish Highlands.
Wellington Silver Screeners: Eva Brunel
Emerging screenwriter Eva Brunel chats all about her 2025 David Carson-Parker Embassy Prize-winning script Peephole and what will come next.
Wellington Silver Screeners: Matthew Mawkes
With a journey full of ups and downs, Matthew tells Alessia about his past and his future in film, as well as his newest Wellington-made film Blind Panic.
Wellington Silver Screeners: Jason Stutter
With Warren’s Vortex currently streaming on TVNZ, co-director Jason Stutter and I embark on a journey through the past, present, and future of how he made his dream of becoming a filmmaker a reality.
Wellington Silver Screeners: Emma Duncan and Ashlee Stevens
Emerging filmmakers Emma Duncan and Ashlee Stevens’ short documentary Home by Three Kea Pictures follows Teiti Nepia, a mana wahine who reclaims her autonomy by living on public land when she becomes priced out of Wellington’s rental market.
Art
Big Flowers For A Wild City
Pōneke-based artist Martin Basher wanted to give Wellington a sculpture that reflects the vibrancy of the city. Big Flowers for a Wild City is the latest public art to occupy the four plinths outside Te Papa Tongarewa.
Light, shadows, sound
Daniel Beban and Tim Barlow manipulate light and turn it into sound in their highly experimental project Shadow Signals, on display at Toi Pōneke until the 15th of May.
Art as alchemy
Anna Sisson interrogates and subverts inherited mythologies and narratives to construct a new gaze in her latest exhibition Temple of Romance, on display at William Austin Gallery until the 25th of April.
Internal terrains
Group show Common Ground, featuring works from Amber Hearn, James Watkins, and Kirstie Ussher, meditates on internal landscapes, geographical terrains, and memory at Twentysix Gallery until the 18th of April.
New expressions
Mitchell Manuel takes traditional Pasifika and Scottish images and reimagines them onto a digital plane to interrogate the shared histories between the two cultures. Tartan Meets Koru is on display at Toi Pōneke until the 17th of April.
When contexts collide
Meanings shift. Objects are lifted, suspended, shaped, rebuilt. Three artists explore the transformative energy, Ihi, in their joint exhibition at Pātaka Gallery, on display from the 28th of March to the 19th of July.
Nourished and reflective
At Twentysix Gallery, the rituals of gathering, preparing, and sharing food, and the landscapes that hold those memories come to life in Emma Hercus’ The Foragers until the 21st of March.
Under, Over and Across
Angela Kilford and Lisa Munnelly explore the relationship between material, maker, and making in their exhibition Under, Over and Across at Toi Pōneke Arts Centre until the 13th of March.
Events
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.
Bookmark this!
The inaugural Bookmark Kāpiti – an exciting and diverse festival of 25 events celebrating local people, stories, and places – will be held up and down the spine of the coast on the 9th and 10th of August.
Personalities
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.
Circles of connection
Music Therapy Week takes place across Aotearoa from the 10th to the 15th of April. We chat with Wellington-based registered music therapist Sophie Sabri, who works with adults with disabilities at Evaro.
The work-art balance
Oliver Mander will direct Ben Elton’s Gasping, the first production of Wellington Repertory Theatre’s centenary season, at Gryphon Theatre from the 18th to the 28th of March.
The creative antidote
New Zealand singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Bic Runga will tour her sixth studio album and first in a decade this autumn. We Zoomed with the Sway singer ahead of the Red Sunset Tour at Michael Fowler Centre on the 2nd of April.
Thinking ahead with Alan Davies
We interview British stand-up comedian Alan Davies, known for QI and Jonathan Creek, before he pulls up to pull no punches at Michael Fowler Centre on the 8th of August amidst his Think Ahead tour.
A Few More Slices of Heaven
Whether you’ve seen him tearing up stages across Aotearoa with his band DARTZ or you get his YeeHawTheBoys comics delivered straight to your inbox, Daniel Vernon (Ngāti Kahungunu ki Te Wairoa) is a creative force who is thrilled to have just released his new book A Few More Slices of Heaven.
Keep curious
We talk to science communicator, homeopath, and first-time author Vanessa Young about her debut, The Reluctant Homeopath: An unexpected science story.
Cue the confetti!
We round up the year that’s been and look forward to the next 250 issues. Merry Christmas from us to you!