Shows
Bi and beautiful
Drag, burlesque, comedy, and more unite in Bi Bi Bi: A Bisexual Pride Cabaret, an Ivy Bar and Cabaret show celebrating Bisexual Awareness Week on the 21st of September.
The truth is far stranger
Tom and Suzanne Denborough are in search of a tasteful terracotta townhouse on the outskirts of Antarctica. At least, they think they are…
A spoonful of sugar
Irish comedian Ed Byrne makes light of a minor and a major tragedy in his new show Tragedy Plus Time, at The Opera House on the 17th of August.
Who let the hound out?
Lord Baskerville is dead. Beside his body? The pawprints of a phantom hound, once thought to be nought but local legend. Wellington Repertory Theatre will bring Sherlock Holmes to the stage to solve the mystery in The Hound of the Baskervilles this August.
Catch him if you can
Catch the White Rabbit if you can when KAT Theatre brings Alice – A Musical, a tuneful take on an old classic for all ages, to Khandallah these school holidays.
Heady and heated
WITCH Music Theatre will have you on the knife’s edge of your set for Lizzie the Musical, a punk-rock musical reimagining of the gripping true-crime case of Lizzie Borden.
Shaken and stirred
The world is not enough for MI6’s recently demoted agent Steele. Help her save the world alongside Russian operative Titsa Dynamite in the spy comedy Two Girls One Gun at BATS Theatre from the 23rd to the 27th.
Buzzy
Ponder life’s great questions and venture into the depths of your soul with Pure Grime, a show that celebrates the grotesque and explores what it means to be human from the perspective of a fly. Catch it at Vogelmorn Bowling Club on the 5th of July.
Scrumptious, rambunctious
Sense and Sensibility is a story full of surprises – especially when the staged retelling comes from the brilliant mind of Penny Ashton. Catch this rambunctious ride until the 3rd of August at Circa Theatre.
Crushed garlic and scrambled eggs
With song and dance, zany costumes, topical humour for the grownups, and side-splitting silliness for the littlies, The Pantoloons’ Puss in Boots is the purrfect school holiday treat.
Can you keep the secret?
With no rehearsals and no director, six actors of a refugee background will arrive at Te Auaha in turn to perform a script they’ve never read before. Welcome to White Rabbit Red Rabbit, the worldwide phenomenon that no one’s allowed to talk about.
Into the swamp
Ready the carriage for Far Far Away – in celebration of the 20th anniversary of Shrek 2, Ivy Bar and Cabaret will be transformed into a swamp filled with all your fairytale favourites on the 22nd of June.
Bloody funny
Get ready to cackle. Femme Natale: The Queen Years, an adults-only sketch-comedy play on parenthood, is coming to BATS Theatre from the 28th of May to the 1st of June.
Get roasted
Raw Meat Monday cooks up some perfectly roasted jokes and the occasional charred pun at each weekly comedy session. Come chew on a few at The Fringe Bar on the 27th of May and the 1st of June.
Welly weirdos
Make to BATS (Theatre) like a vampire to a blood drive for Jemaine Clement and Jonny Brugh’s NZ International Comedy Festival show Goth 2 A Flame from the 21st to the 25th of May.
A horse the source of divorce
Those who love improv and need a regular fix should jump on Best On Tap’s Happy Hour, a monthly “truth-based” improvised theatrical experience taking place in Newtown on the fourth Thursday of each month.
Dickie in the city
It’s a new chapter for loveable ol’ grump Dickie Hart. Directed by Ross Jolly and starring Gavin Rutherford, Sir Roger Hall’s End of Summer Time will bring the rugby madcap with a heart of gold to the Circa Theatre stage.
Levitating
Celebrate the release of Dua Lipa’s new album Radical Optimism with a drag show that will leave you Levitating on Saturday the 3rd of May at Ivy Bar and Cabaret.
True love and connection
WITCH Music Theatre is bringing Dave Malloy’s whirlwind Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812 to Hannah Playhouse this autumn.
Careful what you wish for
Arts Laureate Michael Hurst’s free-wheeling adaptation of The Golden Ass is a wild ride through a timeless world of bandits and goddesses, witches and circuses, and scandals and sandals.
Degenerative Fill
After a five-year absence from his beloved Wellington, comedian Steve Wrigley lands on Te Auaha’s stage from the 4th to the 6th of April with an arsenal of brand-new jokes and jibes.
Wild things
If I could walk with the animals, talk with the animals, grunt and squeak and squawk with the animals… Make like Bobby Darrin and canter to The Fringe Bar for Caburlesque: Zoolesque 2 – Petting Zoo this April.
What’s not to love?
Hands up if you love horror! Hands up if you love comedy! Now wave those arms in the air and run like a monster’s chasing you to BATS for It Came From Beyond The Script.
Slay the World
Before she sashays away to London, drag star Kelly Fornia gives us one last serve at her epic drag concert Slay the World at Te Auaha on the 22nd and 23rd of March.
Modern-day Macbeth
Butterfly Creek Theatre Troupe’s 2024 Bard in the Yard production is a contemporary rendition of Shakespeare’s popular, pacey, and powerful tragedy of unchecked ambition, Macbeth.
Laugh-a-minute
Emerging from the depths of the Hutt Valley, comedians Jerome Chandrahasen and Patch Lambert are coming together on the 2nd of March at The Fringe Bar for a one-night-only, laugh-a-minute hour of comedy.
Improv on the rocks
Come to the cabaret, where you’ll find glitz, glamour, and Britney Spears dancing like a small dog. This is a PopRox Improv Comedy Night, where anything can happen.
Poetic vindication
This New Zealand Fringe Festival, comedian Nick Robertson will cross a border to do a show about unsuccessfully crossing a border.
Don’t You (Forget About Me)
Cha cha slide back a few decades at DIRTY GIRLS – An 80s Inspired Drag Show. It’s the Matron of Monsters Amy Thurst and Yonic K’s final show before they set off across the channel to Melbourne.
Wet hot Kiwi summer
Slip into your swimmies and slap on your sunnies because Beach Boys! A Camp Summer Time Cabaret is about to make a splash at The Fringe Bar on the 2nd of February.
Crazy crime capers
Have you ever seen a famous private eye solve eight crimes in eight hours through interrogations
wrought with jazz and beat poetry? No? Best head to Circus Bar on the 4 th of February then.
Say yes to heaven
Indulge in some Summertime Sadness at Olivia Dreams’ Lana Del Rey: The Drag Show, featuring a line-up with a Lust for Life performing sad girl bops, cinematic sonatas, melancholic melodies, and tragic romance rhythms.
The waiting is over
The waiting is over for Waiting For Waiting For Godot, a critically acclaimed production that takes the original to new meta heights. Don’t wait to catch it at Hannah Playhouse!
Big, bold, and bonkers
After a massive year, Laser Kiwi, New Zealand’s best and only olive-fuelled sketch-comedy circus trio, is back with their beloved and bonkers variety show IDIOM.
Christmas mischief
Jingle all the way to The Fringe Bar for their Christmas variety show featuring some of Pōneke’s brightest and merriest – you’re guaranteed to Have A Very Merry Caburlesque.
Welcome to The Drag Parade
Calling all emos! The Drag Parade – A My Chemical Romance Drag Show is coming to Pōneke’s Ivy Bar and Cabaret on the 18th of November for a night of sweet nostalgia.
A milk-curdling scream
Are you ready to face your milkiest fears this Halloween? Ruff as Gutz is about to present the latest instalment of the MILK theatrical universe, and this one will be the spookiest, soggiest yet.
A vampire’s nightmare come true
Here’s something to sink your teeth into: Australia’s iconic vaudevillian variety show Dracula’s is coming to New Zealand for the first time ever, swooping into Wellington’s St James Theatre this November.
The warmth of laughter
Born performer Jak Darling is debuting… again! A Darling Debut will feature musical comedy, theatre, performance poetry, stand-up, classical musicians, brass banders, gorgeous gowns, a clown, and a giant spoon.
Wicked talent
Calling all ghouls, ghosts, and gremlins to a spooky soirée of circus, burlesque, aerial arts, and magic at Circus of the Night’s Friday the 13th spectacular.
The sweetest treat
In its 70th anniversary year, the RNZB will raise the curtain on its acclaimed production of Hansel & Gretel at St James Theatre this October.
A ship full of fairy dust
The Pantoloons will bring a ship full of evil pirates, tantrummy fairies, lost kids, and one very hungry crocodile to kids across Greater Wellington these school holidays. Eyes up for our high-flying hero, Peter Pan!
Golden threads of friendship
Load up on the perfect porridge – not too hot, not too cold, just right – and head to KidzStuff Theatre for Children’s production of Goldilocks these school holidays!
Watch your neck
The most murderous barber of Fleet Street is setting up shop in Ōtaki this August and September.
This night is sparkling
Swifties, are you …Ready For It? The upcoming Taylor Swift Book Club: A Queer Comedy Cabaret will leave you wonderstruck, blushing all the way home.
So fetch
Throw it back to the beginning of the millennium and get crunk to all of the hot hits of the eras with a Y2K drag show that’s, like, so totally awesome sauce.
Raucous caucus
At Circa Theatre right now, actors are bringing over 20 New Zealand politicians to party on a stage resembling a grownup playground. That’s right: Public Service Announcements is back, baby.
Bonkers, right?
Indian Ink Theatre Company brings their biggest, most ambitious, bonkeriest idea for a play to Wellington.
Fang-tastic
Night has settled and the moon is high, the vampire drag stars are out and ready to bleed you dry… with their tantalising, scrumptious, absolutely batty performances!
Retro renegades and maniacal maidens
Gentleman, mobsters, creeps, and crooks – you are hereby summoned to The Fringe Bar on the 8th of July for a femme fatale tribute to a plethora of powerhouse villains and vigilantes in Birds of Prey.
Laughs on tap
The two-hour comedy staple Saturday Laughs is landing in the heart of Porirua at the Abandoned Brewery Taproom for the first time ever, with MC Nick Rado and headliner Lesa MacLeod-Whiting.
A whole lotta sole
One of the world’s favourite and most-acclaimed musicals is stomping into Wellington this June and July. Don’t let Kinky Boots walk by unnoticed.
Naked and afraid
Sacha Copland makes a complete analysis of her body and the human condition as she takes into account her assets and liabilities, laying everything bare in The Emperor’s New Clothes.
Celebrate good times
Iconic Kiwi trio the BeatGirls are throwing a big 25th birthday bash this month – and you’re invited!
Hip-hop whakapapa
A detective story set in Aotearoa’s capital that follows the mystery of a series of arsons also celebrates New Zealand’s hip-hop culture this Kia Mau Festival.
Sequins on a shoestring
Can you do fabulous on a budget? Sequins on a shoestring? Diamonds at a discount? On the 3rd of June, the Great DIY BurlesKiwi will prove that yes, you can.
Down and birdy
Pōneke’s drag kings are looking to spread their wings and ruffle some tailfeathers in Peacocking – Thee Opulent Drag King Show at Ivy Bar and Cabaret.
What dreams may come
What does La Soupco mean? We don’t know, and neither does playwright and performer Abby Howells. What we do know is that you mustn’t miss this epic WWII romance written by an 11-year-old Abby.
A pirate’s life for me
Hoist the mainsail and scuttle the jib, Wellington Comic Opera is sailing through Wellington, Raumati, and Hutt Valley with their production of Pirates!
Fiercely fruitalicious
If you’re an ASMR-lover or just ASMR-curious, Amy Atkins is about to create it live on stage. Catch the Wellington premiere of RAW! ASMR at BATS Theatre from the 26th to the 29th of April.
Behind the sequins
Go behind the sequined curtain with RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under star Anita Wigl’it as she makes her Circa Theatre debut in Funny Gurl! this April.
Hell is for the comedians
Knock, knock. Who’s there? Well, hell of course! Welcome to our fiery abode, where 15 comedians are commanded to deliver three-minutes of fresh content for our entertainment. Muahahaha.
Heartbreak and healing
World-renowned poet Rupi Kaur will take the Opera House stage on the 23rd of March for an all-new spoken word poetry experience.
Broadway! Bellies! Bums!
Celia Macdonald is bringing A Fat Girl’s Cry, a curvaceous celebration of body positive diversity, to BATS Theatre this month.
Cheek, charm, chaos
Moonroe’s Happy Hour puts Kath & Kim, Country Calendar, and old-world Hollywood film stars through a blender of burlesque, circus, and cabaret this NZ Fringe Festival.
Water world
Footnote New Zealand Dance has partnered with Canada’s MascallDance to create a movement-based narrative exploring water’s role in our lives and in a world threatened by a climate crisis.
Practice, polish, and package
The first annual Drag Performer of the Year competition is coming in smokin’ hot. Death drops, stilettos, hourglass silhouettes, and more – this event showcases the best of the best of Pōneke’s drag scene.
How wonderful
This New Zealand Fringe Festival, Lady Hermione and her loyal butler Roberts fall head-first into the decadence of the roaring 20s in the cracking ‘drawing room’ comedy Wonderful.
A Schoenberg strudel
Convinced that today he will die, composer Arnold Schoenberg takes to his bed and reminisces on his life, losses, and loves in Circa Theatre’s newest production In Bed with Schoenberg.
Making her way to pride
In her tell-all stand-up comedy hour Lesbihonest, Canadian artist Laura Piccinin recounts a lifetime of coming out stories this New Zealand Fringe Festival.
The question of our time
Summer Shakespeare returns in February with an eco-ethical production of The Tempest, directed by Megan Evans.
Get your sparkle on
Billy Idol and SpongeBob SquarePants, bedazzled cowboys and chair-throwing antics… It’s all happening in Caburlesque: Rock & Rhinestones this February.
Love in the time of comedy
Comedy duo Patch and Fitz present two Valentine’s Day-themed shows at Hashigo Zake in preparation for their upcoming comedy taping.
Can fun save the world?
Fly to the future with The Birdmann and Egg in Birdhouse at Circa Theatre this summer.
We’re all doomed
UK comedy juggernaut Daniel Howell is bringing his brand-new live show We’re All Doomed to the Michael Fowler Centre on the 26th of January.
Terribly Funny
We talked to Jimmy Carr about his prolific career in comedy and what Wellingtonians can expect when he brings his new show Terribly Funny to our shores in January.
Milking the joke
The latest iteration of MILK arrives with a festive twist: A Milkmas Carol. Don’t miss this bonkers improvised Christmas extravaganza.
Edge-of-your-seat circus
The bizarre, the brilliant, and the hilarious will collide on stage as New Zealand’s surreal sketch circus trio, Laser Kiwi, brings their beloved variety show IDIOM to Te Auaha.
Guy Williams is moving his car
Kiwi comedian Guy Williams needs to move his car from Nelson to Auckland this month. What worse reason to book a national comedy tour?
A painting of a book unfolds
Red Leap Theatre is bringing Janet Frame’s landmark novel Owls Do Cry to the Circa Theatre stage from the 3rd to the 13th of November.
Old friends and sticky floors
The Wellington Comedy Club makes its return to San Fran, presenting some of New Zealand’s favourite comics including Billy T Award-winner Ben Hurley.
The spontaneity of stand-up
Catch award-winning comedian, actor, writer, and presenter Pax Assadi on the first nationwide tour of his new stand-up show Handsome Boy.
A sort of soft carnage
New Zealand actor and comedian Brynley Stent is bringing her sold-out, critically acclaimed solo sketch comedy show Soft Carnage to Wellington from the 11th to the 15th of October.
A comedy charcuterie board
Hayley Sproull describes the Best Foods Comedy Gala as a comedy charcuterie board. “If you don't like the pickles, don’t worry there’s plenty of salami. I like to think of myself as the quince paste.”
Busy on Wednesday?
Comedian Ryan McGhee is launching his brand-new weekly comedy show, The Comedy Attic, the first professional midweek comedy gig in the capital.
Guess who’s back
Award-winning Kiwi comedian Cori Gonzalez-Macuer is returning to San Fran for one night this August, the iconic venue where his celebrated 20-year career began.
The making of one’s self
From wild and earnest documentary to intimate live show, Man Lessons follows Adam Rohe’s life and gender transition in a multimedia experience at BATS Theatre this August.
Forcing people to laugh since ages ago
Multi-award-winning writer, MC, and comedian Nick Rado is looking forward to drinking his co-stars’ beers backstage in the next instalment of the popular Saturday Laughs series.
And the olive keeps rising
Fresh from their turn on TVNZ’s 60 Seconds, sketch-circus trio Laser Kiwi will celebrate the humble olive at Te Auaha from the 30th of June until the 2nd of July.
Sainsbury’s sassy satires
Wellington Paranormal and Snack Masters NZ star Tom Sainsbury will deliver his hilarious Snapchat parodies of New Zilunders to The Opera House and Te Raukura ki Kāpiti this May and June.
A blessing in the skies
Everyone’s favourite aunty from Bulls, one Ms Pamela Hancock, will start spreadin’ the news about the city that never sleeps in Pam’s Big Apple this Eat Drink Play festival.
Shameless comedy
Comedy fans are in for a treat when Samantha Hannah and Daniel John Smith take over Fringe Bar for another Friday Laughs. The two award-winning comedians will be joined by local talent as they look to treat audiences to a Friday night they will never forget.
A sparkly Easter fever dream
How do Easter and drag go together? Bunny Holiday reckons they kind of don’t, which is kind of great. Catch a diamante-studded line-up of drag talent in the Bunny and Her Honeys Easter Show.
A dance of wild abandonment
Award-winning contemporary performance company House of Sand brings Undoing, a visual spectacular of limbs, passion, and theatricality, to BATS Theatre this April.
With Dan Brader, nobody is safe!
Seasoned comedy veteran Dan Brader is known for his morally questionable storytelling and wild and hilarious personal stories. Expect this Kiwi-born comedian to have a go at you during his upcoming show at Moon Bar.
Secrets run in the family
Charlotte Brontë wrote one of the world’s greatest love stories, Jane Eyre. But how could an unmarried woman living in a secluded parsonage spin such a tale? On at BATS Theatre this month, Miss Brontë asks all this and more.
If a fruit bowl had a Mardi Gras
RAW! ASMR will see creator Amy Atkins perform comedic live ASMR with a focus on fresh food and eating this New Zealand Fringe Festival.
Pull up a chair
Eric is definitely not part of a pyramid scheme but he does need to sell you some chairs this New Zealand Fringe Festival.
A golden hour of crispy comedy
Jack Caldwell, Thomas Chapman, and Jaye Xu (who describe themselves as a nerd, a jerk, and a genuinely nice person) will perform Shoestrings at The Cavern Club on the 4th of February.
CHOP SHOP takes a side-step from stand-up
Meet The Birdmann and Egg, internationally infamous comic legends whose latest offering, CHOP SHOP, opens at The Fringe Bar on the 12th of December.
Green is the new black
In 1985, the world wakes to the discovery of the ozone hole over Antarctica… Lynda Chanwai-Earle’s eco-powered black comedy HOLE will have its world premiere at Circa Theatre this month.
Our secret wants and desires
Tessa Redman brings a redeveloped I’m Not Going to Lie to You to BATS Theatre, delving into female performativity, lust, and uncontrollable desire.
A whole lot of amazingness
Echolalia, a TAHI: New Zealand Festival of Solo Performance clown-theatre-dance show, puts social norms under the spotlight as a young woman on the autistic spectrum prepares for a much-needed job interview.
New troupe in town
Brand-new improv company Tiny Dog identifies with tiny dogs because they are very fashion forward and are only allowed to ride public transport if carried inside a bag, amongst other reasons.
Comedy meets cabaret meets drag
Drag queens Miss Manage, Miss Demeanour, and Miss Givings will sashay their way through a catalogue of hits at Te Auaha this July in the comedy-cabaret concert Les Femmes.
Chopper’s had enough
After a long wait, Heath Franklin’s Chopper will finally bring The Silencer, his latest stand-up show, to Wellington on the 10th of July.
Stripping nakedness to the bone
Hannah Tasker-Poland’s multidisciplinary performance work-cum-cabaret The Most Naked explores cultural mores around nudity, strip tease, and the flashing of skin.
A legend returns
Jimmy Barnes is coming back! The legendary solo artist and Cold Chisel lead vocalist comes to our shores with his new album Flesh and Blood and his eight-piece band, made up mostly of his family.
The best pies in London?
WITCH Music Theatre is bringing a dark, dank, and delicious production of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street to Te Auaha from the 30th of June to the 4th of July.
A new twist on an old classic
For their first production of 2021, Wellington Footlights Society will explore the classic American 1950s musical Guys and Dolls from a modern perspective.
A charming celebration of simple pleasures
Elling, the quirky Scandinavian comedy by Simon Bent, based on the novel by Ingvar Ambjørnsen, is coming to Circa Theatre from the 26th of June to the 24th of July.
New Zealand Today: Live!
Volunteer journalist and comedian Guy Williams is touring with an infamous New Zealand icon this month. But Karen from Stokes Valley is not who she seems…
Fabulous on a budget
Now entering its seventh year, the Great DIY BurlesKiwi challenges competitors from all over the country to bring an award-winning burlesque performance to the stage for under $100.
Keep calm and carrion
Indian Ink brings the real-life mystery of India’s vanishing vultures to Te Auaha this month in Paradise or the Impermanence of Ice Cream, a brand-new play about the impermanence of life, love… and ice cream.
Tim Batt disarms us with laughs
The veteran stand-up and The Worst Idea of All Time co-host returns to the NZ International Comedy Festival with his latest hour, Classy Warfare.
Don’t ask Ray O’Leary about his dogs
We asked stand-up comedian Ray O’Leary possibly the worst question ever before his NZ International Comedy show Ray Against the Machine makes it to the stage.
Interviews with our leaders onstage at BATS
Transmission is drawn from verbatim interviews Stuart McKenzie and Miranda Harcourt conducted with epidemiologist Michael Baker, Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson, and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern in the thick of COVID-19.
Chris Parker talks about himself
Comedian Chris Parker will host the next Wellington Comedy Club show. “It’s all going to be centred around me”, he says of his set. “I’m such a narcissist. So expect it to be loud, gay, and camp!”
Wellington Opera debuts
The new Wellington-based opera company looks to make its mark with Don Giovanni, playing at The Opera House from the 17th to the 24th of April.
Non-binary is the new black
James Hilary Penwarden is back in Wellington with a hot new identity and a brand-new solo Fringe show, Them Fatale.
All-woman collective of 11 artists create Wisdom of Waters
Dance between worlds with Wisdom of Waters this New Zealand Fringe Festival, a movement meditation on what weaves women together.
The Menagerie goes out with a bang
After seven years and 54 shows, Wellington’s beloved variety show will have its final hoorah at the Opera House.
The ultimate noughties party
Hey now! This 2020s-themed drag show is what dreams are made of.
Urzila Carlson tours brand-new show All the Rage
Comedian Urzila Carlson can’t remember a time when we as a people were ever this angry. Never mind the meditation and yoga… we’re mindful and mad, fit and furious!
Magic aplenty in Cinderella – The Pantomime
Playing Dame Fairy Godmother Rosie Bubble, Gavin Rutherford chats about this year’s joyful panto.
PlayShop brings Christmas cheek and charm to BATS
Meet the Turducken fa-la-la-la family with improv troupe PlayShop this silly season.
Melanie Bracewell hosts a rowdy night of comedy
Comedian Melanie Bracewell is pumped to be taking the stage for Saturday Laughs at the Garrison, “the hottest ticket in Featherston”.
Raybon Kan and Raybon will touch this in latest show
Raybon Kan first dipped his toes into stand-up in the 90s and has remained at the forefront of the New Zealand comedy scene ever since.
Full steam ahead for railway show
Kiwi musician Anthonie Tonnon will take audiences on a journey through New Zealand’s on-again off-again love affair with its passenger railway system in Rail Land.
Tim Burton films go from screen to stage in Halloween drag show
From Sweeney Todd to A Corpse Bride, this show will deliver all the iconic moments from Tim Burton’s celebrated canon this Halloween season.
Sisters share six decades of stories
Sarah and Catherine Delahunty will bring six decades of sisterhood to the BATS Theatre stage this October.