A wild alt-cabaret ride with creator, Johanna Cosgrove, Iconoclast scratches off the gilt and dives into the guilty with ecclesiastical sleaze. 

Revelling in provocative imagery and classic cabaret tropes including 1920’s Berlin nights and early American stand-up, this naughty nun, accompanied by a lone musician (Alistair Deverick – Desperate Late Night Energy), explores faith, loneliness and grief in a mad attack on all things sacrosanct.   

This development season is directed by Barnie Duncan and presented in partnership with Auckland Fringe Festival.   

Laura is an anthropologist, an activist, an artist, and a Slut. She is part of a worldwide community of “Ethical Sluts” who challenge the status quo by living empowering – if occasionally seedy – non-monogamous lives. In Slut Songs, Laura shares clever raunchy sex-positive songs about sluttery (or in technical terms, “Ethical Non-monogamy”). You’ll laugh, learn, and (quite possibly) want to do her.

Audience feedback from her debut performance at Whangarei Fringe:

- “You sound like a Disney Princess, but you're singing about your WAP. Priceless!”

- “Your work is like a giant “fuck you!” to shame.”

- "You make me proud to be a Slut."

- "SO HEALING."

- “So, what are you doing after this... ?”

SPECIAL CONTENT WARNING: Although my show could potentially be activating, I chose not to include any content warnings in the past (after discussing with Fringe organizers in Whangarei and Wellington) because the only activating topics pertain to sex (i.e. trying to develop a healthy sexual identity in a toxic patriarchal culture), and the title and blurb of the show is therefore enough of a content warning (i.e. I assume that no one will choose to attend a show with this title and blurb unless they are excited to hear about sex and its complexities)

Simon is a ‘Sad Boi’. Climate change, wealth inequality, the crushing awareness of one's eventual demise. It’s a lot to deal with. How does he cope? By ignoring the advice of his therapist and laughing through the tears. Join Simon as he shares his entire catalogue of jokes in his best attempt to be a ‘Funny Guy’.

Still fresh to the comedy circuit, Simon was a finalist in the 2020 Wellington RAW Comedy Quest and featured in the 'The Classic' Comedy Club’s New Pro Showcase of 2021.

It’s his debut solo show and Simon has one question on his mind. Will he be more ‘Sad Boi’ or ‘Funny Guy’?

Heaven and Hell need a re-set. Overcrowding has reached critical mass in both after-life options, so a more selective approach is urgently required. As undecided souls can no longer be accommodated in Heaven or Hell, God and Satan have collaborated on a new project to remove the non-believers from their respective operations. Hellansville is a shiny, new development designed to meet the needs of an increasingly secular society who have shuffled off this mortal coil but have nowhere to go. Before the project goes live, the top representatives from both sides meet to discuss the issues at hand; Michael the effortlessly cool Archangel and Malphas a powerful demon in a crumpled suit. Together they thrash out the details of Hellansville under the watchful eye of the mysterious Maureen. 

Enter Robert, the recently deceased guineapig. All Michael and Mal have to do is sell Robert the Hellansville dream. All Robert has to do is sign up for the deal of an ‘after’-life time. All Robert has to do is believe. A tough ask for a cynical, stubborn atheist.

Welcome to Hellansville' will be performed at The Rose Centre, Belmont, North Shore on Wed 14th, Thurs 15th and *Fri 16th Sept 2022 at 8pm.

*The final show will include a post-show cheese and wine event where you are invited to a Q&A session with the writer and director.

Tickets available soon from iTicket.

Left to his own devices and wild imaginings, absurdist comedian and DJ, Barnie Duncan returns with cult-hit, Club-a-lub-a-ling-long - a surprise attic bar with questionable antics and chance encounters from one of Auckland’s most experimental entertainers, alongside special guests.   

You bring your friends; he’ll bring the records and wonky jokes. 

A comedy line up show brought together by Janaye Henry.

Craigslist is the debut solo hour of award winning comedian Craig Westenberg. Described as being clever, confident, and witty, "Craiglist" promises to be an hour of fun, cleaver, and witty stand-up comedy.

A little spicy but not too much, Kiwi Hot is a stand-up comedy show from Wellington up-and-comers Mike Fowler and Sri Nair. Enjoy two comedians from two different backgrounds, at two different stages of a midlife crisis, share their potentially unhealthy main course of comedic observations on life, complete with a side dish of healthy cynicism. 

Mike Fowler 

- Best Debut - NZ International Comedy Festival 2019

- Best Up & Comer - Wellington Comedy Awards 2020

Sri Nair

- Best Show, NZ Fringe Festival 2017

- Nominated Most Improved - Wellington Comedy Awards 2016, 2017

- 60 Seconds, TVNZ

You know what’s better than listening to the radio? Going to the theatre and listening to people pretend to be on the radio! Radio Show is a brand-new show from celebrated improvised theatre company Improverished. It’s an improvised radio play live on stage! What could be better!

Improverished have been called “highly entertaining”, “incredibly silly”, and “charming” by reviewers and were nominated for the illustrious Best Use of Mayonnaise prize at the NZ International Comedy Festival 2021. 

Born out of the Big Surprise Lockdown of 2021, Radio Show is the culmination of months spent improvising together entirely over Zoom. Improverished have mastered the art of telling a story that can be enjoyed with or without visuals. Thanks to that, this performance will be able to go ahead at any Alert Level, either in-person or online. 

Best known for their improvised Dungeons and Dragons show “Can I Get an Underground Location and a Mythical Creature?”, Improverished love to tell stories in interesting ways. They have sold-out many shows at the NZ International Comedy Festival, Auckland Fringe Festival, and Auckland Improv Festival since 2019. They have tackled Choose Your Own Adventure books, fairytales, and high fantasy in the past; and are so excited to be taking on such a classic form of storytelling. Improverished are sure to bring their signature joyfulness to this exciting new format.

This show will be fully accessible for visually impaired audience members. Unfortunately no sign interpreters will be available for hearing impaired audience members at this time. Improverished would love for you to be able to enjoy this show, if you have any specific accessibility questions please get in touch!

Addicted to Darcy? Bonkers for big balls? Lost all Sense & Sensibility? Well stop watching Bridgerton & get ready to enjoy an entirely improvised musical in the style of Jane Austen. Penny Ashton (Promise & Promiscuity, Olive Copperbottom), world-famous hobbit Lori Dungey (LOTR, Cowboy Bebop) & maestro Ross Devereux will spin your suggestions into instant literary magic. 

Jane Austen would be rolling in her grave... with delight! Rip it Up

"These improvisers incorporate everything that’s thrown at them, keeping the action moving and the laughs coming." Dominion Post

"...seamless mastery of genre and skills" Theatreview

Improvaganza Masters of the Universe 

Winner – Best Theatre 2015, Adelaide Fringe

Winner – Best Indoor Show 2018, World Buskers Festival

Here are 3 dudes who have definitely heard the phrase "Use your inside voice." You Can't Take Them Anywhere presents 3 misfits with minimal filter. The kinds of people you'd see at a party and think "Who invited them?"

Oliver Smith is classically British, he'll queue politely but complain about it on twitter the whole time. Self Professed refreshing cynic.

Joe O'Brien has the magic ability to turn a room of adults into a playful room of children with his nonsensical anecdotes and physical hijinks.

Jimi Carrara-Sargant is weirdly world weary for his age, he presents himself with a jovial nihilism that says "Life's a horror."

Meet these three characters, as they welcome you to their worlds, and prove to you, truly, that you can't take them anywhere.

Silence of the Sheeple: a sketch comedy revue.

This is the first of its kind in the new Covert Theatre. The cast have been working with US writer Rich Talarico (Key & Peele, Tonight show) and are now staging a fresh sketch comedy revue show. Silence of the Sheeple pokes fun at life, celebrates our human frailties and most importantly, gives you the audience an escape from all the stress that 2022 keeps piling on. Come and sit in the dark with strangers and experience pleasant and spontaneous physical reactions that involve audible and rhythmical contractions of your diaphragm and respiratory system. You buy the ticket - the laughs are on us!

Written & performed by: Ambika Kumar, Edith Fumarola, Elle Collins, Joachim Hackshaw, Karl Fleet, Mark Scott, Nathan McIntosh & Wade Jackson.

Directed by Wade Jackson.

“SEE IT! DON’T MISS IT!”-Vancouver Courier 

“★★★★★”-Melbourne Art & Fashion

Following a sold out and extended season at the New Zealand Fringe Festival, underground superstars THE BIRDMANN AND EGG, Trent H Baumann and Sachie Mikawa, are coming to Auckland for the first time! Don’t miss these internationally infamous icons originally from Australia and Japan but who now happily call Aotearoa NZ home. 

FANTASTIC is a show about being triumphantly different in a world less ordinary and celebrating new possibilities after challenging times through cutting-edge comedy, chaotic circus and cool original music. Direct from ten world tours from the Glastonbury Music Festival to the New York Clown Festival comes a multi-award-winning dynamic duo like no other. The winners of “Best Circus” at Adelaide and Melbourne Fringes, “Best Comedy” at the Montreal Fringe and “Most Original Comedy” nominees at Edinburgh Fringe bring you an out-of-this-world circus comedy concert spectacular!

“SUPERSTARS”-Art Murmurs 

“AMAZEMENT”-The Guardian 

"TRIUMPH" -The Age 

“GENIUSES”-The Scotsman 

"A RIOT" -Montreal Gazette 

“★★★★★”-Times Colonist

“★★★★”-The Age 

“★★★★”-CBC

Tirau’s coveted yearly Jamboree is approaching fast! But the sheep haven’t been sheared, the decorations are mouldy and the public toilets are flooded... again. Jo, fierce committee leader (and botherer) has called an emergency meeting, but father and local handyman, Steve, is confused (as usual), and reject (aka tortured soul), Johann, would rather write poems about death. Determined, confused, and somewhat absurd, this trio have their work cut out. Will their differences drive them apart and jeopardise the jamboree, or will they pull their act together? Join the meeting and find out!

An award winning queer comedy solo written by Emma Barrett, and directed by award winning comedian Sameena Zehra.

Working or watching hard during Fringe '22?

Need to just chill and catch up with a mate or two to discuss what you've seen / are going to see?

Then you need to be at Fringe Fridays at the Factory. No performances, gigs or anything to distract you - but a full bar offering a wide range of drinks and snacks (try our vegan nachos!).

So come along to our warm and welcoming whare between 5pm and 7pm every Friday during Fringe. Specials if you bring your Fringe Pass! Registration info below - go in the draw for a free "Fringe Feed".*

*Terms and conditions apply

A full length improvised play set 200 years ago, made up on the spot for your delight! Inspired by Netflix’s Bridgerton - The award winning cast of BULL RUSH takes you into the scandalous heart of 19th century England for a night of Royalty, Romance, Death, Gossip, Rumors, Lust, Steaming Dukes, Conniving pen-smiths, and maybe something completely different. Come along for a rollicking stroll through the ups and downs of high society in a play that has never and will never be seen again. Get your spurs on, we’ll see you there!

The year is 1986. Auckland. New Zealand. Muldoon is out. Rogernomics is in. There is one word to describe this decade: excess...

Deregulation has created the now famous word ‘yuppie’, and kiwis are enjoying this era of wealth and high disposable incomes as a result of financial markets flourishing.

Greed is good. It is time to be a ‘somebody’.

HIGH RISE follows the (true) journey of one mans ambition to make a name for himself. Henry Lewis finds property is his way to the top, and quickly becomes immersed in a game in which house always wins. After becoming the number one real estate agent in Auckland, Henry develops NZ’s first residential High Rise, Shangri La, cementing his legacy, and his status as a ‘somebody’.

But October 1987 would reduce kings and kingdoms to rubble, as the world watches the worst financial crash since the Great Depression.

What’s do we value, when what we value, no longer holds any value?...

We all have a dream. But what will we do in order to get there? And once we get there, where do we go?

Using elements of clown, mask and physical theatre grounded in realism, this is a story of greed, legacy, capitalism, ambition, the snowball effects of success, and of flying too close to the sun.

Coming off of sold out shows and standing ovations at the Hawkes Bay Arts Festival. Winner of the Better Lemons Audience Choice award, and Encore Producer Award at the Hollywood Fringe Festival.

Guitar in hand, Jess Karamjeet - a thirty-something, mixed-race, bisexual immigrant - navigates the awkward intersections of her identity while grieving the loss of her dear, departed dad. 

Riding shotgun is Sophie Gibson, an NZ ON AIR funded singer/songwriter with over 800K Spotify streams, who’s songs often have a comedic spin - so she’s made the ever so logical side-step into stand-up comedy. 

Because some say tragedy + time = comedy... and Grief-Sex-Race takes out the middle (wo)man. 

Jess is confident that, if all else fails, her tips on appropriate funeral attire are sure to come in handy. So get your running shoes on, then prepare for your socks to be knocked off. 

This taboo-busting, stereotype-subverting hour is a workout for your mind and your sides (you know, from all the laughter.)

A self-proclaimed ‘chicken tikka sandwich’, Jess’s punch-lines pack more punch than a kid’s packed-lunch and, as the cultural rainbow of yummy-mummys know, that’s a lot of flavour. 

She's a rising star in the comedy circuit, working with comedian/producers such as Cori Gonzalez-Macuer, Tim Batt and No Homo Queer Comedy. 

Originally from Scotland, Sophie's songs explore the loss of her brother to suicide in 2015, and her music is an important vessel for mental health awareness. She's an up-and-coming singer/songwriter 'who breathes raw emotion into every note.' 

Jess was recognised for her stand-up comedy achievements in the 2022 RAW Comedy Quest semi-finals, and her first comedy show, LGBT...WHO?!, was billed in the New Zealand International Comedy Festival 2022. She makes her debut at Edinburgh Fringe Festival this year, and is a screenwriter, playwright, Jazz singer, and drama teacher.

Five flirtatious “French” performers meet you at the door. They bring you in, they show you to your seat, they flirt with you. Maybe they fall a little bit in love with you. Then they tell the story to The Trojan War – with you. 

Like a wild dress-up party, this show combines theatrical magic, twisted pop songs and explosive wit. The most charming performers you can hope to meet play a revolving repertoire of outrageous characters.

Created and performed by A Slightly Isolated Dog, this New Zealand theatre company delivers a frantic and hilarious mash-up in the style of Python meets The Boosh. Leave your inhibitions at the door and play. 

Starring Cherie Moore, Ravi Gurunathan, Jonathan Price, Susie Berry and Andrew Paterson with sound design from Sam Clavis, scenic design from Nati Pereira and direction from Leo Gene Peters. 

The Trojan War was created with support from Creative New Zealand.