New Zealand International Comedy Festival

The NZ International Comedy Festival is held simultaneously over three weeks in Auckland and Wellington and then takes to the road with the Comedy Convoy, touring to regional cities across New Zealand. The Festival is held annually and typically starts in April and runs through into May. From its beginnings as a 2-day event; the Festival has now developed into a major nationwide event with a total attendance of over 100,000 people each year. The Festival is run by the New Zealand Comedy Trust.

The New Zealand Comedy Trust was established as a charitable trust, with their main aim to champion the art of laughter. It is responsible for the annual Comedy Festival and works to grow comedy as a performing art in New Zealand. The Trust aims to provide a platform for New Zealand comedy in all its forms, as well as showcasing the best of international comedy to New Zealand audiences.

Development initiatives created by The New Zealand Comedy Trust include The Billy T Award, Class Comedians (a free high school development programme), The Fred Award, Comedy Lab and the Creative Comedy Initiative, which ultimately aim to help comedians establish a career in comedy.

Board of Trustees: Carole Pedder, Mick Sinclair, Andrew Lumsden, Nigel Corbett and Megan Clark

Each year the Festival features over 200 shows and involves around 250 performers. The Festival contains a wide range of comedy performances - from emerging artists through to NZ comedy industry veterans, and stars of the international comedy circuit.

Similarly, the Festival caters for a wide range of audiences with specific shows aimed at children, teenagers and a diverse offering of comedy fare.

The opening of the Festival is the televised Comedy Gala, a showcase of performances by the top local and international comedians appearing in the festival. Until 2008 it was held at the St. James Theatre and in 2008 it was moved to the Auckland Civic Theatre. Past hosts of the gala have included: Jeff Green, Ardal O'Hanlon, Arj Barker, Wayne Brady, Ed Byrne, Bill Bailey, Rove McManus, Greg Behrendt, Jeremy Corbett & Jason Byrne.

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