Abby Howells
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Profile
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Acting
Skills
Acting Experience
Feature Film
Calabrian Rhode Productions Dir: Rick Jacobson
Theatre
Arcade Theatre Company Dir: Alex Wilson
Arcade Theatre Company Dir: Alex Wilson
Fortune Theatre Dir: Anya Tate-Manning
Fortune Theatre
Trick of the Light Theatre Company Dir: Hannah Smith
BATS Theatre, Dunedin Fringe Festival Dir: Caitlin McNaughton
Online Commercials
Social Media Campaign, 6 months only
Television Appearances
TVNZ
Discovery
Stand Up Comedy
Fringe Festival
Kevin & Co Dir: Various
NZ Comedy Festival
Creator
abbyhowellspleaseCreator
Biography
Abby Howells is an award winning comedian and writer. You may recognise her from 2024 Taskmaster, Season 5.
She was a founding member of female comedy collective Discharge and served as their Head Writer. She has written and performed in five shows for the collective with successful seasons in Wellington, Dunedin and Auckland. Abby has written and performed several award winning plays for both radio and stage. Her play Crossbow Cat having been performed in Short and Sweet Festivals in Malaysia, the Philippines, Brisbane and Auckland. Crossbow Cat won both People’s and Judges Choice in the Auckland Festival.
Abby has toured New Zealand and the UK performing with Trick of the Light Theatre and their show Beards! Beards! Beards! This has included seasons at Circa Theatre in Wellington, Arts Festivals in Nelson, Hawkes Bay and Salisbury and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. In 2017 her play Attila the Hun was performed as part of the Young and Hungry Festival.
Comedy
Comedy
Biography
Abby has created two solo shows one called ‘Glocknid: Dwarf Warrior’ where she dressed up and did stand up comedy as a fantasy dwarf. The second show she did was slightly less weird, called ‘HarleQueen’ where she talked about female comedians from history. Her third and newest show is called ‘Dreamer’ and in it she brings to life a screenplay she wrote when she was eleven years old, a powerful, post-World War Two epic called ‘La Soupco’. So it sort of splits the difference in terms of weirdness. You can also catch her performing comedy around Auckland, & on the television shows 7 Days and Comedians Giving Lectures.
AWARDS:
WINNER: Director’s Award, NZ International Comedy Festival 2021
WINNER: Emerging Artist, Adelaide Fringe 2020
WINNER: Best Comedy – Week Four 2020, Adelaide Fringe Festival
WINNER: Peter Harcourt New Playwright of the Year, Wellington Theatre Awards 2019
WINNER: Adelaide Tour Ready Award, New Zealand Fringe Festival 2019
COMMENDED: Green Light List, New Zealand Fringe Festival 2019
WINNER: Best Newcomer, NZ International Comedy Festival 2015
Testimonials
"Some people are born storytellers. Abby Howells is one....Her knack for drama, pathos and comedy clearly showed itself early....Diving into Howells brain is madcap fun, free from tyranny of trying to be topical or relatable. Instead, here is an inimitable style and a stage presence that disarms. Nobody else could deliver this gem of a show. It's all Howells and all the better for it"
Lefa Singleton Norton, The Age, Melbourne
"Abby had some really relevant material that complimented the event perfectly, she had the audience laughing off their seats. The audience all looked like they were having a great time and the feedback heard on the floor was really great."
Ralph Corke, MOTAT, 2024
"..a show like this is brought to life with such chaotic energy and gleeful indulgence in everything that makes you who you are. It’s a touching comedy show that reminds you to always find your own spotlight."
The Wee Review, Edinburgh
"...the feeling you leave the theatre with is triumph.. ten out of ten"
Talia Parker, Craccum
"...Funny as hell and the sort of voice we desperately need... HarleQueen is one of my favourite shows this year."
Erin Harrington, Theatreview
"A firecracker of a comic"
