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New Zealand humour bears some similarities to the body of humour of many other English-speaking countries. There are, however, several regional differences.
New Zealand's remote and agricultural nature is a regular comedy catalyst as seen in the character, the stereotypical farmer, Fred Dagg, [1] and also in the work of writer Barry Crump.
Wellington has jokes about being windy including the Wellington Blown Away sign on the hill by the airport. [2] As the nation's capital city, political humour is also common. Notable comedy shows with politics as a central theme have included Gliding On by Roger Hall, Public Eye, Spin Doctors, and Facelift .
Suburban themes were explored by Ginette McDonald with her Lynn of Tawa persona. [3]
A famous statement by the Prime Minister of New Zealand Rob Muldoon in the 1980s commenting about the increasing exodus of New Zealanders leaving the country to work in Australia was, "New Zealanders who leave for Australia raise the IQ of both countries." [4] [5]
Some of New Zealand's best known comedians spent a large portion of their careers in Australia. This included John Clarke, known to New Zealanders as Fred Dagg, who played the stereotypical farmer with precision and style. His wit later allowed him to extend his repertoire to a series of biting satires, particularly of politicians. He also found an outlet in television series such as The Games and films such as Death in Brunswick .
Other examples include Tony Martin of 1980s sketch show, The D-Generation fame. Three compilations of the Australian national radio program Martin/Molloy earned him ARIA awards. He has also written and directed the movie Bad Eggs .
Pamela Stephenson was born in New Zealand, made her name in Australia, went to Britain and starred in the sketch comedy Not the Nine O'Clock News and currently lives in America with her husband Billy Connolly.[ citation needed ]
Billy T James who was to dominate New Zealand comedy through the 1980s. His first major role being the lead in TVNZ's Radio Times.[ citation needed ] James went on to gain his own self-titled show. His characters, along with John Clarke's Fred Dagg were, until very recently, to set the benchmark for New Zealand comedy.[ citation needed ]
Alan Brough appeared on Spicks and Specks as a writer and team captain. In 2004 he was one third of the radio show Tough Love with Mick Molloy . He has also appeared in several movies such as Bad Eggs
For several years during the 1970s and 1980s, New Zealand television featured a satirical send-up of current affairs entitled A Week of It . This series, and particularly its two main stars, David McPhail and Jon Gadsby, became for several years a mainstay of New Zealand comedy.
One of New Zealand film director Peter Jackson's first films was Meet the Feebles , a riotous sexual puppet romp.
Pasifika artists known for the comedy work include the Naked Samoans, their first stage production in 1998 was Naked Samoans Talk about Their Knives. [6] They were involved the film Sione's Wedding, and the TV cartoon series bro'Town. Sione's Wedding was the most commercially-successful New Zealand comedy until the release of Taika Waititi's Boy (2010) . [7] [8] Tofiga Fepulea'i and Eteuati Ete made up the duo the Laughing Samoans who first performed in 2003 and have a three-part TV show called Laughing Samoans at Large (2010). [9] [10]
Other New Zealand comedians include:
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bro'Town is a New Zealand adult animated comedy television series and sitcom that ran from 2004 to 2009. It starred David Fane, Mario Gaoa, Shimpal Lelisi and Oscar Kightley.
Flight of the Conchords is a New Zealand musical comedy duo formed in Wellington in 1998. The band consists of multi-instrumentalists Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement. Beginning as a popular live comedy act in the early 2000s, the duo's comedy and music became the basis of the self-titled BBC radio series (2005) and, subsequently, the HBO American television series (2007–2009). Most recently, they released the HBO comedy special Live in London in 2018. The special was concurrently released by Sub Pop as their fifth album.
Rhys Montague Darby is a New Zealand actor and comedian, known for his energetic physical comedy routines, telling stories accompanied with mime and sound effects of things such as machinery and animals. He was nominated for the Billy T Award in 2001 and 2002. He also won the 2012 Fred (Dagg) award at the New Zealand International Comedy Festival, for best NZ show.
Jemaine Atea Mahana Clement is a New Zealand actor, comedian, musician, and filmmaker. He has released several albums with Bret McKenzie as the musical comedy duo Flight of the Conchords, and created a comedy series of the same name for both the BBC and HBO, for which he received six Primetime Emmy nominations.
Oscar Vai To'elau Kightley is a Samoan-born New Zealand actor, television presenter, writer, journalist, director, and comedian. He acted in and co-wrote the successful 2006 film Sione's Wedding.
Taika David Cohen, known professionally as Taika Waititi, is a New Zealand filmmaker, actor and comedian. He is a recipient of an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award and a Grammy Award and has received two nominations at the Primetime Emmy Awards. His feature films Boy (2010) and Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016) have each been the top-grossing New Zealand film. Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world on its annual list in 2022.
Robbie Joseph Magasiva is a Samoan-New Zealander actor who has starred in several films and as a member of the Naked Samoans comedy troupe. He has also appeared on television and in theatre, and was the co-presenter of New Zealand's Tagata Pasifika with famed athlete, Beatrice Faumuina. Magasiva is also known for his role on Shortland Street as Dr. Maxwell Avia, which he played from June 2009 to July 2012, and for his current role as Will Jackson on the prison drama series, Wentworth, an adaptation of the iconic women prison drama Prisoner. Magasiva is the only male actor to appear in all 8 seasons.
The Naked Samoans is a New Zealand comedy group made up of Polynesian entertainers, most of whom are Samoan. The group performs social humour and satire that attracts a broad audience, especially among white New Zealanders, without sacrificing the group's Pacific Island identity. The group has gained success in both television and film projects as well as in theatre, which remains their primary base in entertainment. The members of this group are David Fane, Mario Gaoa, Shimpal Lelisi, Oscar Kightley, Robbie Magasiva and Iaheto Ah Hi.
Shimpal Lelisi is a New Zealand actor and TV presenter, best known as one of the members of the Naked Samoans.
Madeleine Nalini Sami is a New Zealand actress, director, comedian and musician. She started her acting career in theatre before moving to television, where she created, wrote, and starred in Super City. She co-wrote, co-directed, and starred in the 2018 film The Breaker Upperers, along with Jackie van Beek, which was a New Zealand box office success. Sami co-hosted The Great Kiwi Bake Off.
Mario Gaoa is a New Zealand actor, writer and director, best known as a member of the Naked Samoans comedy group. He is of Samoan descent. As part of the group he has appeared in the film Sione's Wedding; provided the voices of Sione Tapili and God in the animated series Bro'Town, which he also co-writes; and acted in various Naked Samoans comedic theatre performances. He has also appeared in the film Nightmare Man and briefly in the television series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys.
David Rodney Fane is a New Zealand actor of Samoan descent.
So You're a Man were a five-man comedy troupe, who performed in the mid-90s in both New Zealand and Australia. Members were Bret McKenzie, Jemaine Clement, Taika Waititi, actor Carey Smith and theatre director David Lawrence.
Rose Catherine Lettitia Matafeo is a New Zealand comedian, actress and TV presenter. She was a writer and performer on the New Zealand late-night comedy sketch show Funny Girls. In 2018, she won the Edinburgh Comedy Award for Best Show at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe for her show Horndog.
Julian Dennison is a New Zealand actor. He debuted in the 2013 film Shopping, for which he won the English Film and Television Award for Best Supporting Actor. He is known for his roles as Ricky Baker in Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016), the highest-grossing New Zealand film in history, as Russell "Firefist" Collins in Deadpool 2 (2018), and as Belsnickel in The Christmas Chronicles 2. In 2021, Dennison starred as Josh Valentine in Godzilla vs. Kong.
"Team Ball Player Thing" is a 2015 charity single and the official supporters' song of the All Blacks in the 2015 Rugby World Cup. The song is performed by the charity supergroup #KiwisCureBatten and is in aid of research into Batten disease via the New Zealand charity Cure Kids. The day after it was released, the song debuted at number six on the New Zealand Top 40.
The Fred Award is the highest honour at the New Zealand International Comedy Festival, awarded to the best show written and performed by a New Zealand Comedian.
Teuila Blakely is a Samoan-born New Zealand actress, best known for her roles in Shortland Street, Sione's Wedding, Sione's 2: Unfinished Business, Filthy Rich, and Power Rangers Beast Morphers.
Piki Films is a New Zealand film and video production and distributing company based in Auckland. Piki Films is known for producing Jojo Rabbit, Hunt for the Wilderpeople, and The Breaker Upperers. The name "Piki" means "jump" or "climb over" in the Māori language.
Baby Done is a 2020 New Zealand comedy film. Directed by Curtis Vowell and executively produced by Taika Waititi, written by Sophie Henderson, and starring Rose Matafeo.
