Abby Howells | |
|---|---|
 Howells at the 2025 Edinburgh Festival Fringe | |
| Born | Abigail Mai Howells [1] 1990or1991(age 34–35) Dunedin, New Zealand |
| Alma mater | University of Otago (PhD, theatre studies) Victoria University of Wellington (MA, creative writing) |
| Occupations |
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| Awards | Billy T Award (2023) |
Abigail Mai Howells is a New Zealand comedian, actor, and writer. She was the winner of the Billy T Award in 2023.
Howells was born in and grew up in Dunedin, New Zealand. [2] [3] She attended an all-girls high school, where she acted in school productions of The Wizard of Oz as the Cowardly Lion and in Seussical as Horton the Elephant. [4]
She received a bachelor of arts in film and media studies from the University of Otago, and a masters in creative writing (specifically screenwriting [3] ) from Victoria University of Wellington's International Institute of Modern Letters in 2014. At Victoria, she wrote the screenplay Standing Up, which won the Brad McGann Award. [5]
Howells completed a PhD in theatre studies from the University of Otago; [6] her thesis, titled "Performing Prison: How Is Life on the Inside Portrayed to the Outside World?", [1] explored how incarcerated women are portrayed in film and television. [7]
Howells was a founding member of Discharge, a female comedy collective. [8] [5] She served as head writer for the group, penning the shows What is This? Woman's Hour? (2012), [9] Benedict Cumberbatch Must Die (2014), [10] and 28 Days: A Period Piece (2015). [5] [11]
In 2014, Howells wrote Crossbow Cat, which won the Auckland Festival's Judges' Choice and People's Choice awards, and audio play The Crash in 2015, which aired on Radio New Zealand. [12]
She presented her solo show Glocknid: Dwarf Warrior in 2014, which won the Best Newcomer Award at the 2015 Wellington International Comedy Festival. [5] [13] She portrayed Beatrix in Trick of the Light Theatre's Beards Beards Beards, which toured the United Kingdom, [11] and her play Attila the Hun was part of the 2017 Young and Hungry Festival. [5] In 2018 she performed White Men at the Dunedin Fringe Festival. [12] Howells acted in Fold by Jo Randerson in 2018, and The Bald Soprano in 2019. [14] [15]
After starting stand-up in her 20s, Howells quit comedy for seven years following sexual harassment from another comedian and bad experiences with on-stage harassment; [2] [16] during this period she completed her PhD. [3]
Howells's show HarleQueen, inspired by her experiences as a woman in comedy, won the Director's Award at the New Zealand International Comedy Festival in 2021; [2] she also performed the show at Edinburgh Fringe. [3] In 2023 at the NZICF, she wrote and performed La Soupco, which is "based on a screenplay Howells wrote when she was 11 years old ... a post-World War II nautical-themed romance set in Spain for little reason, where the characters don't have names". [17] For the show, Howells won the Billy T Award. [2] [6] [16] [13] [18] The New Zealand Herald wrote that La Soupco "strikes a wonderful balance between a theatrical concept and traditional stand-up". [17]
In 2024, Howells and Angella Dravid formed an improv group called The Improfessionals and performed at the NZICF. [19]
On television, Howells has appeared on 7 Days, Guy Montgomery's Guy Mont-Spelling Bee , Shortland Street , and Taskmaster New Zealand . [3] [20] [21] She also acted in the Netflix film The Royal Treatment (2022). [12] In 2025, she appeared in the episode "New Zealand" of the second season of Conan O'Brien Must Go , and was a writer on the sixth series of Taskmaster NZ. [22]
Howells directed the second season of comedy podcast Did Titanic Sink?, hosted by Tim Batt and Carlo Ritchie. [23] She has been a guest on Backyard Stories with Claudia Nankervis and The Worst Idea of All Time . [12]
She has cited Blackadder and Jerry Seinfeld as influences. [6] As of 2024 [update] , Howells is represented by Token. [12]
Howells is open about being autistic, explaining that "It takes the pressure off me a little bit. I can really relax and just be myself ... I don't have to process everything I do through a 'would a 'normal' person say this?' lens." [24] [25] She is interested in the Titanic disaster. [23]
As of 2024 [update] , Howells is in a relationship with Robbie Nicol. [3]
