Abby Howells

Last updated
Abby Howells
Born
Abigail Mai Howells [1]

1990or1991(age 33–34)
Dunedin, New Zealand
Alma mater University of Otago (PhD, theatre studies)
Victoria University of Wellington (MA, creative writing)
Occupations
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.

Contents

Early life and education

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]

Career

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]

Howells directed the second season of comedy podcast Did Titanic Sink?, hosted by Tim Batt and Carlo Ritchie. [22] 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, Howells is repped by Token. [12]

Personal life

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." [23] [24] She is interested in the Titanic disaster. [22]

As of 2024, Howells is in a relationship with Robbie Nichol. [3]

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References

  1. 1 2 Howells, Abigail Mai (2021). Performing Prison: How Is Life on the Inside Portrayed to the Outside World? (PhD thesis). OUR Archive, University of Otago. hdl:10523/12714.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Thomas, Grace (30 May 2023). "Comedian Abby Howells takes home prestigious Billy T Award". 1News.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Stephenson, Sharon (26 April 2024). "Aroha: The love story behind this comedy power couple". The Post. Retrieved 2 December 2024.
  4. ↑ Howells, Abby (22 February 2024). "It's the Lion's Show, Baby". Metro. Retrieved 2 December 2024.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Howells, Abby (14 September 2018). "Loose Canons: Abby Howells". The Pantograph Punch.
  6. 1 2 3 Stills, Ethan (30 May 2023). "'Exciting' award win after industry harassment". Otago Daily Times.
  7. ↑ Fox, Rebecca (21 March 2019). "Empowering women inspiring". Otago Daily Times.
  8. ↑ Stone, Elsie (17 February 2016). "Meet the Female Comedy Collective Bringing Period Jokes to the Mainstream". Catalogue Magazine. Archived from the original on 4 Mar 2016.
  9. ↑ McBryde, Angus. "What Is This, Women's Hour? (2012)".
  10. ↑ "28 Days: A Period Piece". Theatreview.
  11. 1 2 McKee, Hannah (19 March 2015). "Abby Howells faces up to young roles". Stuff.co.nz.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 "Abby Howells". Token. Retrieved 2 December 2024.
  13. 1 2 Daly, Lara (15 May 2023). "Hey Abby Howells, I like your retro-inspired hair". Ensemble.
  14. ↑ "Entitled narcissists target of absurdist satirical 'Fold'". Otago Daily Times. 1 March 2018.
  15. ↑ Black, Eleanor (19 May 2019). "At home with a Dunedin theatre couple". Stuff.co.nz.
  16. 1 2 Bevan, Darren (29 May 2023). "Guy Montgomery and Abby Howells win top prizes at 2023 NZ International Comedy Festival". Newshub.
  17. 1 2 Sills, Ethan (25 May 2023). "Billy T 2023 nominees reviewed: Abby Howells, Gabby Anderson, Jack Ansett, Janaye Henry and Maria Williams". NZ Herald. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
  18. ↑ "Billy T' Billy: Brynley Stent hands the yellow towel to 2023 comedy award winner Abby Howells". NZ Herald. 31 May 2023.
  19. ↑ "Abby Howells & Angella Dravid - The Improfessionals". New Zealand International Comedy Festival. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  20. ↑ "'The enjoyment of human folly': Abby Howells on the beauty of Taskmaster". The Spinoff . 3 August 2024. Retrieved 2 December 2024.
  21. ↑ Hampson, Alice (5 August 2024). "How Are You Today, Abby Howells? NZ's Best New Comedian Talks Life on the Autism Spectrum, Sexual Harassment & Giving Your Dream Another Shot". Capsule NZ. Retrieved 2 December 2024.
  22. 1 2 "Did Titanic Sink? Podcast director Abby Howells on conspiracies and her obsession". Culture 101. RNZ. 11 August 2024. Retrieved 2 December 2024.
  23. ↑ Gray, Sonic (6 September 2024). "No Such Thing as Normal: Autism - is it safe to remove the mask?". The New Zealand Herald . Retrieved 2 December 2024.
  24. ↑ Hanton, James (13 August 2022). "HarleQueen". The Wee Review.
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