A governor general, a microbiologist, a New Zealander of the Year, an Oscar-nominated producer and a comedian walk into a bar. The punchline? They all struggle with imposter syndrome despite being extremely cool and successful women. “I’m the governor general, I have to accept that I’ve done some things right – it can’t have been … Read more
The Spinoff’s cartoonist Toby Morris chats and draws with New Zealand’s doodlers in the webseries Two Sketches. This episode, Toby hosts comedian Angella Dravid. In the seventh episode of The Spinoff’s webseries Two Sketches, Angella Dravid makes herself at home in the dining room of Toby Morris’ house. Angella is an award winning comedian appearing … Read more
This year’s International Comedy Festival was a roaring success, but some comedians have turned the spotlight on audiences. Are they too timid? Do our hecklers suck? Josie Adams sizes things up. When Netflix star James Acaster closed his last show of the Auckland International Comedy Festival, he ended with a confession: “This is only the … Read more
Remember being off sick from school and having nothing to watch once breakfast television ended? Angella Dravid does. From Tony Robbins to Suzanne Paul, she pays tribute to the stars of NZ’s most iconic infomercials. The Spinoff TV, Fridays at 10.45pm on THREE
Jono and Ben is back for another season, and they’re refreshing their comedic stable with some new faces, most of them women. Let’s meet them! Jono and Ben is more than just a showcase for the titular dudes who front the show. It also has a legacy of being a springboard for some of our most talented … Read more
In the lead up to the election, comedians Melanie Bracewell and Angella Dravid take a journey through the voting process in Make Me Tick, The Spinoff’s new four part video series with the Electoral Commission. Today, Angella contemplates the branches of government. I went to St Patrick’s School up until the age of 12. I … Read more
This year, comedian Angella Dravid took out the Billy T award in the New Zealand International Comedy Festival for her extraordinary show Down the Rabbit Hole, exploring her spell in a UK prison. She talks to Alex Casey about finding humour in the dark, and being the ‘car crash’ of Jono and Ben. When Angella … Read more
Spinoff Comedy co-editor Sam Brooks takes a look at the recent history of the Billy T Award, what felt different about this year’s nominees, and what that means for New Zealand’s comedy industry as a whole. There was a Moonlight/La La Land joke when it came time to announce the Billy T. It wasn’t funny. … Read more
For years New Zealand comedy has – with some notable exceptions – had a reputation as something of a boys’ club. Last night its three key awards were all won by women for the first time. Natasha Hoyland, a young comedian herself, describes how that moment felt. When they announced Rose Matafeo as the winner … Read more
Dialogue: Identity, proudly supported by The Spinoff, is a one-off storytelling event at Q Theatre this Friday, May 19. One of the performers, Sam Brooks (who also happens to be our Comedy co-editor), introduces the show here. By now I’ve been in two workshops for the storytelling show Dialogue: Identity, which is the latest in … Read more
“And she stood up and said, ‘It’s just not funny!’” Welcome to the third instalment in our video series Comedians Answer Our Questions, featuring a number of funny people appearing in this year’s NZ International Comedy Festival. This time we asked comedians to tell us about the worst heckle they’ve ever had. The answers we got … Read more