Top comedy at the zoo to get Aucklanders roaring

MEDIA RELEASE
13 April 2005

Top comedy at the zoo to get Aucklanders roaring

There’ll be more than just animals sounding off at Auckland Zoo from 3 – 8 May when ZOOHAHA! presents top local and international comedians as part of the 2005 ODDFELLOWS New Zealand International Comedy Festival.

The ZOOHAHA! venue, The Old Elephant House, will be transformed into the snappiest lounge bar in town, and a veritable gaggle of comedians will be flocking in to create a week of mirth, madness and monkey business!

The comedy shows are a first for the zoo, made possible with the support of Newstalk ZB and Coopers Creek.

Nightly at 7pm ‘Cabaret King’ Mika presents the world premiere of his new show 'Mika & The Plastic Maori' – a “rock tribal cabaret” with sexy dance, acid humour and fiery vocals. See it at the zoo before it hits the international circuit!

Zoohaha! Late (8.30pm – 10pm) follows hot on Mika’s heels each night. Local wild ‘Westie’ comedian Councillor Ewen Gilmour performs a solo show on Wednesday 4 May, and is let loose on audiences again on Friday 6 May as MC with Vaughan King and Andrew Clay.

Creating mayhem on Thursday 5 May will be crazy kiwi comic chick Jan Maree (MC), the irrepressibly irreverent Ben Hurley (New Zealand Comedy Guild’s Best Male Comedian, 2004), "that Indian guy" Tarun Mohanbhai, and "Hot Pink" (Penny Ashton). Saturday's late show line-up features searing satirist Jeremy Elwood (MC), Tarun Mohanbhai, and the larger than life, Mr Paul Ego (a dead ringer for Sex & The City’s ‘Mr Big’).

Sunday evening's an international feast, with Australia's most exciting young comedian Charlie Pickering (MC), the award winning Dai Henwood, Te Radar, the hugely successful Rhys Darby, and diva of comedy, Cal Wilson. You would be a fool to miss any of these gigs.

But be warned, this is the zoo, so if you heckle, you could be thrown to the lions!

Festival-goers are encouraged to come early, enjoy a glass of wine from the fabulous Coopers Creek range, and even take a moonlit stroll through the nearby Newstalk ZB Rainforest. There will be a selection of light snacks for dinner packages on offer for those with an appetite for great food, as well as big laughs.

Tickets, available from the zoo, or through Ticketek, are limited due to restricted capacity. Advance bookings recommended. Visit www.aucklandzoo.co.nz, phone Ticketek (09 307 5000) or Auckland Zoo Information Centre (09 360 3805).

Ends

About Auckland Zoo:

Auckland Zoo is home to the largest collection of native and exotic wildlife species in New Zealand (over 1000 animals and 178 species) and attracts over half a million visitors annually. It is becoming increasingly well known nationally and internationally through the award-winning television programme, 'The Zoo'. At the heart of all Auckland Zoo's work and activities is its MISSION: "to advance nature conservation by providing excellent wildlife management programmes and exciting visitor experiences which move and inform people to care for wildlife". Auckland Zoo is a member of both the Australasian Regional Association of Zoos & Aquaria (ARAZPA) and the World Association of Zoos & Aquaria (WAZA).

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