Queenstown Winter Festival Kicks Off

Media Release from American Express Queenstown Winter Festival

Queenstown’s Winter Festival big on laughs

Take a gaggle of gifted comedians, mix in some razor sharp wit, add a dash of sarcasm, the obligatory slagging off a deserving politician or two, and there you have it - a four-night comedy fest guaranteeing giggles galore at this year’s American Express Queenstown Winter Festival.

The cream of New Zealand’s comedians – along with a few up-and-comers making a name for themselves on the comedy circuit - will be doing it for the laughs from 28 June to 1 July.

It all kicks off with the new Canadian Club Comedy Gala, a side-splitting stand-up show hosted by funnymen Ward & Tuthridge.

Jeremy Corbett, Steve Wrigley, Paul Ego, Dai Henwood, Ben Hurley, Jeremy Ellwood and Michelle A’Court bounce off each other during a night of hilarious standup comedy and live stage performance of TV3’s rapid fire satire show ‘7 Days’.

“Picture this,” says Festival Director Simon Green. “It’s Monday night and it’s been a big weekend - there’s been stupid news, big news, unbelievable news and news about us right here in Queenstown.

“Enter two teams of New Zealand’s finest comedic talent to blast the news out of the water, dissect it, lambast each other and take the mickey out of anything and everything, but mostly all the news of the week and each other.”

The comedy gala will be held at the Memorial Hall on Monday 28 June from 7.30pm. Seating is theatre-style and tickets are $69.

The laughs continue on Tuesday 29 and Wednesday 30 June with the Canadian Club Late Night Laughs at the new American Express Ice Box, a silked and chandeliered downtown temporary venue hosting a number of festival events.

The Tuesday night lineup features Dai Henwood as MC, Ben Hurley and Steve Wrigley, three of the funniest chaps in New Zealand who will keep the laughter flowing with their unique and hilarious stand-up routines.

On Wednesday night Jeremy Corbett (MC), Paul Ego, Jeremy Elwood and Michele A‘Court take to the Ice Box stage to deliver a stand-up show guaranteed to have people rolling in the aisles.

Both shows start at 9.30pm and cost $39.

The last laugh (on the comedy nights anyway!) comes on Thursday 1 July in the form of the all-singing all-dancing SKYCITY Cabaret Night. It’s an hilarious evening of non-stop music and comedy from Queenstown’s very own Screaming Banshees, the award-winning Chris and Chet Show and, straight from the NZ International Comedy Festival, Greg Ward and ‘A Brief History of Music’.

Greg Ward is New Zealand’s consummate musical comedian and his show gives the audience a laugh-a-minute look at how music has evolved, from the Big Bang to today’s lip-synching Britney Spears.

Chris Powley and Chet O’Connell will entertain with larger than life impersonations of New Zealand personalities such as the Topp Twins, Dame Kiri te Kanawa and Billy T James. This duo was voted ‘NZ Top Comical Act’ by the Variety Artists Club in 2009.

The cabaret night is R18 and will be held at the American Express Ice Box from 7.00pm. Tickets cost $39.

Mr Green is thrilled with the Festival’s comedy line up.

‘Our comedy nights have always been a real highlight so this year we thought we’d make them bigger and better than ever before,” he said.

Tickets to the Festival’s comedy events can be purchased from TicketDirect online www.ticketdirect.co.nz, by phone 0800 224 224 (03 450 9110), in person at the Queenstown Events Centre or Queenstown i-Site (corner of Shotover and Camp streets), or via the Festival website www.winterfestival.co.nz.

ENDS

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