Get Ready To Fall In Love With The Auckland Live Cabaret Festival This June

Featuring a dazzling fusion of music, drag, theatre and comedy, the Auckland Live Cabaret Festival will return to The Civic from 3 - 15 June, 2025. With Tāmaki Makaurau’s most celebrated and luxurious venue, The Civic, being taken over for the occasion, international visitors and local attendees can expect unforgettable cabaret performers and creatives from Aotearoa and beyond, including the Olivier Award-winning show La Clique. Tickets are on sale from Thursday 17 April at 9am from Ticketmaster.

Sexy, funny, dangerous - the very essence of live entertainment - global phenomenon
La Clique has captivated more than a million people from New York to Paris. Now it’s New Zealand’s turn to experience this Olivier Award-winning mélange of cabaret/circus at the Auckland Live Cabaret Festival as La Clique returns to Auckland. With a blend of daring acrobatics, eye-popping stunts, scintillating burlesque and raucous comedy, this riotous and risqué troupe of crème de la crème artistes reinvent “variety” for the 21st Century. See the trailblazing show that redefined a genre, be seated on The Civic stage and come raise a glass to celebrate La Clique’s 20th Anniversary.

Multi-award-winning musician artist Georgia Lines will be joined by iconic New Zealand solo artists Hollie Smith, Louis Baker, and rising star Nikau Grace, alongside musicians from the Auckland Philharmonia, for one unforgettable evening of breathtaking vocals, rich orchestration, and masterful storytelling. This stunning event on Sunday 15 June at The Civic will showcase the incredible artistry of some of New Zealand’s finest voices, with each artist bringing their unique style and sound to the stage. Georgia Lines is nominated for the Taite Music Prize 2025 and three awards at the Aotearoa Music Awards, Album of the Year, Best Solo Artist and Best Pop Artist.

Hot off the heels of a nomination for the biggest award in comedy at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and currently starring in the Australian production of Jesus Christ Superstar, Reuben Kaye returns to Aotearoa and Auckland Live Cabaret Festival with his new show. The Party’s Over is a hilarious and razor-tongued set of songs and musings on the state of the world with a sprinkling of his greatest hits reimagined for 2025 with a new band.

The Tīwhas return by popular demand to the Cabaret Festival with a fresh edition of A Matariki Spectacular marking the Māori New Year. Join them for an evening of laughs, waiata, and remembrance as they guide audiences on a celestial journey through the stars of Matariki. From Wednesday 4 - Friday 6 June in the Wintergarden, The Tīwhas: A Matariki Spectacular promises a memorable night celebrating te tau hou Māori and mana takatāpui.

Direct from her sold-out seasons across Australia and the USA, The Divine Miss Bette is a spectacularly joyous music and comedy event featuring multiple award-winner Catherine Alcorn channelling the legendary Bette Midler. Hailed by critics as “a must-see” (LA Times), “absolutely hilarious” (Time Out Sydney) with “a voice to die for” (Stage Noise) Catherine Alcorn is renowned as a jewel in the crown of Australian theatre. The Divine Miss Bette is at the Wintergarden for two nights only, Wednesday 4 and Thursday 5 June.

Daniel Clarke, Director of Performing Arts at Tātaki Auckland Unlimited, leading Auckland Live says: “This year’s Auckland Live Cabaret Festival will surprise and delight audiences with a sparkling line-up of top local and international performers. I’m excited about the programme, there is genuinely something for everyone to enjoy - from acclaimed singer Georgia Lines, who will perform under the canopy of stars at The Civic theatre, to the Olivier Award-winning show La Clique, which has wowed audiences from New York to Paris. The programme will also celebrate remarkable cabaret artists from Aotearoa, making this Festival a highlight of the winter events calendar that you won’t want to miss.”

Vanessa Immink, Creative Producer at Auckland Live and 2025 Auckland Live Cabaret Festival programmer, says “I’m thrilled to be the Creative Producer for the 2025 Auckland Live Cabaret Festival! With over 100 phenomenal artists in the mix, this year’s festival is all about celebrating the talent and communities that reflect the uniqueness and diversity of Aotearoa. Our 2025 line-up shares stories and songs of family, culture, and connection to long-distance lovers, iconic musical legends, online scammers and more. We’re inviting audiences to open their hearts, spark their curiosity, and maybe even fall a little bit in love - whether it’s with an artist, a fellow audience member, The Civic… or the magic of Cabaret itself.”

Audiences are invited to immerse themselves in the soul-stirring music of The Factory, New Zealand’s groundbreaking Pacific musical, as Songs from The Factory brings its most unforgettable tunes to life. A stellar ensemble of Pasifika talent delivers soaring ballads and pulse-pounding anthems that weave a powerful narrative of love, sacrifice, and hope. With deeply moving storytelling and a vibrant cultural heartbeat, this intimate, cabaret show on Friday 13 June in the Wintergarden not-to-be-missed.

With a Frankenstein’s monster mash of gut-wrenching power ballads to freakishly impressive bangers, Monster Songs belts it out for the inner outcasts, the icons of individuality, and tackles the darkness head-on, leaving audiences empowered, exhilarated and calling for more. Monster Songs shows at the Wintergarden on Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 June.

Developed by Auckland Live and receiving its world premiere at the Cabaret Festival, The Velvet Rebels: Celebrating the Rat Pack Era invites people to swing, swoon and sing with Rutene Spooner - the Māori Crooner, Shea Kokoua and the Coco Concert Band in Aotearoa’s newest Vegas-style jazz tribute. This cheeky duo will channel the charisma and swagger of the iconic Rat Pack era, blending timeless jazz with the spirit of the South Pacific, on Friday 6 and on Sunday 8 June.

Scratch Night is where artists experiment - songs still being written, acts finding their shape, and ideas just bold enough to test in front of a crowd.Scratch Night celebrates cabaret, musical theatre, drag, circus, burlesque, comedy, magic - and everything in between. Each artist gets 5-15 minutes to show an idea in progress, keeping the night fast-paced, where no two acts are the same. Curated by Jessie Cassin and Vanessa Immink, and hosted by Jessie herself, this one-night-only cabaret mixtape on Tuesday 10 June comes alive in the heart of The Civic. Be the first to see the newest ideas being tested by some of our boldest artists.

Wednesday 11 and Thursday 12 June will see Australian force of nature Prinnie Stevens and her Lady Sings the Blues Volume 2 show offers an exquisite tribute to female singers of colour—including Billie Holiday, Aretha Franklin, Tina Turner, and Whitney Houston.

Reform is the true story of award-winning singer-songwriter, actor, author and comedian Michelle Brasier (Aunty Donna, Thank God You’re Here) befriending the man who scammed her. Performing on Friday 13 and Saturday 14 June alongside musician Tim Lancaster and fresh from their off-Broadway debut and critically acclaimed UK tour.

Attendees are encouraged to dust off their '70's flares, sequins and platform shoes, Tuatara Collective are bringing their latest social singalong showdown experience Battle Chorus: Disco Inferno to the Cabaret on Saturday 14 June. No singing skills needed, just a love of music and a team spirit.

Gracing the Wintergarden on Wednesday 11 and Thursday 12 June, Nikita Tu-Bryant, the captivating force behind KITA, revisits [Before & After, JOSHUA] - her soul-baring breakup album recorded in the back of a van, born from a love story that unfolded on a flight between Phoenix and Santa Barbara.

Discover what hides in the dimly lit corridors of The Civic where passions run hot and the tempo packs a punch. The Cabaret Festival spills into the foyers and spaces of The Civic, revealing film noir dance, tarot, the infamous piano bar, and so much more. Night and Mortar is Sharvon Mortimer & Oli Mathiesen's evocative film noir dance work exploring drama, comedy, and tragedy, starring renowned dancers Sean MacDonald and Hannah Tasker-Poland. Buzzing with artists, musicians, cocktails, magic and mischief, The Piano Bar is back, with a rotating lineup of cabaret stars hosting each night, audiences can own the stage and belt out their favourite tune, or sip a cocktail in the corner and watch cabaret unfold around them.

Established in 2014, the Auckland Live Cabaret Season has grown in popularity each year, this year being renamed the Auckland Live Cabaret Festival, recognising its significant impact and place on the arts and cultural calendar. After being on hiatus for two years, 2025 marks the festival’s highly anticipated return.

© Scoop Media