New Zealand Improv Festival 2025
September 26 - October 4
The New Zealand Improv Festival is back for 2025 with nine days of improvisational talent from across the motu and around the world. From delightful duos, to donkeys, to drama, suspense and Christmas in October, there's something for everyone in our massive performance programme.
Check out the full programme below:
NZIF OPENING GALA
26 September, 8:30PM
Kick off the Festival in style! Featuring a smorgasbord of local, national, and international improv talent.
FRESH PRODUCE
26 - 27 September, 6:30PM
The next generation of local improv talent take the stage!
Echoes of the past
26 September, 7PM
Join us to witness how past events echo through places and generations, from simple heirlooms to people and their actions.
Hexaflexagon
27 September, 7PM
A high-art, high-energy improv show drenched in neon colours and backed by a hyperpop soundtrack.
Kōrero Paki
27 September, 8.30PM
Crack open a cold one and get set for a night of mean kōrero, cheeky banter and wild improv set in a garage party.
Ginge & Minge's Redemption
27 September, 9PM
The comedy pitches no one else could handle.
Split Bill: Sohn Zone & D.E.I.'s
30 September, 6.30PM
A married couple takes flight | the diversity quota fights back.
Swingers
30 September, 7:45PM
Real couples. Real improv. Real kissing (if that’s what they’re into).
Split Bill: Friends to the End & The Lighthouse
30 September, 9PM
A life and death combination: one show about death, one show about life.
bonfire
1 October, 6:30PM
Stories rise from the warmth of shared heritage, inviting connection through imagination, ancestry, and the magic of collective creation.
Oops! All Donkeys
2 October, 6:30PM
Find your inner donkey, and other donkeys as well, and let them heal.
bonfire
1 October, 6:30PM
Stories rise from the warmth of shared heritage, inviting connection through imagination, ancestry, and the magic of collective creation.
The Music Made Me Do It
1 October, 7:45PM
Do you like the volume heavenly high or hellishly hushed?
Living is like...
2 October, 7:45PM
How do two people feel about their lives and each other?
It's Alive!
1 October, 7:45PM
A fully improvised show for kids with live puppetry and real science experiments!
Let's Get Visual!
3 October, 6:30PM
Experience the joy of improvised theatre as we create an interactive and visual performance with this NZSL-interpreted show celebrating inclusivity.
Christmas in October
3 October, 7PM
Join a hand-picked selection of guests from across the Festival as we unwrap a series of delightful surprises.
Tarot
3 October, 8:30PM
How will you play the cards you're dealt?
The Dictionary of Moments
4 October, 6:30PM
Look up a word and find a story.
The Made-Up Smackdown: Favourites Box
4 October, 7PM
The audience picks from the Made-Up Smackdown come back for one final bout!
Scene Painting
4 October, 8:30PM
For the final show of the Festival, we're painting the town red. And orange. And yellow, green, blue, pink and purple.
BULL RUSH
4 October, 9PM
Expect spit-take-worthy gags, epic stories, heartbreaking tales, and live improvised music at Bull Rush.
ABOUT NZIF
What is NZIF?
The New Zealand Improv Festival (NZIF) is an annual celebration of spontaneity in Te Whanganui-a-Tara (Wellington). Founded in 2008 by Merrilee McCoy and Derek Flores under Wellington Improv Troupe, the festival has become a staple of the national and international improv communities.
Improv practitioners from around Aotearoa, Australia and the world gather to share ideas, develop skills, expand horizons, and make rad new friends, with a series of shows, workshops, conference sessions and social events.
