You all know the story ... a wicked sorceress casts a spell on Prince Christian and turns him into a beast. He will remain a beast unless the spell can be broken by true love's kiss before the rose (given by the Sorceress) withers and dies. The wicked Sorceress has a son, Gaston, who wants to marry Belle but she despises him. Will he get the girl? Perhaps Belle will find true love.

This is Panto ...goodies, baddies, lots of "booing". Don't turn around because there's bound to be something "behind you".

The Deep End is an improvised comedy show where the actors take your suggestions and use them to create scenes. It's theatre on the spot- dangerous, thrilling and often hilarious! Each monthly show will have a new theme and a cast comprised of different actors from our skilled Nelson crew, plus the occasional surprise visiting actor, so come back each month to see your favourites and be wowed by the endless ways in which the intrepid crew can invent one-off sketches, songs and stories!

"...top rate improvisational comedy... as clever as any I've watched... fresh, witty and unexpected." - Nelson Mail

by Trick of the Light Theatre

'Beatrix didn't want a tiara. Beatrix wanted a Beard!'

From Charles Darwin to Abraham Lincoln, Karl Marx to Mr Twit, it is said that the secret to power and greatness is all in the size and shape of the beard.

Award-winning company, Trick of the Light Theatre (The Bookbinder, The Road That Wasn't There), delivers a tale of one young girl's increasingly inventive efforts to grow the world's most magnificent beard. Join a madcap and hilarious musical romp as our plucky young heroine, armed with bubble bath and canned spaghetti, shakes up social rules and attempts to answer the questions that have puzzled mankind since the dawn of the beard.

Written by Ralph McCubbin Howell
Directed by Hannah Smith
Performed by Abby Howells, Ralph McCubbin Howell and Paul Waggott
Produced by Show Pony

Recommended for adults and children 7+

"an engagingly witty gem of a piece that is really worth shaving off an hour out of your busy schedule for." THEATRESCENES

Award
WINNER - Best Theatre - Dunedin Fringe 2015

The Deep End is an improvised comedy show where the actors take your suggestions and use them to create scenes. It's theatre on the spot- dangerous, thrilling and often hilarious! Each monthly show will have a new theme and a cast comprised of different actors from our skilled Nelson crew, plus the occasional surprise visiting actor, so come back each month to see your favourites and be wowed by the endless ways in which the intrepid crew can invent one-off sketches, songs and stories!

"...top rate improvisational comedy... as clever as any I've watched... fresh, witty and unexpected." -Nelson Mail

The Deep End is an improvised comedy show where the actors take your suggestions and use them to create scenes. It’s theatre on the spot- dangerous, thrilling and often hilarious! Each monthly show will have a new theme and a cast comprised of different actors from our skilled Nelson crew, plus the occasional surprise visiting actor, so come back each month to see your favourites and be wowed by the endless ways in which the intrepid crew can invent one-off sketches, songs and stories!

“…top rate improvisational comedy… as clever as any I’ve watched… fresh, witty and unexpected.” -Nelson Mail

The Deep End is an improvised comedy show where the actors take your suggestions and use them to create scenes. It's theatre on the spot- dangerous, thrilling and often hilarious! Each monthly show will have a new theme and a cast comprised of different actors from our skilled Nelson crew, plus the occasional surprise visiting actor, so come back each month to see your favourites and be wowed by the endless ways in which the intrepid crew can invent one-off sketches, songs and stories!

"...top rate improvisational comedy... as clever as any I've watched... fresh, witty and unexpected." -Nelson Mail

Nelson Youth Theatre presents a ripsnorting production of Richard Lloyd's irreverent take on the classic Alexandre Dumas tale The Three Musketeers - Le Panteau!

The famous swashbucklers Porthos, Aramis, Athos and D'Artagnan are confronted by the despicable Cardinal Richeleeugh, his evil sidekick Le Chevalier Du Lobster Roquefort and a collection of other eminently boo-able villains.

Don't miss your chance to applaud our heroic Muskateers and hiss and boo at the villains in this hilarious and entertaining Pantomime Cordon Bleu!

Running time: 2.5 hours incl interval.

The Deep End is an improvised comedy show where the actors take your suggestions and use them to create scenes. It's theatre on the spot- dangerous, thrilling and often hilarious! Each monthly show will have a new theme and a cast comprised of different actors from our skilled Nelson crew, plus the occasional surprise visiting actor, so come back each month to see your favourites and be wowed by the endless ways in which the intrepid crew can invent one-off sketches, songs and stories!

"...top rate improvisational comedy... as clever as any I've watched... fresh, witty and unexpected." -Nelson Mail

Game of Thrones Tribute Show

The Body in Space improv troupe will take you to the Seven Kingdoms as they create scenes, songs and more, all inspired by George RR Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire novels. See your favourite characters, new storylines and have your say in this interactive, laugh-out-loud comedy show

"...top rate improvisational comedy... as clever as any I've watched... fresh, witty and unexpected." - Nelson Mail

A self-confessed "miserable old git" since the age of 23, Ed Byrne is now in his Forties. While for others this might result in a crisis that prompts the purchase of a sports car, Ed embraces middle age with open arms. Come join him, as he truly comes of age and gives out his clarion cry: "I am in my Forties. HEAR ME ROAR!"

Following on from the successes of his last shows Crowd Pleaser and Different Class, brilliant Irish stand-up comedian, Ed Byrne, is back at the NZ International Comedy Festival for the first time since 2009; with his hugely successful solo show Roaring Forties.

However happily Ed slides into middle age, he isn't ready for the slippers and woolly jumper quite yet. Still as angry as he ever was, you wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of one of his withering rants. Family life (now a father of two), and everyday frustrations (seriously, something EVERY day) all come in for a pasting with typically hilarious results as Ed casts his curmudgeonly comic eye over his life.

This promises to be a rip-roaring night you won't want to miss.

"Comedy's holy grail... Go see!" - 4 Stars, Sunday Times, UK
"Byrne is at the top of his game" - 4 Stars, Sunday Telegraph, UK
"Jokes come so fast that hecklers don't have a chance to get a word in edgeways" - 4 Stars, The Times, UK

Part of the 2015 NZ International Comedy Festival in cahoots with Old Mout Cider, running from 24 April - 17 May. To get The Latest on all the comedy shows on offer, practical information about the Festival, access to competitions and special deals, head to comedyfestival.co.nz.