Abby Howells | |
Birth Name: | Abigail Mai Howells |
Birth Place: | Dunedin, New Zealand |
Alma Mater: | University of Otago (PhD, theatre studies) Victoria University of Wellington (MA, creative writing) |
Awards: | Billy T Award (2023) |
Abigail Mai Howells is a New Zealand comedian, actor, and writer. She was the winner of the Billy T Award in 2023.
Howells grew up in Dunedin, New Zealand. She received a bachelor of arts in film and media studies from the University of Otago, and a masters in creative writing from Victoria University of Wellington's International Institute of Modern Letters in 2014. At Victoria, she wrote the screenplay Standing Up, which won the Brad McGann Award.[1]
Howells completed a PhD in theatre studies from the University of Otago; her thesis, titled "Performing Prison: How Is Life on the Inside Portrayed to the Outside World?",[2] explored how incarcerated women are portrayed in film and television.[3]
After starting stand-up in her 20s, Howells quit comedy for seven years after sexual harassment from another comedian.[4]
Howells was a founding member of Discharge, a female comedy collective.[5] [1] She served as head writer for the group, penning the shows What is This? Woman's Hour? (2012),[6] Benedict Cumberbatch Must Die (2014),[7] and 28 Days: A Period Piece (2015).[1]
She presented her solo show Glocknid: Dwarf Warrior in 2014, which won the Best Newcomer Award at the 2015 Wellington International Comedy Festival.[1] [8] She portrayed Beatrix in Trick of the Light Theatre's Beards Beards Beards, which toured the United Kingdom.[9] Her play Attila the Hun was part of the 2017 Young and Hungry Festival.[1] Howells acted in Fold by Jo Randerson in 2018, and The Bald Soprano in 2019.[10] [11]
Howells's show HarleQueen won the Director's Award at the New Zealand International Comedy Festival in 2021. In 2023 at the NZICF, she wrote and performed La Soupco, which is "based on a screenplay Howells wrote when she was 11 years old... a post-World War II nautical-themed romance set in Spain for little reason, where the characters don't have names". For the show, Howells won the Billy T Award.[12] [13] [4] [8] [14] The New Zealand Herald wrote that La Soupco "strikes a wonderful balance between a theatrical concept and traditional stand-up".[15]
In 2024, Howells and Angella Dravid formed an improv group called The Improfessionals and performed at the NZICF.[16]
On television, Howells has appeared on 7 Days, Guy Montgomery's Guy Mont-Spelling Bee, and Taskmaster New Zealand.
She has cited Blackadder and Jerry Seinfeld as influences.[13]
Howells is open about being autistic.[17]