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Abigail Mai Howells is a New Zealand comedian, actor, and writer. She was the winner of the Billy T Award in 2023.
Abby Howells | |
|---|---|
| Born | Abigail Mai Howells[1] 1990 or 1991 (age 33–34) Dunedin, New Zealand |
| Alma mater | University of Otago (PhD, theatre studies) Victoria University of Wellington (MA, creative writing) |
| Occupations |
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| Awards | Billy T Award (2023) |
Howells grew up in Dunedin, New Zealand.[2] 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.[3]
Howells completed a PhD in theatre studies from the University of Otago;[4] her thesis, titled "Performing Prison: How Is Life on the Inside Portrayed to the Outside World?",[1] explored how incarcerated women are portrayed in film and television.[5]
After starting stand-up in her 20s, Howells quit comedy for seven years after sexual harassment from another comedian.[2][6]
Howells was a founding member of Discharge, a female comedy collective.[7][3] She served as head writer for the group, penning the shows What is This? Woman's Hour? (2012),[8] Benedict Cumberbatch Must Die (2014),[9] and 28 Days: A Period Piece (2015).[3][10]
She presented her solo show Glocknid: Dwarf Warrior in 2014, which won the Best Newcomer Award at the 2015 Wellington International Comedy Festival.[3][11] She portrayed Beatrix in Trick of the Light Theatre's Beards Beards Beards, which toured the United Kingdom.[10] Her play Attila the Hun was part of the 2017 Young and Hungry Festival.[3] Howells acted in Fold by Jo Randerson in 2018, and The Bald Soprano in 2019.[12][13]
Howells's show HarleQueen won the Director's Award at the New Zealand International Comedy Festival in 2021.[2] 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".[14] For the show, Howells won the Billy T Award.[2][4][6][11][15] The New Zealand Herald wrote that La Soupco "strikes a wonderful balance between a theatrical concept and traditional stand-up".[14]
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.[4]
Howells is open about being autistic.[17]
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