2022 NEW ZEALAND FRINGE FESTIVAL AWARDS 

Fringe Festival announces Award Winners and celebrates the end of its 2022 Festival programme under ‘Red Light’ setting

Pōneke, NZ –– The New Zealand Fringe Festival completed its 2022 programme with an online digital awards ceremony celebrating the outstanding efforts and achievements of the boldest and brightest artists during the festival under ‘Red Light’. Proudly celebrating its unique position as one of the only national arts festivals to deliver a majority of its live programme this Summer, the festival wrapped it’s three week run showcasing 321 live performances across 30 venues as well as 28 digital shows as part of the 2022 programme for audiences to enjoy.

Festival Director Vanessa Stacey says:“In another unprecedented year for the arts and the New Zealand Fringe Festival, I couldn’t possibly be prouder of all of the remarkably hard-fought mahi and endless aroha from our passionate festival team, all of our outstanding venues, each and every incredibly talented, tenacious artist, and all of our front of house and volunteers, who participate in the safe delivery of this 2022 season of NZ Fringe. We are so delighted, that against all odds, we were still able to have put nearly $180,000 back into the pockets of our Fringe artists thanks to box office profit, funding and donations support. Last night’s online awards were a chance for us to come together safely and celebrate this community, the artists and their cutting-edge, innovative new works, while also honouring all of those works that are yet to come. It was a joyful way to end what can only be described as an incredible season.”

The digital awards ceremony were hosted online via social media channels and saw the eighteen coveted awards presented in tandem with shoutout videos from festival partners, sponsors and even a camp video skit submission from His Worship, Mayor Andy Foster.

Fringe award highlights included the Most Promising Emerging Artist and Most Promising Emerging Company awards. This year these accolades were presented to Viki Moananu for their haunting work at BATS Theatre, The Ghost Show (Most Promising Pacifika Artist). Jacob Banks also took out an Emerging Artist award for their outstanding projection and lighting design across the shows WendyBird, Music Sounds Better Out Here and the outrageously messy production Milk of the Gods. Ghostlight Productions took out the award for Most Promising Emerging Company for their dazzling debut of their all singing, all dancing takatapui drag girl group The Tiwhas which premiered at both BATS Theatre and the newly created Roxy Live stage at The Roxy Cinema.

Unique to the Fringe Festival, the award for Most Innovative Work was awarded to Band Sensations with Stanley Manthyng, Scenic Album Tour at Sea, a show staged on the water itself. And the award for Spectacular Organised Chaos was given to Raw, ASMR! A new performance art piece that saw a fruit and vegetable mukbang haul converted into a satirical and sensory tingling art and endurance piece.

The Australian Fringe Tour Partnership awards for Melbourne Fringe, Sydney Fringe, and Adelaide Fringe were awarded to the three following groundbreaking works respectively: Loops by circus theatre Company Hireath, ScatterGun by the celebrated artist Ana Chaya Scotney and Gag Reflex by newcomer, but no stranger to danger, Rachel Atlas.

To complete the ceremony, the award for Best in Fringe, supported by his worship, Mayor Andy Foster was awarded to the daredevil, solo-show destigmatising sex work, all while performing death defying acts such as knife throwing, stunts with fire and even live sword swallowing, Gag Reflex by Rachel Atlas, directed by Sabrina Martin and produced by the cabaret and drag powerhouse, George Fowler/ Hugo Grrrl.

The 2022 New Zealand Fringe Festival stood defiantly against the challenges of covid-19 this year and proudly supported the staging of over 300 live performances with $180,000 of box-office, funding and donation profit and support going directly into artists pockets amidst capacity restrictions. The Birthplace of Brilliance, New Zealand Fringe Festival has now completed it’s three week long 2022 season in the creative capital and looks forward to supporting the demand and victory laps of return seasons and postponed debuts of this year’s Fringe festival shows.

The 2022 New Zealand Fringe Festival Award Winners and Nominees

The Nominees for the Most Innovative Work Award supported by Wellington Airport

1. Band Sensations with Stanley Manthyng, Scenic Album Tour at Sea (WINNER)
2. Drink Violin
3. Quantium Tangerine
4. The Veiled Isle

The Nominees for the Grand Design Award Award supported by Inject Design

1. LOOPS (WINNER)
2. The Shit Show
3. Wendybird
4. Gag Reflex

The Nominees for the Outstanding Solo Performance Award supported by Gibson Sheat

1. Rachel Atlas – Gag Reflex
2. Ana Scotney – ScatterGun (WINNER)
3. Emma Barrett – Community
4. Cole Hampton – A Landfill Majority

The Nominees for the Momentus Movement Award supported by NZME

1. Sublime Interludes (WINNER)
2. LOOPS
3. Clone Like
4. H.Y.P.E (How You Perceive Energy)

The Nominees for the Most Promising Pacifika Artist Award supported by Creative New Zealand

1. Jthan Morgan (Presenting The Tiwhas)
2. Patrick Godinet (i/O)
3. Matt Fagaloa (Survivor Street Dance Edition)
4. Viki Moananu (The Ghost Show) (WINNER)

The Nominees for the Most Promising Emerging Company Award supported by BATS Theatre

1. Ghostlight Productions (The Tiwhas) (WINNER)
2. Company Hiraeth (Loops)
3. UKU (HYPE)
4. Blue Flicker Productions (Wendybird)

The Nominees for the Most Promising Emerging Artist Award supported by New Zealand Fringe Festival

1. Daniel Nodder – (Smilestuff, Survivor Street Dance Edition)
2. Jacob Banks (WendyBird, Music Sounds Better Out Here, Milk of the Gods) (WINNER)
3. Liz Butler – (Spitz and Crumple, Shaping Up)
4. Bentley Stevenson – (Wet Dreamz)
5. Emma Barrett (Community)

The Nominees for the Memorable Marketing Award supported by Phantom Billstickers

1. Gag Reflex
2. The Shit Show
3. Squirt 2: Cum Again (WINNER)
4. MANUFACT

The Nominees for the Spectacular Organised Chaos Award supported by NZ Improv Festival

1. Hugo Grrrl Shit Show
2. Birdmann and Egg
3. Milk of the Gods
4. RAW! ASMR (WINNER)

The Winner of the Spirit of the Fringe Award supported by Havana Coffee Works

• Every artist and crew member who had to isolate to protect us all.
• Special Mention to artist and producer Jo Marsh

The Nominees for the Outstanding Ensemble Award Supported by an anonymous benefactor

• Quadruple Entendre (WINNER)
• HYPE
• Clonelike
• Queens Closet
• Same-Same 2.0

The Nominees for the Best in Fringe Award supported by His Worship The Mayor Andy Foster

1. Gag Reflex (WINNER)
2. Loops
3. ScatterGun
4. A Landfill Majority with Pamela Handcock
5. Sublime Interludes

The Nominees for the Parkin Development Award supported by Chris & Kathy Parkin

1. Quantum Tangerine (WINNER)
2. The Ghost Show
3. The Professio(nah)l’s

The Nominees for the Fringe Tour Ready Awards

1. Spitz and Crumple
2. The Shit Kid
3. Nifty History of Evil
4. Presenting The Tiwhas
5. LOOPS
6. ScatterGun
7. Gag Reflex
8. A Landfill Majority with Pamela Handcock
9. Community

The Winner of the Melbourne Fringe Tour Ready Award Supported by Melbourne & NZ Fringe & The Australian High Commission is:

Loops – Company Hiraeth

The Winner of the SYNZ Tour Ready Award Supported by Sydney & NZ Fringe & The Australian High Commission is:

ScatterGun – Ana Chaya Scotney

The Winner of the Adelaide Fringe Tour Ready Award Supported by Adelaide & NZ Fringe & The Australian High Commission is:

Gag Reflex – Rachel Atlas

The Winner of the Auckland Fringe Tour Ready Award Supported by Auckland & NZ Fringe & Creative New Zealand is:

Community – Emma Barrett

The Winner of the Dunedin Tour Ready Award Supported by Dunedin Fringe Tour Ready Award is:

A Landfill Majority with Pamela Handcock – Cole Hampton