A staple of Auckland’s entertainment calendar, the Auckland Live Cabaret Festival is a place to let loose, unwind, and surrender to the fabulous. With the sparkling, shimmering, walking disco ball of brilliance that is Luke Bird serving as our guide for the evening, audiences were welcomed into the opulent Wintergarden at The Civic Theatre, where a carnival of curiosities awaited.

Dressed in head-to-toe sparkle and shining brighter than a Catherine wheel at full spin, Bird introduced a selection of bold, loud, and luminous acts as part of the festival’s opening gala, All That Glitters.

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Among the highlights was Tomáš Kantor, who delivered a tantalising preview of his award-winning production Sugar — a radically beautiful story of a gender-fluid twink caught up in their own personal Pretty Woman fantasy. Grinding, teasing, and inciting an almost orgasmically enthusiastic musical response from the audience, Kantor effortlessly pulled the crowd into the performance, even designating yours truly as an otter — an honour I gladly accepted. The result is a theatrical, outrageous, and undeniably sexy exploration of love, Grindr, and the importance of trusting yourself. Sugar plays Thursday 25 and Friday 26 June in the Wintergarden.

Next came a decadently delicious serving of boudoir burlesque courtesy of The Velvet Lounge and its ravishing goddesses, Michelle Kasey and Kiki Kisses. Their celebration of glamour, feathers, and scintillating sexuality was enough to turn even Luke Bird straight — for approximately thirty seconds, at least. Sitting front and centre once again proved dangerous, as Kiki made it her mission to make this redheaded reviewer blush with an unforgettable lap dance and a healthy dose of playful mischief. The Velvet Lounge plays Wednesday 1 and Thursday 2 July in the Wintergarden.

The festival’s resident tarot-reading songbird Amanda Grace-Lee then took to the stage, transporting audiences with her soaring vocals and magnetic stage presence. Delivering joy, heartfelt storytelling, and powerhouse musicality, Grace-Lee offered a stirring taste of Karaoke Heaven!, a performance that quite literally threatens to raise the roof. Karaoke Heaven! plays Thursday 2 and Saturday 4 July in the Wintergarden.

Of course, no Cabaret Festival would be complete without the drag superstars of Karangahape Road institution Caluzzi Cabaret. The fabulous Anita Wigl’it (Drag Wars, House of Drag, RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under) exploded onto the stage with an all-singing, all-dancing celebration that was bigger, bolder, and more fabulous than ever. With men literally raining from the heavens and a healthy dose of outrageous humour, this special 30th Anniversary event promises to be a standout attraction. Caluzzi Cabaret plays Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 June in the Wintergarden.

Bringing All That Glitters to a triumphant close was Simply Brill, featuring three of Australia’s most accomplished cabaret performers — Amelia Ryan, Michaela Burger, and Michael Griffiths. Delivering a vibrant, funny, and deeply moving musical journey through the legendary Brill Building songbook, the trio filled the room with pure 1960s charm, infectious energy, and timeless class. Simply Brill plays Thursday 25 and Friday 26 June.

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Following this sparkling opening showcase, audiences made their way into The Civic’s inner sanctum for Cheeky Cabaret — a riotous, genre-bending celebration of pure debaucherous decadence. Part vaudeville, part circus, part comedy, part burlesque, and very much R18, this deliciously naughty production delights in pushing boundaries. Equal parts shocking and spellbinding, it leaves audiences grinning from ear to ear while marvelling at the extraordinary talent on display.

Running from Wednesday 24 to Saturday 28 June, Cheeky Cabaret is about as far from a vanilla experience as you can possibly get, and this maxed-out spectacle is something you’ll definitely want to experience for yourself.

Delivering a cocktail of absolute splendour straight up, garnished with extravagant energy and a healthy serving of glitter, the Auckland Live Cabaret Festival 2026 is a bawdy, rambunctious, colourful, and utterly sparkling night out. Whether you’re seeking laughter, music, burlesque, drag, or something delightfully unexpected, this year’s festival has it all. And trust me — you won’t want to miss it.

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Auckland’s shining jewel, The Civic, will be taken over this June and July by an audacious line-up of more than 20 contemporary cabaret shows from across Aotearoa, featuring a rollcall of some of our boldest and most beautiful, intent on celebrating the sequins and stardust of the underground world of cabaret.

For ten days and nights (19 June – 4 July) audiences will see Kiwi musicians turn torch singers, burlesque stars reveal almost all, drag artists dazzle with innuendo and shade, and The Civic return to its roots as a picture palace par excellence with classic cinema programming.

Following sold-out shows across New Zealand in 2019, Tony Award-winning musical whirlwind Tim Minchin opens the season on 19 June with an encore performance of his hit show BACK, on the mainstage of The Civic.

The gob-stoppingly gorgeous theatre, built as a decadent picture palace in the Roaring 1920s, returns to its iconic roots as A Vintage Cabaret Cinema, screening cinema classics including Funny Girl, All That Jazz, and a special midnight screening of The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Annie Crummer, Anika Moa, Georgia Lines, Paige and Tami Neilson, under the direction of Ria Hall, complete the stunning line-up of iconic and up-and-coming music artists celebrating Matariki and the power of wāhine toa in one of the most powerful and reaffirming live concerts of the year – TUAWAHINE – onstage at The Civic.

A spell-binding mix of reimagined classics, original songs, and waiata Māori with the backing of a live band, TUAWAHINE is an unmissable event of the Auckland Live Cabaret Season.

The haunting ghost of French cabaret icon Edith Piaf comes to life and is illuminated by the unforgettable voice of Yulia, backed by a 14-piece orchestra and band, in Edith Piaf à L’Olympia à Paris – a sweeping concert on The Civic stage transporting audiences to the scene of one of Piaf’s most powerful live performances at the legendary Paris Olympia in 1961.

As The Civic mainstage burns bright, high tea and song is served on the Mezzanine Balcony, cocktails are poured, and the secret, late night Piano Bar roars into life, drawing cabaret provocateurs and voyeurs alike.

The original scene of some of Auckland’s most scandalous cabaret highjinks, The Civic’s Wintergarden and its environs welcome a line-up of sublime divas, queens, and extroverts extraordinaire intent on seducing with their beauty, balls, and brains in an exquisitely curated programme of deliciously devastating music; powerful and erotic striptease; classic, classy Māori showband and cabaret comedy; iconic songbooks; exquisite soul; hardcore housie (just like bingo, only brown!); ‘70’s grrrl power and rock; legs for days; a fab foursome; glittery, family-friendly, garden drag; a sexy, sapphic slumber party; experimental cabaret developed right before your eyes; and a call to handcuff your husbands as Fine Fatale return with heels higher than ever, bringing the dance, doo wops and drips of the Pacific Moana in Fever: Return of Ula.

As The Civic prepares to celebrate its 92nd birthday, the 2021 Auckland Live Cabaret Season invites audiences to embrace the heritage landmark and its unique place in Auckland’s vibrant entertainment history.

Auckland Live and Auckland Conventions, Venues & Events director, Robbie Macrae, says throughout its colourful life The Civic has remained a symbol of the power live performance and entertainment has had in contributing richness, identity, and a sense of place to New Zealand’s largest city.

Now almost a century old, he says The Civic has rightly earned its international reputation as a much-coveted stage for some of the biggest names from the worlds of music, theatre, musicals, and dance.

Auckland Live programmer, Janelle Bish, agrees. She says as the largest festival of its kind in New Zealand, the 2021 Auckland Live Cabaret Season’s sparkling programme befits the Civic legend.

“We’re proud and excited to present an unprecedented number of shows in the 2021 season, ten of which are world premieres that have been developed in partnership with Auckland Live,” says Janelle.

“It’s also a privilege to work alongside more than 140 New Zealand artists – a mix of emerging talent, established icons as well as Tim Minchin – sharing top billing and the stage to perform and share their magic with all of Tāmaki Makaurau.”

For all the details on this year’s Auckland Cabaret Season click here.

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