Meet your 2027 Billy T Award Nominees!
On Saturday night the next wave of comedy talent from across the motu competed for a coveted spot as one of the Billy T Award nominees at the 2027 NZ International Comedy Festival.
2027 marks 30 years of the Billy T Award, now one of the highest comedy accolades in Aotearoa. Presented by the New Zealand Comedy Trust, the award was named after comedy legend Billy T James, a performer who forged a hugely successful career and changed the face of comedy in Aotearoa. This prestigious award honours his legacy and celebrates up-and-coming comedians with outstanding potential set to follow in his footsteps.
18 comedians presented their best material and funniest punchlines at the Billy T Applicant Showcase to a panel of independent industry experts at The Civic Theatre, Wintergarden in Tāmaki Makaurau, with 2026 Billy T Award winner, Joel Vinsen, as host.
After much deliberation by an independent panel of industry experts, five rising stars have been nominated for the 2027 Billy T Award. Chosen for their comedic ability, dedication to their craft, and outstanding potential, the New Zealand Comedy Trust is proud to announce the 2027 finalists:
Annie Guo
@annieguocomedy
Bright, bubbly and energetic, Annie Guo is a rising presence in New Zealand comedy. Following a sold-out 2025 NZ International Comedy Festival season, she returned with Artificial Infidelity in 2026, she has performed at SkyCity Theatre and made her television debut on Season 3 of Guy Montgomery’s Guy Mont-Spelling Bee.
Evie Orpe
@evis_o
Evie Orpe is a comedian with a sharp, funny and very current take on the world around her. Originally from Lower Hutt, Evie brings together stand-up, social commentary, glamour, chaos and quick-fire observation in a way that feels fresh, smart and completely her own.
Joel McCarthy
@joel.mccarthy3
Trained from birth in the ancient disciplines of shit talk, Joel McCarthy's particular brand of nonsensical comedy focuses on the mundane and insignificant. Contemplation is for the intellectuals, storytelling is for the socially competent, but that other stuff? That's Joel McCarthy.
Jonjon Tolovae
@jonjon.tt
Jonjon Tolovae is a Fa’afafine poet and artist based in Tāmaki Makaurau whose work interrogates the intersections of gender, cultural identity and diasporic memory within contemporary Pacific arts praxis. Grounded in the intellectual and aesthetic traditions of Moana storytelling, her practice engages critically with the politics of representation, the instability of normative gender frameworks and the ongoing negotiation of selfhood in postcolonial contexts.
Richie Fa'avesi
@richiefaavesi
Richie Fa’avesi is a South Auckland comedian whose comedy is built on lived experience, family, culture, community and the beautifully chaotic realities of everyday life. With a raw, energetic and naturally storytelling-driven style, Richie brings audiences into his world through honest observations and personal stories. His comedy finds humour in the things people often experience but don’t always talk about, balancing vulnerability with sharp punchlines and an unmistakably South Auckland perspective.
30 years ago, Mike King, Brendhan Lovegrove, Te Radar, Raybon Kan, Cal Wilson and Ewen Gilmour competed for the inaugural Billy T Award and went on to become household names. Since then, more than a hundred rising comedy stars have competed for the Billy T Award and cemented their place amongst an ever-growing list of Aotearoa comedy icons.
Previous winners include Rose Matafeo, Taika Waititi & Jemaine Clement, Dai Henwood, Brynley Stent, Melanie Bracewell, Guy Montgomery, Abby Howells, Angella Dravid, David Correos, Kura Forrester and Hoani Hotene. Full list of previous winners here.
“Thirty years of the Billy T Award is a pretty incredible milestone, and there’s no better way to celebrate it than with this group of seriously exciting comedy talent. The Billy T has always been about spotting comedians at that magic point where something big is starting to happen, and this year’s nominees really show just how much brilliant new comedy is coming through in Aotearoa.” says NZ Comedy Trust General Director, Rae Baker.
This year’s panel of independent industry experts are: James Mustapic, Pax Assadi, Heidi O’ Loughlin, Lou Hunter, Jane Yonge and Leon Kirkbeck.
The five 2027 nominees will perform one-hour solo shows during the 2027 NZ International Comedy Festival (30 April – 23 May 2027), culminating in their final performance at the Last Laughs Awards Gala on 23 May 2027, where one comedian will be crowned the 2027 Billy T Award winner and take home the prestigious yellow towel and $5,000 cash towards their professional development in the comedy space.
