CHOOKS
Tessa Waters
“If Lloyd Webber can do CATS, we can do CHOOKS!”
CHOOKS is a riot of comedy, cabaret and clowning and more than one gloriously unhinged chicken impression. Join passionate chicken farmer Bridget and her faithful netball team as they set out to bring Las Vegas razzle dazzle to rural Aotearoa. ‘The Girls’ are holding no punches as they strut, squark and cackle their way through rapid fire sketches, big show stopper songs and hilarious dance routines.
This is the kind of show that makes you feel like you’ve been part of something wild, weird, and wonderful. Co-devised by seven midlife women who refuse to disappear, settle down, or behave themselves.
Presented by multi-award-winning mischief-maker Tessa Waters, creator of The Feminist Clown Posse and Fringe Wives Club
‘The Best live show of 2025” – The Press
Performed and created by Tessa Waters Emma Brittenden, Kate Finnerty, Elizebeth Fraser, Mary Davison, Emma Newborn and Andy Brigden
Previous awards for Tessa Waters
Winner: Best Variety Act, Good Times Comedy Awards (2024)
Winner: Mervyn Stutter Spirit of the Fringe Edinburgh Fringe (2018)
Winner: Best Cabaret, Adelaide Fringe (2018)
Created and Performed by Tessa Waters Emma Brittenden, Kate Finnerty, Elizebeth Fraser, Mary Davison, Emma Newborn and Andy Brigden
CHOOKS is a comedy feminist performance collective led by multi-award-winning comedian Tessa Waters, bringing together seven midlife women working across clown, comedy, physical theatre, dance, improv, and musical theatre. Emerging from Waters’ acclaimed Feminist Clown Posse workshops, the company formed to translate radical, joy-driven training into a touring-ready cabaret model with heart, bite, and polish.
The ensemble draws on shared research into Aotearoa New Zealand’s agricultural iconography, A&P show culture, and uses these as a framework to explore themes of sexual liberation, class, capitalism, ageing, and bodily autonomy.
Supported by:
Content Warning:
Adult themes
16+
Audio based/ highly visual/content warning
