"Abby Howells’ HarleQueen is mini-history lesson folded into personal storytelling slash standup comedy routine. After its successful original run during Wellington and Dunedin Fringe, where it swept up a few awards, it’s returned in preparation for its Adelaide tour next year.
And it’s the perfect type of show to go over the pond: simple in design but containing huge heart. Staged upstairs from the Dunedin University Bookshop, this particular production functions perfectly fine without traditional theatre lights and no black box stage. The ease in which this barren found space is transformed into a theatrical canvas is a testament to Abby’s ability to hold an audience and stir our imaginations. She doesn’t perform with the overt confidence of most comics but with an unassuming ease and undeniable charm.
...HarleQueen reminds us that the best revenge is success. It’s doubtful there’ll be a better underdog story you’ll see all year. At once deeply hilarious, heartwarming and inspiring. It’s the type of show that might just convince audiences that they can do anything they set their minds to."