Kūki comedian Ruaine-Pratley turns political frustration into satire

For Cook Islands comedian Orin Ruaine-Pratley, political satire is not just about making jokes about politicians.

It is about turning the way politics is performed into the joke itself.

The Wellington-based comedian brings his second solo show, Orin Performs Performative Stand-Up Comedy, to Auckland’s Basement Theatre tonight.

It draws on the language, repetition and “alt-comedy” to poke fun at the people running the country.

The show’s title was inspired by Housing Minister Chris Bishop calling Stan Walker’s performance of Māori Ki Te Ao at the 2025 Aotearoa Music Awards as “performative”.

“The title was kind of making fun of that, and that's the framing of the show. I talk directly about certain politicians or certain political figures both locally and around the world,” Ruaine-Pratley says.

Watch Orin Ruaine-Pratley's full interview below.

But the Kūki comedian says audiences do not need to follow politics closely to enjoy the show.

“Even if you're not into political comedy, you will get it because it's just satire. You definitely don’t need to know anything about politics to get the jokes. It’s just a bit of fun.”

The show has been directed by Sāmoan-Welsh comedy titan James Nokise, whose own political satire is currently travelling around Aotearoa ahead of the November election.

Ruaine-Pratley says working with another Pasifika comedian was also an important part of developing the show.

“I usually can't write with other people, I tell them what I find funny and they're just like, 'What are you talking about?',” Ruaine-Pratley says.

“But with James, he just knew it exactly. It was very validating because it's the first time I didn't have to explain myself.”

Nokise is currently taking his own show, One Night Rant, around the country, describing it as a way of “checking the country’s political temperature” ahead of the election.

His 33-stop tour runs from Kerikeri to Invercargill, with the comedian promising jokes aimed at politicians across the political spectrum.

“If there’s one campaign worth following in October, it’s…me running around the country writing jokes on the fly as the election campaigns kick into high gear,” his post said.

“A new hour of political stand-up, pointed at politicians across the spectrum. No party or policy is safe, and the news cycle does half the research.”

Ruaine-Pratley says the collaboration with Nokise helped him push the political material further while keeping his own voice at the centre.

From sports to the stage

The comedian’s path into comedy was not an obvious one.

Growing up in Palmerston North, Ruaine-Pratley was focused heavily on sports and says he did not see himself as a creative person at school.

“I really was not creative at all in school. I didn't like drama, I was just like sports, everything was sports...but I could write, I could do English and media studies,” he says.

His friends, however, were less surprised when he eventually stepped onto a comedy stage.

“I remember before my first gig, I just wanted to vomit for like two days. I went for a coffee with my mate. He said, ‘Well, I'm not surprised you're doing this because you used to make little funny things for our friends’. I actually thought I’d be a sketch writer.”

Since then, Ruaine-Pratley has gone on to win Best Newcomer at the 2023 NZ International Comedy Festival and receive a NZ Fringe nomination for Most Promising Pasifika Artist.

Now, as the political climate heats up, he is using comedy to make sense of it. “This is my second solo show,” he tells Island Time. “My first show was a lot of personal stories, this is a lot of political satire."

Following his Auckland shows, Ruaine-Pratley plans to take a breather from what he describes as an “intense” political climate.

Orin Performs Performative Stand-Up Comedy stages at Auckland’s Basement Theatre on 16-17 September. Tickets are available here.