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The 2026 Peter Wells Short Fiction Contest is now open 🎉🎉

This year we’re asking for stories of nourishment and rest, renewal, readiness and resilience. The winners will be announced at our festival gala in August!

Swipe for details on how to enter or find all the details on our website via the link in our bio.

🎬 Check out the incredible cast for our Praise the Lord play reading this Saturday 7 February!

We cannot wait to see Andi Crown, Brit O’Rourke, Holly Hudson, Sam Snedden, Te Ohorere Williams, and Tom Clarke share this new work, directed by playwright Connor Amor-Bendall.

Grab your choose what you pay tickets from the link in our bio and come down to enjoy the first night of Basement for 2026!

🎤 Poetry Speakeasy and Open Mic

Here is our second spotlight event - fan favourite, the poetry speakeasy with open mic, is back and we’re so happy to be hosting at .toitu again this year!

The brilliant H**e Kearney is our feature poet and the event will be MC’d by SSBD Board Member Michael Giacon.

A free event to attend, no booking is needed, and you can sign up on the evening to share on the open mic. We’ll see you there!

💜 Praise the Lord Play Reading: Close Female Friends 💜

Bringing you the first of our spotlight events! We’re very excited to kick off the residency with a reading of excerpts from ’s new work.

Saturday 7 February
6:30pm
🎟️ Tickets are choose what you pay, link is in our bio!

🌟 Praise the Lord Residency Announcement 🌟

We are thrilled to announce our resident playwright for 2026, Connor Amor-Bendall! Our panel were incredibly impressed by the high quality applications received and we’re so excited to see how Connor’s work develops through the residency.

Information coming very, very soon about the first residency event which will take place as part of the 2026 Auckland Pride Festival.

Huge thanks to and for their partnership in delivering this residency.

We at Samesame But Different would like to acknowledge the passing of the wonderful Aroha Awarau.

Aroha was an incredible talent with a sharp wit and a generous nature. We last had the privilege of hosting him in our festival in 2023, where he adeptly chaired a panel discussion on Q***r Rage in writing.

Aroha will be deeply missed and our thoughts and love go out to his whānau, his friends, and all those closest to him.

🎤 I’ll Be Homo for Christmas second line-up drop!!!

Three more incredible poets join us for one night . Please welcome to the Samesame Christmas chaos , .mackenzie.99 and 🎅🏼🏳️‍🌈

We know they are going to put on a beautiful, festive, silly show so come and join us. Limited tickets - grab your now via the link in our bio 🎟️🎟️

✨ I’LL BE HOMO FOR CHRISTMAS ✨

One night only at . A Samesame night to celebrate and commiserate this silly season.

Get your tickets now 🎟️🎟️ Link in our bio!

📣 I’ll Be Homo for Christmas first line-up drop!!!

We cannot wait for a night of camp Christmas poetry with these legends. Hosted by the brilliant and featuring poets and 🏳️‍🌈🎄

One night only so get your tickets now for this Samesame takeover!! Final three poets to be announced next week 😏 Who are you hoping to see?!

✨ The Praise the Lord Playwright Residency is back ✨

We’re thrilled to present the third year of this residency alongside and , created in memory of pioneering gay playwright Robert Lord.

Q***r playwrights are invited to submit their new plays, incomplete or complete, with the chosen applicant receiving support to develop their work across 2026. This will begin with a staged reading supported by Samesame But Different as part of Auckland Pride Festival in February.

Expressions of interest can be submitted via the Google form in our bio! Entries close midnight Monday 8 December 2025.

Back by popular demand, we’re so excited to be supporting as they d*ck the halls this Holey Gay season with…

🔥 The Rawdog Gaysian Playwright Challenge: Holey Gay Periodt! 🔥

This year, we dare four q***r Asian writers to create the play they’d least want to write; in just three days. Each writer delivers a short duologue or monologue themed around the silly season, sealed in an envelope until showtime.

On the night, actors are cast from the audience for chaotic cold readings of each brand-new piece.

The result is the worst delivery of the q***r agenda you’ve ever experienced. An experiment in q***r joy, failure and some kind of silly spirit that embraces the hideousness of the season.

🎟️ Wednesday 10 December. Tickets at link in our bio!!

🎅🏼 SSBD gets festive 🎅🏼

We are beyond thrilled to announce, for one-night only as part of ’s Silly Season, a very camp Christmas poetry event!!

Full line-up coming soon but tickets are already available via the link in our bio. You absolutely do not want to miss I’ll Be Homo For Christmas 🎄🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️