NZ Fringe 2025 International Exchange Award Winner Marshall Lorenzo brings ‘Decadunce’ to Tāmaki Makaurau this August.

The third chapter in eight-time NZ Fringe award-nominated ‘Baby Gorgeous’ sketch comedy trilogy, while 2024’s ‘Baby Gorgeous’ was the amuse-bouche and ‘Baby Gorgeous Build Ups’ was the main course, get ready to eat good in the decadent and dizzying dessert of the Baby Gorgeous trilogy: ‘Decadunce’.

Comedy fans, prepare yourselves for a whirlwind of hilarity as Marshall dives headfirst into a world of hilarious chaos with ‘Decadunce’, embodying a range of unforgettable characters (like the Briscoes Lady!) while delivering razor-sharp commentary on the crushing weight of capitalism and the absurdities of modern life. ‘Decadunce’ explores themes of fraud, excess and stupidity in the face of financial attrition.

Sans Pareil got the chance to ask Marshall some questions –

Who are you and what do you do?

I’m a sketch comedy performer and local nuisance! I grew up in Tāmaki Makaurau, but a lot of my career was spent over in Toronto Canada. 

Tell us about your upcoming show ‘Decadunce’. What can the audience expect?

So the show is a collection of old sketches and new material, all themed around the crushing weight of capitalism. There’s a bunch of my favourite characters in there like the desperate salesperson, your cheap rich best friend, and of course, the Briscoes Lady.

And that is a cool prize you’re giving away! How did that happen? You’ve got nearly the whole of K Rd on board!

It was a lot of hustle! Every single one of the businesses on board has been so lovely and supportive! They really do live for Karangahape Road and keeping it vibrant! Honestly, only one or two said no, and I mostly reckon it was cos of my hair and under-eye bags.

You (kinda recently?) came back from Canada. What was that like? 

I was there for almost ten years, working in the comedy scene, honing my sketch comedy craft at places like Second City. Comedy there was so welcoming and so were the audiences. I think NZ audiences really skew to either extreme. We’re either too polite or we have zero boundaries. 

What was Ru Paul’s Drag Race like? That’s so cool you were a writer on it.

It was wild. I think they were figuring the show out as we went, so it was very fast and loose. But it was kind of insane that they had this New Zealander having to write very specific Canadian references. I had a cheat sheet on my office wall of Canadian lingo and slang. I gotta say it was super satisfying to write the deliberation lines. There was one that ended up on Reddit that made the rounds. YES, I looked.

How are you finding it back in NZ? Do you think you’ll set up here?

It’s really hard. There’s no money here, no one has a job and our media landscape is dying. But we do have a responsibility to vote in people who care about the arts sector and the programmes that help our local communities. Not thin-skinned dandruff milk boys with grey bones.

Lastly, what’s your go to hair care product for your gorgeous hair and mustache?

Oh it’s easy – you just wash it for four hours, soak it in a conditioner bath for eight more hours, lie in a silk woven coccoon overnight, then air dry before finishing with a thousand degree celcius styling wand. Or get a wig. I’m thinking of getting into wigs.

Check out Marshall online here, and check out our exclusive ticket giveaway here

Decadunce has a MASSIVE $2000 worth of prizes to give away on Instagram, check that out too!