The line-up for the 2015 Comedy Festival is out today with a programme featuring everyone from returning international and local stars to provocative new acts.
The most attention-grabbing show on a sneak peek given to TimeOut is Adrienne Truscott's Asking For It:, a one-woman show dissecting rape culture and delivered, semi-nude, by American performer Truscott which one British reviewer described as "an hour of blisteringly sarcastic comedy".
Truscott's Edinburgh award-winning show was inspired by the rise of rape jokes in stand-up comedy. Her pants-free performance has a point - that being dressed, or undressed, provocatively, should not put her at risk of being raped.
![Comedian Adrienne Truscott.](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/resizer/v2/6P7QIJNDAZJ6BKE5DSV77EHZFE.jpg?auth=b25fcb2ae0d09b9d2417275b10e5b278ebb4b4a35a5db6daac3b1ae90cb7eca8&width=16&height=12&quality=70&smart=true)
"The not-wearing-of-the-pants is partly a very serious point taken to the nth degree," she told the Guardian "partly because I think it's a hilarious costume and partly because I'm well aware it's a gimmick. I've been around the block and on stages long enough to know it's a very inexpensive and effective costume, nudity, and alongside that, can be very powerful."