The Dunedin production of Babyface, set to run from next Wednesday to Saturday, July 22-25, at Te Whare o Rukutia, will be a chance for Tipa to remain "match fit" for the physically demanding show, while raising some funds to help cover expenses for Edinburgh.
Directed by Sara Georgie, and performed solo by Tipa — complete with full-on wrestling moves — Babyface is a hilarious romp through the life and times of small town New Zealand, through the eyes of 10 year-old wrestling fan "Whiplash" (real name Kahu).
Taking the show to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival is an exciting challenge for the talented performer.
"This will be my first time at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival — I’m really looking forward to the experience," Tipa said.
"I was lucky enough to raise $6000 through a Boosted campaign, which helped to cover the flights and so on, and I am very grateful to those who supported me with that," he said.
Tipa will depart Dunedin for Edinburgh on on August 15, where he will stay with family friends, and will take a few days to get a feel for the giant festival — set to run August 1-31.
He will also need to get busy publicising the show and drumming up audiences.
"The Edinburgh Fringe Festival is a huge event with about 3500 shows running for 50,000 performances across three and a-half weeks," Tipa said.
"That’s massive for a city of only 500,000 people, I’m expecting to be overwhelmed," he said.
His own seven-day Edinburgh season of Babyface will run from August 24-30 at a busy theatre — where the play will be sandwiched between two other shows each day.
"While seven days is quite a short season for the Edinburgh Fringe, I think it will be good for my first time over there — especially with the physical nature of the show," he said.
"Since I first performed the show in the Dunedin Fringe Festival in 2025, I have been lucky enough to work with a professional wrestler in Tāmaki Makaurau on some of the technical aspects of the wrestling moves.
"That was incredibly helpful and will make the show safer for me, as well as ensuring that the wrestling looks authentic to knowledgeable audience members."
Timing is important to fit into the very tight Edinburgh Fringe schedule, and Tipa feels fortunate to have worked with vastly experienced Dunedin actor/director/playwright Greg Cooper to trim Babyface down to the standard fringe length of 55 minutes.
"There are back-to-back shows at the venue from 10am through to 1am each day, which means a very fast turnaround.
"There will be a play finishing 30 minutes before I start Babyface and another play starting 30 minutes after I finish, so there will be no time to mess around."
He has simplified the set, which includes a wrestling ring and crash pads, to make it lighter and easier to transport on the plane, as well as set up and pack down.
"The show has become a lot more slick in the past year, through other seasons I have done, and the more compact set will help," Tipa said.
"Although, as I’m travelling to Edinburgh on my own, I will definitely be lining up a couple of friends to help me with the set."
Now working as Dunedin City Council Ara Toi Creative Partnerships adviser, Tipa grew up in Dunedin, completed a bachelor of arts in theatre studies at the University of Otago and is an active member of Dunedin’s theatre and arts scene.
Tipa’s achievement in writing and performing Babyface was acknowledged during the 14th annual Ōtepoti Dunedin Theatre Awards (2025), where the show won Production of the Year.
Tipa and dramaturg Bronwyn Wallace won the award for Outstanding Concept — Script, and Tipa was named a finalist in the Outstanding Performance — Lead Male Role category.
In addition, Babyface director Sara Georgie was a finalist in the Outstanding Direction category, and set designer Sofian Scott was a finalist in the Outstanding Design — Set/Costumes category.
In the Dunedin Fringe Festival 2025 Awards, Babyface received the Theatre award and the Unesco City of Literature Beyond Words award, and Tipa was named most promising Māori artist.
