The most arduous of home improvement tasks is now a comedy show: Presenting 'IKEA WARS'.
'IKEA WARS' was one of the smash-hits of the 2025 Fringe World and Edinburgh Fringe festivals (the latter enjoying a 27-show run). Now, the home-grown favourite returns to Perth for a very big, very mad, season.
“'IKEA WARS' is a high-octane comedy show, pitting two comedians against each other in the ultimate home improvement indignity: building a piece of IKEA furniture in front of a live crowd!” New Zealand comedian and the show's creator Kieran Bullock says. “To make things even trickier (and more fun to watch) each contestant has access to a board of sabotages they can use to foil their opponent, and set the scene for their own triumph!”
The show originally premiered as a solo effort at Melbourne Fringe in 2019. . . Where Kieran would churn through an assortment of flat-packs while chatting with the audience. Since, it has evolved into a much more competitive, chaotic and interactive production.
“We have two new contestants each night, which means no show is the same,” Kieran describes. “What makes the show interesting is seeing how the contestants use the sabotages against each other. I won't ruin the mystery, but some of the greatest moments in 'IKEA WARS' history have been through the brilliant, canny, and sometimes devastating use of the sabotages. We've even had to retire one of the flat-packs due to damage sustained in a show! It's now a herb planter.”
On the last night of the inaugural 'IKEA WARS' run in Melbourne, Kieran decided to trial a new format – where a friend was happy to act as his opponent. What followed was a noisy, competitive hour. . . And the one audiences see before them now.
“I want audiences to have a fun time, first and foremost. This is a silly show, but it's amazing what sort of atmosphere can be organically made when a large crowd is watching two people playing to win,” Kieran explains. “It might seem like a silly format for a show, but I genuinely believe this is the sort of show you can get totally swept up by. It's the energy of sport, crossed with the magic of the theatre. And it's a delicious and unpredictable combination.”
It's a battle royale for the ages, hitting Fringe World's Pleasure Garden for the very first time.
“I'm excited,” Kieran admits, “and I think we've got a cracking time-slot – late night on a Friday and Saturday. The show is at its best when the crowds are up and rowdy, and Perth crowds tend to be particularly vocal. I call the stage our 'flatpack thunderdome', and I think with a big tent and a big crowd we can truly have the sort of gladiatorial atmosphere that will shake the Pleasure Garden to its very core!”
'IKEA WARS' plays The Hat Trick at The Pleasure Garden 6-7 and 13-14 February, and ENCORE Rockingham 12 February (Fringe World).
