--- title: "Tom Sainsbury: Lessons Not Learnt | Assembly Festival" meta: "og:description": "Kiwi comedian, Tom Sainsbury, is best known for his wildly accurate character comedy and social media sketches that make audiences laugh, then immediately question themselves. A familiar face from Taskmaster NZ and Wellington Paranormal, Tom has built a huge following playing everyone from overbearing bosses and passive-aggressive neighbours to iconic 80s mums. Blending stand-up, storytelling and razor-sharp observations, his live show dives into the gloriously awkward side of everyday life – small-town scandals, misguided confidence and people making deeply questionable decisions." "og:title": "Tom Sainsbury: Lessons Not Learnt" "twitter:description": "Kiwi comedian, Tom Sainsbury, is best known for his wildly accurate character comedy and social media sketches that make audiences laugh, then immediately question themselves. A familiar face from Taskmaster NZ and Wellington Paranormal, Tom has built a huge following playing everyone from overbearing bosses and passive-aggressive neighbours to iconic 80s mums. Blending stand-up, storytelling and razor-sharp observations, his live show dives into the gloriously awkward side of everyday life – small-town scandals, misguided confidence and people making deeply questionable decisions." "twitter:title": "Tom Sainsbury: Lessons Not Learnt" description: "Kiwi comedian, Tom Sainsbury, is best known for his wildly accurate character comedy and social media sketches that make audiences laugh, then immediately question themselves. A familiar face from Taskmaster NZ and Wellington Paranormal, Tom has built a huge following playing everyone from overbearing bosses and passive-aggressive neighbours to iconic 80s mums. Blending stand-up, storytelling and razor-sharp observations, his live show dives into the gloriously awkward side of everyday life – small-town scandals, misguided confidence and people making deeply questionable decisions." --- # Tom Sainsbury: Lessons Not Learnt [**← **Back to What's On](https://assemblyfestival.com/whats-on) [ ![Tom Sainsbury: Lessons Not Learnt](https://assemblyfestival.com/_vercel/image?url=https:%2F%2Fassemblyfestival.pazaz.studio%2Fassets%2Fb5fec0cf-fcba-49c2-a7db-f237ffd26a14?width=360%26height=360%26format=webp&w=1536&q=100) # Tom Sainsbury: Lessons Not Learnt Kiwi comedian, Tom Sainsbury, is best known for his wildly accurate character comedy and social media sketches that make audiences laugh, then immediately question themselves. A familiar face from Taskmaster NZ and Wellington Paranormal, Tom has built a huge following playing everyone from overbearing bosses and passive-aggressive neighbours to iconic 80s mums. Blending stand-up, storytelling and razor-sharp observations, his live show dives into the gloriously awkward side of everyday life – small-town scandals, misguided confidence and people making deeply questionable decisions. ## Melbourne International Comedy Festival Club, 2026 [![Video thumbnail](https://img.youtube.com/vi/7hWljMLoXck/sddefault.jpg)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hWljMLoXck) ##### Melbourne International Comedy Festival Club, 2026 [ ## You may also like [![](https://assemblyfestival.com/_vercel/image?url=https:%2F%2Fassemblyfestival.pazaz.studio%2Fassets%2F6ea2c3a7-fd9f-4f2c-82a8-a714cd76c5b8?width=360%26height=360%26format=webp&w=1536&q=100) Children's Shows Comedy Stand-Up](https://assemblyfestival.com/whats-on/james-campbell-comedy-4-kids) #### **James Campbell's Comedy 4 Kids** 05-09 Aug 2026 @ 12:15 **Assembly George Square Studios** Children's Shows Comedy Stand-Up [Book Now](https://assemblyfestival.com/whats-on/james-campbell-comedy-4-kids/performances) [** Read more → **](https://assemblyfestival.com/whats-on/james-campbell-comedy-4-kids) [![](https://assemblyfestival.com/_vercel/image?url=https:%2F%2Fassemblyfestival.pazaz.studio%2Fassets%2F5b49753c-b95e-411c-91be-9d61d09e3967?width=360%26height=360%26format=webp&w=1536&q=100) Comedy Musical Comedy Stand-Up](https://assemblyfestival.com/whats-on/couplet-folk-marry-kill) #### **Couplet: Folk Marry Kill** 05-30 Aug 2026 @ 16:35 **Assembly George Square Studios** Comedy Musical Comedy Stand-Up [Book Now](https://assemblyfestival.com/whats-on/couplet-folk-marry-kill/performances) [** Read more → **](https://assemblyfestival.com/whats-on/couplet-folk-marry-kill) [![](https://assemblyfestival.com/_vercel/image?url=https:%2F%2Fassemblyfestival.pazaz.studio%2Fassets%2F9fa35935-ed10-48ef-a991-614a245b33c2?width=360%26height=360%26format=webp&w=1536&q=100) Comedy Experimental Clown](https://assemblyfestival.com/whats-on/underground-monk-show) #### **Underground Monk Show** 05-30 Aug 2026 @ 22:15 **Assembly George Square Gardens** Comedy Experimental Clown [Book Now](https://assemblyfestival.com/whats-on/underground-monk-show/performances) [** Read more → **](https://assemblyfestival.com/whats-on/underground-monk-show) [![](https://assemblyfestival.com/_vercel/image?url=https:%2F%2Fassemblyfestival.pazaz.studio%2Fassets%2Fbde564d1-d007-43ad-a941-3d7eadac8848?width=360%26height=360%26format=webp&w=1536&q=100) Children's Shows Puppetry Storytelling](https://assemblyfestival.com/whats-on/hello-beach-efff) #### **Hello Beach @ EFFF** 31 Jul 2026 - 02 Aug 2026 @ 12:35 **Edinburgh Folk & Food Festival** Children's Shows Puppetry Storytelling [Book Now](https://assemblyfestival.com/whats-on/hello-beach-efff/performances) [** Read more → **](https://assemblyfestival.com/whats-on/hello-beach-efff) ### **Follow Us** ### **Sign up to our newsletter** ## **THANK YOU TO OUR SUPPORTERS, SPONSORS AND PARTNERS** [![The City of Edinburgh Council](https://assemblyfestival.pazaz.studio/assets/d379ddbf-66cc-4bb3-909e-c524a9e673ac?width=400&height=200&fit=inside&format=png)Visit The City of Edinburgh Council website](https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/) [![The Church of Scotland](https://assemblyfestival.pazaz.studio/assets/49185c32-3f2d-4eda-ae62-d01a3e04c659?width=400&height=200&fit=inside&format=png)Visit The Church of Scotland website](https://www.churchofscotland.org.uk/) [![Essential Edinburgh](https://assemblyfestival.pazaz.studio/assets/bbd576d2-3705-41b9-94af-7dfe6f96b6b2?width=400&height=200&fit=inside&format=png)Visit Essential Edinburgh website](https://www.essentialedinburgh.co.uk/) [![The University of Edinburgh](https://assemblyfestival.pazaz.studio/assets/56257592-6b16-4180-9c7c-562de7a6cc0e?width=400&height=200&fit=inside&format=png)Visit The University of Edinburgh website](https://www.ed.ac.uk/) [![Inchs](https://assemblyfestival.pazaz.studio/assets/fb42cf05-8f22-4aea-8e08-24e008e57457?width=400&height=200&fit=inside&format=png)Visit Inchs website](https://www.inchscider.co.uk/) [![encore](https://assemblyfestival.pazaz.studio/assets/d961c754-dd20-40c1-b476-5369a4076745?width=400&height=200&fit=inside&format=png)Visit encore website](https://www.encore-emea.com/) [![Deltalive](https://assemblyfestival.pazaz.studio/assets/1ca2a489-690b-4b55-b16a-cd6d2e539d7c?width=400&height=200&fit=inside&format=png)Visit Deltalive website](https://deltalive.net/) [![Robe](https://assemblyfestival.pazaz.studio/assets/b21f6feb-a965-4482-b78a-4466a153d45b?width=400&height=200&fit=inside&format=png)Visit Robe website](https://www.robe.cz/) [![Matthew Clark](https://assemblyfestival.pazaz.studio/assets/1a437a3c-6fa6-4078-a071-17d0e0b860d0?width=400&height=200&fit=inside&format=png)Visit Matthew Clark website](https://www.matthewclark.co.uk/) [![The List](https://assemblyfestival.pazaz.studio/assets/86335248-6c14-4676-bcb8-291543a4c604?width=400&height=200&fit=inside&format=png)Visit The List website](https://list.co.uk/) [![Capital Radio](https://assemblyfestival.pazaz.studio/assets/71f29d18-debc-4592-8ae7-0aa4f5163117?width=400&height=200&fit=inside&format=png)Visit Capital Radio website](https://www.capitalfm.com/) ![Forth 1](https://assemblyfestival.pazaz.studio/assets/dc387b7e-8339-4d99-b9be-b1a256439563?width=400&height=200&fit=inside&format=png) [![Deputy](https://assemblyfestival.pazaz.studio/assets/7e02ca85-c474-41c6-bd00-beb95ab98ece?width=400&height=200&fit=inside&format=png)Visit Deputy website](https://www.deputy.com/gb) [![Lothian](https://assemblyfestival.pazaz.studio/assets/c55784eb-57f5-464e-8f82-ad0e480d3b30?width=400&height=200&fit=inside&format=png)Visit Lothian website](https://www.lothianbuses.com/) [![Edinburgh International Film Festival](https://assemblyfestival.pazaz.studio/assets/bf554013-50b4-4eb8-91df-aeaa7ef890ac?width=400&height=200&fit=inside&format=png)Visit Edinburgh International Film Festival website](https://www.edfilmfest.org/) [![Street Assist Edinburgh](https://assemblyfestival.pazaz.studio/assets/d64fb877-77c5-4c98-bd42-15db5069750c?width=400&height=200&fit=inside&format=png)Visit Street Assist Edinburgh website](https://www.streetassist.co.uk/)