But he gamely had a snip at the blue variety yesterday to open the 2011 Dunedin Fringe Festival in the Octagon.
The mayor even consented to being blindfolded for the ceremony, to acknowledge this year's "Find your fringe" theme.
"The Fringe is truly the dynamic front of arts in Dunedin," Mr Cull said.
The opening was enlivened by fabulous gypsy funksters the Barons of Tang, who sounded like the result of putting Beethoven and Black Sabbath in the same karaoke kiosk.
They were followed by instrument inventor Peter Mason, whose percussion set made from old circular saw blades sounded, well ... a bit like someone banging away on old saw blades.
I saw the flamboyant flight of fantasy that is Master's Curious Delirium at Sammy's last night.
"The show is inspired by the mundanity [sic] of day-to-day life and the delirium that comes from repeatedly carrying on with it all, in spite of the fact that sometimes you would prefer to repeatedly beat your head against a wall," Anya McNicol-Windram told me before the performance.
"The desperation to be loved and to keep people pleased only adds to this pressure, until social etiquette and cautiousness, so as not to offend, get thrown out the window as we start to go into meltdown and the delirium takes over."
The delirium was a delightfully decadent dance through cabaret, music, theatre, comedy and burlesque.
The Christchurch earthquake continues to resonate, with artist Sarah Forgan being forced to cancel her Through the Looking Glass show after her props were trapped in the quake-stricken city.
The cast of The Visitor lost friends in the earthquake and had to recast the show after original actors were too badly affected to continue.
Lyttelton band the Eastern is donating the proceeds from its "No Depression (in New Zealand)" concert in the Glenroy Auditorium tomorrow to help with the rebuilding of its home town.
The Dunedin City Council has come to the party too, making the Glenroy Auditorium available free of charge for the concert.
Troubador Delaney Davidson will replace the Eastern in its Festival Club gig tonight, after the Eastern cancelled, having decided to perform a charity concert in Christchurch.
Davidson is probably my favourite contemporary New Zealand artist and, if you have not seen him perform live, I cannot recommend him highly enough.
I also caught funnyman Ian Loughran's irrepressible stand-up routine at the Festival Club at Bennu late last night, with the Barons of Tang and the Strange Girls.
The club is open from 10pm till late throughout the festival and, at just $5 entry, is a great way to sample the many flavours of the Fringe.
Fringe today
Daily: A Boy had a Mouth Full of Glitter (Chipmunks car park)
Daily: Animae (Octagon and University of Otago)
Daily: Who Let the Monkeys Out? (Queens Gardens)
9am-5pm: Cooee (Stairwell, 130 Stuart St, top floor)
10am-5pm: From The Mountains To The Sea (Tangente Cafe)
10.30am-6pm: Pattern and Paradox (Gallery on Blueskin)
Noon: Pick of The Fringe (Octagon)
Noon-6pm: YYYEEESSS (284 Princes St)
6.30pm: Fresh Talent Stands-Up (The Church)
7pm: Awesome $ecrets of Winning Thru £aziness (Comedy Club @ XII Below)
7pm: Love You Approximately (Fortune Theatre Studio)
7pm: The Secret of Capping Show's Success (The Globe Theatre)
7.30pm: Half (140 George St, top floor)
8pm: Footnote Forte (Allen Hall Theatre)
8pm: AntiSocial Tap's Big Names (The Church)
8.30pm: I Heart (The Globe Theatre)
8.30pm: Harpur's Bizarre - Immortal Combat (Comedy Club @ XII Below)
8.30pm: Master's Curious Delirium (Sammy's)
9pm: Scared Scriptless L.O.V.E. (Fortune Theatre Studio)
9.30pm: Du Bist Ein Uber Show! (The Church)
10pm: Punch Lines Not Included (Comedy Club @ XII Below)
10pm: Festival Club (Bennu Restaurant)
