REVIEW: Aunty Donna: Big Boys (NZ International Comedy Festival)

May 11, 2017

[May Contain Traces of Nuts] While I wouldn’t classify myself as one of Aunty Donna’s most devoted fans, having only discovered them recently, it’s easy to see why the Australian comedy sketch troupe has charmed audiences with their often surreal sense of humour and skewering of social norms. Primarily known through their Youtube channel, I was worried that their on-screen […]

REVIEW: Tessa Waters Over Promises (NZ International Comedy Festival)

May 9, 2017

[Promising would be an understatement] Australian comic Tessa Waters is certainly not your average comedian. The multi-award winner is back in full force bringing a whole lot of crazy to the Basement Theatre, with her wild show Over Promises. I can PROMISE there are no corny one liners or gags about Brexit or Trump in this act. Instead you’ll encounter […]

REVIEW: Ren Lunicke: I’m an Apache Attack Helicopter (NZ International Comedy Festival)

May 4, 2017

[Troll Hunter] Taking its title from the similarly named meme, Ren Lunicke’s, I’m an Apache Attack Helicopter takes on the critics and trolls who scoff at modern identity politics – the ones with rhetoric that is often cheap and easy, comparing the often ridiculed examples of identity (otherkin, furries) to the sincere and deeply heartfelt (gender and sexuality). Essentially a spiritual […]

REVIEW: Bridget Davies and Tom Sainsbury: At the Drop of a Mic (NZ International Comedy Festival)

May 4, 2017

[Misery Loves Company] Double comedy acts are a lot like movie anthologies — there’s usually a variation in quality, with one standout segment surrounded by dreck. Thankfully, that is not the case here. Sharing small town origins, Bridget Davies and Tom Sainsbury have crafted tight 30 minute sets that combine elements from their childhoods with their own individual concerns and […]

REVIEW: Brynley Stent: Escape from Gloriavale (NZ International Comedy Festival)

May 3, 2017

[Running in Place] Following up her roles as the naïve bride in Camping and the naïve actress in The Opening Night Before Christmas, actress Brynley Stent completes a hat trick with her new solo show Escape from Gloriavale, in which she plays a naïve member of the secretive religious cult.After reading a copy of Women’s Weekly, Providence Gratitude (Stent) becomes possessed by a desire to […]

REVIEW: Boys (Auckland Theatre Company)

May 3, 2017

[Torn Foreskin] Having premiered originally in 1980, Greg McGee’s Foreskin’s Lament might be the quintessential Kiwi drama, putting our nation’s favourite sport under the microscope. Despite its reputation, it lives in a state of antiquity like most of the New Zealand theatre canon, sitting on the shelves often to be appreciated rather than performed. While it would be interesting to […]

REVIEW: Phil Jupitus: Juplicity (NZ International Comedy Festival)

May 2, 2017

[Gas Giant] We reckon many of the 500 strong audience in Sky City tonight got more than they bargained for in Phill Jupitus’s show Juplicity.  Having only previously seen him on QI on the telly we were anticipating some quick witted observational comedy riddled with some quirky stories. But we got more than that…so much more.  An unconventional short first […]

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