REVIEW: Ashton Brown: Anxious to Meet You (NZ International Comedy Festival)

May 22, 2017

[Cracking Up] Over the last couple of years, I have seen Ashton Brown perform twice as part of double bills. I can safely say that this is the best I’ve ever seen him. A combination of self-flaggelating autobiography and stand up, Anxious to meet you sees Brown tackle his biggest, most complex subject: himself. Over the course of an hour he […]

REVIEW: Chris Martin: Ol Smarty Pants (NZ International Comedy Festival)

May 16, 2017

[Chris Martin:  Warmplay] A nice touch having Chris Martin on stage as we arrive – chatting to people and generally being chilled and unpretentious. And a nice show too – about nice things like getting married and waterparks as well as nice parts of New Zealand.  Likewise the audience was nice – polite, not too drunk, attentive and suitable ‘laughy’. […]

REVIEW: Jimmy McGhie: Apologia (NZ International Comedy Festival)

May 12, 2017

[Owns it] Comedy fest favourite Jimmy McGhie returns to Kiwi shores after winning the hearts of New Zealand last year with his British charm. With his impeccable storytelling, and quick witty banter, it is no wonder he is regarded as one of the UK’s most exciting acts to hit the comedy circuit. The cockney geezer transports us back to the […]

REVIEW: Hal Cruttenden: Straight Outta Cruttenden (NZ International Festival)

May 11, 2017

[Credible] For someone billed as “A right royal king of the UK Pro circuit” we’ve got to be honest: we expected more. Yes the show was perfectly acceptable and Hal Cruttenden kept the crowd laughing through his articulate language skills, but it wasn’t anything special and definitely not memorable. I suppose for someone who is a seasoned comedian, who has been on “Live […]

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 […]

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