Two Girls One Gun is Comedy Gold’s latest addition to their CGTU (Comedy Gold Theatrical Universe), which promises us sexy spies, boobs, legs, and friendship. This company is known for their genre-parody shows jam packed full of stunts and cheeky slapstick comedy, subverting expectations by placing women at the centre of these traditionally male dominated narratives. Naturally, my interest is piqued.
Sean Burnett Dugdale-MartinWhen We Were Us is a new musical from Playwright and Composer Catherine Zulver, directed by Helen Mackenzie Hughes and produced under Red Scare Theatre Company by the company's very own Cassandra Tse. I have high expectations going into the show as I’m aware of the many talents onboard. As I enter BATS Theatre’s Dome stage I take in the pre-show state: Kevin Orlando’s Dylan resting under a blanket centre-stage and Julia McDonald's Claire to the right, looking out and up. She seems hopeful, and so am I.
Austin HarrisonLimbo is the b4 25-shortlisted, return season of a sellout hit in this year’s 6 Degrees Festival produced by Keane As and Believable Arts Management. It’s inspired by Dante’s 1321 epic poem Inferno and has all the hallmarks of a young company full of ideas. They’ve thrown everything at this production; some sticks and some doesn’t.
Jack McGeeOne of the great joys of Sense and Sensibility is that Penny Ashton and her team consistently take things one step further than you’d expect. There’s a giddy delight in watching the show's stage manager (Fay Van Der Meulen) rush on stage with an industrial sized fan to ensure that Austen’s hills are appropriately windswept. The show’s many big reveals are made bigger by cartoonishly exaggerated lighting (Marcus McShane) and sound (Ashton), and whenever there’s an opportunity for a great one-off gag, the designer (Ian Harmann) has never shied away from sourcing a beautiful prop. Even the electrical tape, used to mark prop locations for transitions, has been coloured to look like little flowers on the beautifully painted meadow-green floor. Sensibility feels big. It feels maximalist. It’s a work that fills a room, and is accessible without feeling shallow. In short, it’s a real success as a Circa One show.
Corey Spence Gabby Anderson and Lesa Macleod-Whiting, comics you might recognise from the improv comedy troupe Tiny Dog, are throwing their hands into stand-up for Flow State. Opening with a pre-show blurb, they ask us to come on a new journey with them as they share the stage individually for two sets each. A ‘gentle’ joke about their show slot (9:00pm) is all the pair need to get their audience laughing and in the right state for their flow.
Jack McGeeThis Glass House Makes It Easy To See All The Cowards I’m Throwing Stones At, while a mouthful, is an apt title for Guy Williams bizarre and dissonant stand up special. Williams spends the hour putting himself and the world on blast in seemingly equal measure, positioning himself with an odd blend of hubris and vulnerability. Self deprecating comedy is nothing new, nor is socially conscious humour, but the way Williams wades straight into the deep end, openly admitting that he won’t be making it out unscathed is a sight to behold.
Sean Burnett Dugdale-MartinIt’s the last night of Comedy Festival in Wellington and all the queers and allies are packing into Fringe Bar for a trans lineup show. There are 11 comedians on the bill for this gig and I read online that this is scheduled for 60 minutes… as sceptical as I am about making it back to my car in the New World 90 minute window all my fears are dissuaded by MC Judy Virago’s plan of giving each comedian a strict fie minutes before being booted off-stage. The boujee and ruthless demeanour of our MC has me hooked early for all that is to come.
Sean Burnett Dugdale-MartinThe Cavern Club is bustling on a Friday night as punters pack-in for a Jak Darling performance. Hot off the heels of a Fringe Fest win, Jak Darling seems to be gathering speed as a popular Pōneke performer. A set of drawers, a clothes rack, a ukulele and other props set the very small stage space and have us guessing about what’s to come. Will Jak be our Darling tonight? The answer: a resounding yes!
Jack McGeeFin McLauchlan and Danny Sewell, the titular Butt Brothers are nothing if not creative. While results certainly vary, their NZ Comedy Fest show is filled with a near endless stream of out-there ideas. The show is fast paced, high in stimulation, and ultimately feels like the intersection between Aunty Donna and a Saturday morning cartoon.
Alia MarshallAs I make my way down to BATS to see Poprox’s improvised murder mystery Farce Onion, I can’t help but think they’ve chosen the perfect time of year for it. The wind howls outside, there’s a sprinkling of rain, the conditions are perfect for some homicide. Farce Onion is, of course, a play on the Glass Onion murder mystery films, which I must admit I have not seen, but I have seen Knives Out, so I’m not going in completely blind. However, this is my first rodeo with murder mystery improv, and I have no clue what to expect.
Sean Burnett Dugdale-MartinEntering into the BATS Studio Stage we have a microphone stand in the middle of the room accompanied by a stool with four small pieces of paper on them. Gebreselassie is welcoming in the audience tonight with a smile and making small talk with anyone he can. I like this guy already and I’m excited for what he has for us.
Jack McGeeWilson Dixon has the seemingly unenviable position of the 9:45 slot on a Thursday night. Extra concerning, his demo is older than most of our usual Te Whanganui-a-tara crowds - it's a rare experience to look around the room in Tapere Nui and not recognise any of the usual faces. Instead, these are all people with day jobs, families. Dixon is a TV approved presence, he’s been building his audience for over a decade, and it shows. There’s not a drop of angst or resentment in the room for the late start time, instead there’s a healthy sprinkle of hooting and hollering. I’m coming in blind, and my interest is piqued. Who is the cowboy who’s show launched a thousand babysitters?
Jack McGeeI’m not the target audience for Don’t Lick That, because I do not have a child. When Walters polls the room and asks who is childfree, there’s only four of us brave enough to make a sound. Walters dismisses us eloquently, proffering that our days must of course be filled with “cocaine and ziplining.” The thing I respect most about Don’t Lick That is its confidence in its convictions. The show rightfully assumes that since we were all once children, we can confidently get our head around any parent-specific-anecdotes without needing a thesaurus (you can work out what dropping the nap means from context clues). It also understands that we don’t really matter. Most shows you’ll see at BATS are by childless young people, for childless young people. We can smile and nod for a change.
Corey SpenceI need to admit that I’ve always been a bit of a fanboy for Eli Matthewson’s comedy. I’ve been reviewing and seeing his shows since FAITH back in 2015 and I have always left the venue warm with a sore face from laughter. The premise of his new show, Night Terror, seems particularly evocative: ‘My boyfriend tried to kill me in my sleep’ among other things is essentially the narrative Matthewson takes us through in his sixty-minute set. With unmistakable energy, he takes the centre stage, looks out to his audience, and within minutes, we’re in the palm of his hand.
Jack McGeeThere's a large group of comedians in the audience for opening night of Stop the Noise, which makes complete sense. Even if Baumann and his partner-in-crime Sachie Mikawa weren’t responsible for supporting and mentoring so much of the Wellington Comedy Scene (their company Monfu’s Soapbox series of “open-hearted-open-mics” have a lot to do with this), they’d still have shown up. Even if he wasn’t seemingly the nicest, kindest, gentlest man you’ve ever seen, they’d still have shown up. Even if his marketing hadn’t been exquisite, loaded with some of the most ecstatic pull quotes I’ve ever seen, they still would’ve shown up because Baumann is the kind of funny that makes you want to take notes. He embodies the remarkable intersection between heart and craft, vibrant joy built with pristine polish. The group of comedians in the audience spent the hour absolutely losing their shit. I’ve heard reports the laughter echoed all the way down the BATS stairwell.
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Local Honest ReviewsAt Art Murmurs, our aim is to provide honest and constructive art reviews to the Wellington community. Archives
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