I 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.
Brie KeatleyI have been wanting to see Brynley Stent for quite some time and managed to luck out with my first experience being the chaotic adventure that is Pus Goose. The show is bursting with energy and sketches galore which tickles the comedy lover in me.
Austin HarrisonToxic Shock Bimbo is the Billy T Award-nominated debut hour from Rhiannon McCall. With characters, sketches, stories and jokes- it’s a smorgasbord of comedic jaunts with the central theme “do you like me?”. The answer is yes. I really like McCall- but there is not as much of “her” in parts of this show as I would like.
Alia MarshallŌtautahi based comedian Jo Prendergast is once again gracing us with her presence in Pōneke with her brand new show Cancer and Cartwheels. During her treatment for breast cancer, Prendergast wrote this show as a means to make us laugh through the tough stuff, and lament on her once-great cartwheeling ability. Full of skits, songs, and some harsh truths, Cancer and Cartwheels is a hoot.
Jack McGeeOne of the things I love about reviewing live art is helping preserve it. So many unique and singular shows happen across Te Whanganui a-Tara every week and end up lost to time, tucked snugly away in the ever-degrading memories of the five to-100 people who saw it. It’s helpful to have a record of some form, even if it’s just some punter like me’s hyper-biased recollection of the evening he had. Often reading a review of a past show is the closest thing you can do to catching up on the first few seasons of a television series or doing a retrospective of a live artist's earlier work.
Isaac AndrewsIvan Aristeguieta is a Venezuelan comedian, who in 2012 immigrated to Australia and has since built a stand-up career taking on the challenge of performing in a second language. On this freezing cold Tuesday night, I’m welcomed in by the warmth of the Fringe bar, to his new show tonight: Ivan Aristeguieta - Too Easy.
Sean Burnett Dugdale-Martin I was not sure what I was in for when I walked into Fringe Bar as I had never heard of Li’i Alaimoana. He won comedy awards in Wellington before I moved to this motu so I was a clean slate of an audience member. Taking my seat I noticed all the stage had on it was a guitar to the right, a microphone to the left and a stool in the middle. A classic comedy set up.
Alia MarshallAward winning comedy duo Ginge and Minge (Nina Hogg and Megan Connolly) are back with their smash hit show Fame or Die, the first and only (as far as I know) game show hosted by the devil that sees comedy duos compete for one last shot at fame. As the other half of the title suggests, the stakes are pretty high. Packed full of chaotic characters, absurd musical numbers, and a lot of gay stuff, this show is a hoot that’s not to be missed.
Corey SpenceA full-crowd attends the opening performance of Persuasion at the Gryphon Theatre. Presented by Stagecraft, it is an adaptation of Jane Austen’s novel, one that is widely regarded as one of her greatest. Interestingly, this production is devised; the company began with no script, and what they present to us tonight has come from the immense work of the performers and designers taking the novel and twisting it into this new form. The question here, of course: should you be persuaded to go?
Jack McGeeJoana Joy is interested in give and take. Having recently completed her studies in psychology and philosophy, she describes to us a fascination with culture. We are who we are because of our cultural backgrounds, she explains, yet we create our culture by contributing to it. Chicken and egg, give and take. Such is comedy. Joy presents us with a second dichotomy, this time audience and comedian. “It’s like sex”, she informs us “If one party is making way more noise than the other, it’s probably not going well.”
Isaac AndrewsTom Cashman is an eccentric Australian comedian, who in his show Tom Cashman - Everything, graces an astute kiwi crowd with an epic attempt to cover every topic under the sun. This is as a part of the NZ International Comedy Festival. I’m intrigued to see what Cashman can come up with within the hour, and what ‘everything’ entails.
Alia MarshallThe Koru Hour: 2 Elite 2 Handle, written by award winning comedians Anna Maclean and Lesa Macleod-Whiting, is returning to the stage after a sold out season in 2019. As I’m sent the tickets for this show, I check my airpoints balance - purely out of curiosity - then miserably put my phone away. I am not the target audience for this show with my measly 16 points, but perhaps that makes me well placed to watch a show about wealth inequity and skeevy politicians - as a student and a poor person, I’m well aware that Chris Luxon would sell me for a corn chip.
Jack McGeeWhen 2024 Billy T Nominee Liv McKenzie, wanders into The Dome at 8:30 on a Tuesday night and notices that her audience of fifteen odd people are scattered out to the far corners of the very wide room, you can see her quickly steel herself. The audience is about as cold as the air outside (6.8°), she’s an out of town comic, it’s opening night - time to scale the mountain
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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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