Jack McGee
There’s two Hoani Hotene jokes I want to celebrate straight out the gate. The first, is the title to his show; It’s Getting Hot-ene so Tell Me All Your Jokes. Billy T awards aside, Hotene should be walking home with a joint-win for title of the year (shared with Liv Ward of course). The second joke, is this one. I needn’t describe it, except to say that this one joke proves the necessity of local art.
Unfortunately, I am building towards a however, albeit a very soft one. Hotene is a delightful stage presence. He’s as easy to spend an hour with as his jokes are funny.
And yet, however, the performance I see of It’s Getting Hot-ene… is rough around the edges, to say the least. Watching Hotene deliver some of the same jokes online, I clearly saw him on an off day.
The first reason this is a soft however, is that this was opening night. There’s been some great discourse over the past couple of years as to how reviewers should treat opening nights of comedy shows. Comedy grows by its audience, it’s a living, breathing, ever evolving thing, and if reports from others are to be believed (including the Honourable Tory Whanau) It’s Getting Hot-ene… will go on to do that over the course of it’s Te Whanganui-a-tara season. I am likely seeing the worst version of this show, and should account for that. The counterargument, which I’ll admit I partially subscribe to, is that this isn’t a small set at the Fringe Bar, or a work in development season in NZ Fringe. It’s Hotene’s Billy T nominated show, as part of NZ International Comedy Fest. He’s spent the past year plus building towards this, this is the main stage, and the work should be treated as such.
The second reason this is a soft however, is that Hotene’s wonderfully relaxed stage energy makes it hard to get stressed about things not going to plan. He brushes off his errors with ease, and generally keeps the audience on-side laughing with him. He’s so easy to like, you sense that everyone in the room leaves wanting to be his friend. The laughs were still coming all the way through the night.
When I say “rough around the edges” this is what I mean: From the beginning of the show, Hotene is clearly somewhat uncomfortable. There’s an error with timing on audience applause during his intro that doesn’t bother us, but clearly bothers him. This appears to follow him for the rest of the night. There are jokes he’s told many times before that he forgets the set-up of, leaving the punchline hanging out to dry. The result of these compounding nerves is a sense of embarrassment, a lot of pauses to laugh at his own jokes, or accidental jokes. It keeps the show from ever quite finding its rhythm, and me from getting the most out of it.
I think it’s worth acknowledging this, because I’d be very shocked if Hotene ends up going anywhere but up. Last year, Don’t Quit Your Day Job made the clear case that Hotene is a panel show host who no-one’s realised they should be pointing cameras at yet. This is someone who’s not only capable of, but has already visibly written a top-notch, personal, and frankly, somewhat profound comedy set, and it’s frustrating that I’m having to read between the lines to see that.
There is a lot to look for between those lines. A key joke, viewable here, has Hoani dealing with being a ginger, Caucasian presenting, Māori man by asking his father “as a percentage, how Māori are we?” His father’s response, “Hoani, what part of you is not Māori?” is richly emotional and delivered with heartfelt sincerity, making Hotene’s punchline “The outside?” feel like a jolt of lightning. The tonal whiplash not only makes it more funny, but it leaves the joke coated with a lingering pathos that slowly digs its way into us. Hotene’s laid back style leaves you the time and the space to sit in this. Days on from the show, flipping back through my notes, I still find unresolved feelings.
I think there’s merit in acknowledging the awkward edges of something great. It’s currently looking likely that Hotene will win the Billy T, and if he doesn’t, I’m sceptical it will slow him down much. It’s Getting Hot-ene… seems like a career igniting moment, one that will begin a snowball that will end with Hotene a household name. It’s reassuring to know that having some nerves on opening night, and fumbling some of your best jokes, can’t get in the way of that. When you’ve got it like Hoani Hotene’s got it, the stage is all yours.
 | Jack McGee is a Te-Whanganui-a-Tara based playwright and theatre maker. Some of his notable works include Boys and the Silent School Disco, Edit the Sad Parts, and Music Sounds Better Out Here. He works regularly with Squash Co. Arts Collective where he is a co-director, and is in no way related to Greg McGee. |