Art Murmurs - Reviews

Guy Williams - This Glass House Makes It Easy To See All The Cowards I’m Throwing Stones At - NZ Comedy Fest

2/6/2024

Jack McGee

This 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.

The Transgender Agender - Various

29/5/2024

Sean Burnett Dugdale-Martin

It’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.

Jak Darling - A Muse

29/5/2024

Sean Burnett Dugdale-Martin

The 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!

The Butt Brothers

27/5/2024

Jack McGee

Fin 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.

Farce Onion

26/5/2024

Alia Marshall

As 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.

Samuel Gabreselassie - I’m A Refugee… Get Me Out Of Here!

24/5/2024

Sean Burnett Dugdale-Martin

Entering 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.

Wilson Dixon - Love Don't Live Here No More

21/5/2024

Jack McGee

Wilson 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?

Lana Walters - Don't Lick That!

21/5/2024

Jack McGee

I’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.

Eli Matthewson: Night Terror

18/5/2024

Corey Spence

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.

Trent H Baumann - Stop the Noise. Listen to the Music.

17/5/2024

Jack McGee

There'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.

Brynley Stent: Pus Goose

17/5/2024

Brie Keatley

I 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.

Rhiannon McCall: Toxic Shock Bimbo

17/5/2024

Austin Harrison

Toxic 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.

Cancer and Cartwheels

16/5/2024

Alia Marshall

Ōtautahi 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.

The Wellington Comedy Club Rainbow Showcase

15/5/2024

Isaac Andrews

At Te Auaha’s Tapere Nui theater is a one-night special as a part of the NZ International Comedy Festival: the Wellington Comedy Club Rainbow Case. This is an event hosted by New Zealand comedian James Mustapic. There are 10 LGBTQIA+ comedians, local and from further across the nation, who each share a unique stand-up set, making for an absolutely stunning lineup of comedic personalities.

Tough Tiger Fist - Star Crossed Brothers

14/5/2024

Jack McGee

One 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.