Tag Archives: comedy

This week in hilarity

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Boy oh boy am I going to laugh a lot this week. Not just at my own jokes, like just before when I posted on Facebook about how my potential new bunny would get free WIFI, but at legitimate comedians. That’s right friends, the NZ International Comedy Festival is here and I am going to see heaps of shows! Hurrah!

It’s hard picking which shows to go to, because there are SO MANY FUNNY PEOPLE TO SEE. Here’s how I’ve decided what shows I have to not miss out on this week:
- Comedians who share my first name.
- Real life friends who won Best Newcomer (Auckland) last year and should be even better this year.
- Comedy with piano. I loved it when Manny did it in Black Books, I reckon I’ll love this too.
- The award winning show with the unpronounceable name.
- The kids show by the same guy, because if I learned anything last year, it was that Barnie and Trygve’s The Magic Chicken was even better than Constantinople.
- The dudes who made the Facebook in Real Life video, but have done way more since then.
- A trio of guys from the land of the mighty Chiefs, because I’ll probably get the jokes, and because I want to round out my list with some more kiwis.

See you there?

Here’s Josie Long on Never Mind The Buzzcocks ages ago, because I’m seeing her on Wednesday and I saw the Buzzcocks last night and that’s enough reasons!

FanFiction Comedy – Harry Potter Late ‘n’ Live Fundraiser

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FanFiction Comedy - Harry Potter Late 'n' Live Fundraiser

I’ve been really impressed by the new breed of comedians coming through the ranks (man that makes me sound ancient) and have seen most of the FanFiction comedy peeps in one show or another in the last few years. ANYWAY, when a couple of the guys took part in The Dialogue Project I realised that I was a BIG FAN. They’re fundraising for their triumphant return to the Melbourne International Comedy Festival this Saturday night after that other thing you’ve got on. Let’s go everyone, it’ll be hilarious.

Here’s that Dialogue Project video.

This is how to be funny

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Tina and Amy rule. I’m calling them just by the first names because I kind of feel like we are friends. Okay, I just want to be friends with them, and I bought Tina’s book Bossypants (not amazing, but an enjoyable holiday read), so I know all about her. And they are FUNNY. Not funny women, just funny.

If you haven’t already watched the Golden Globes opening segment, take a look and tell me if you don’t think they killed it there today. I especially loved the way they interacted with the crowd – while there were some cheeky and slightly mean moments, the crowd didn’t project that sense of terrified suspense that happened with Ricky Gervais, instead they lapped it up and oh how we laughed.

Please punish them Hollywood Foreign Press Association, and get them back next year. Thank you!

Another favourite of the day – this print out emergency tux, we wore them at work today. I loved how our Director didn’t even blink, and just said “You look formal.” You’ve got to love working in the arts.

Review: Bill Bailey ROFLYSMTT

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I went to see Bill Bailey years ago at the Wintergarden at The Civic to see the man who played Manny in Black Books. I was totally charmed by his whimsical storytelling (punctuated by hilarious tangents) and won over by his musical comedy. Tonight he played the first of two packed shows upstairs at The Civic and treated us to a brilliant night. This man plays funny songs – in the second encore tonight he taught us all the words to La Bamba (try it, you probably get stuck after the first line too) – and his musical talent and skill is impressive.

This show is about doubt, and covered a whole range of topics. I particularly enjoyed his rap and James Blunt parodies. Clearly, I’m won over by anyone who mocks James Blunt (who, according to Bailey, was recently voted more annoying than paper cuts) and the fact that there was a derisive mention of Nickelback (if ever a band was my nemesis it would be them) just added to my enjoyment.

Bailey’s comedy may appear to meander from one topic to the next, but he’s a master at bringing it all together.. if you’re going to tomorrow’s show, you’ll see what I mean. This is one of the things I judge a comedy show on, I’m always dead impressed when they surprise me by joining the dots with an earlier comment later in the show.

You get the feeling that it’s not a cookie cutter show – he opened with gentle ribbing of the heroic All Whites scored three points and didn’t lose a game and went on to crucify the England team with the true distain of a scornful English football fan. His J-Lo mocking is worth a mention because it brought me my new fave celeb name El-Jo (Elton John). Points also for ROFLYSMTT (Rolling on the floor laughing yet somehow managing to type).

I adore his musical comedy – the clip below is from “Part Troll”, a cover of the Hokey Tokey in the style of Kraftwerk. It’ll help you imagine my highlight from tonight’s show, his version of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah, again in the style of Kraftwerk. IS NOTHING SACRED?

Review: Heroic Faun No One

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Gregory Cooper is one of those people you see at opening night or closing night parties. To be fair, as far as I know it’s only been one of each that I’ve met him at, but I didn’t realise immediately that he was a [hushed tones] featured extra in The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe.

Like many children of the 80’s, my TV viewing time was restricted… back in the day I was allowed a mere 30 minutes of TV a day. We also ate lots of seeds, but that’s another story. To fill the time, we used to do things like play games and read books. Some of the few books that came my way early on and are still favourites are C.S. Lewis’ Narnia series.

To be honest, I didn’t think much about Narnia when I thought about going to Heroic Faun No One. I’d heard it was a total hit at Auckland Fringe last year and that it included truly hilarious, improbable yet true stories about working on a film set.

Moving into the theatre at The Basement before the show we had to walk through fur coats. It was then that I realised that I was in for a Narnia treat. The one man play tells Greg’s story from audition and preparation to time on the set and filming. It gives an insight, that I’m told is painfully accurate, into what an actor goes through – whether it’s trying to get give an honest performance as Heroic Faun No One while wearing James McAvoy’s cast off Mr Tumnus wig or getting advice and mockery from other extras, including one with rather startling ambitions.

I don’t want to give the game away, but if you love comedy, acting or Narnia – this show is for you. My plus one for the night isn’t much of a theatre goer LOLed as did the rest of us. And really, it’s worth going just for the sidesplittingly funny green CGI tights.

My favourite line is from when Gregory is reminiscing about attending the New Zealand premiere at The Civic. The comic timing was perfect when he said “All the TV stations were there… TV One, TV3… Triangle.”

Aaah New Zealanders, we don’t like to take ourselves too seriously.

Heroic Faun No One, complete with costumes and movie footage, is on at The Basement for a week. Think of it as your mid-Winter cheer up.

Read the event information.