Medium Rare
The Basement Theatre, Auckland
22/04/2008 - 26/02/2008
NZ International Comedy Festival 2007-09, 2013
Production Details
RAW GROWS UP: Rhys, Jim and Dom are… Medium Rare
Roller skates, big hair and a new breed of dance called ‘tap-hop’ are what will make Medium Rare the tastiest show of the NZ International Comedy Festival in 2008.
When people graduate from The Classic’s well known rookie night ‘RAW’ they become…Medium Rare comedians…sizzling away in the comedy skillet, resting atop the flames of the industry primus, hoping that one day they will be well-cooked, well-seasoned professionals, rather than a flash-in-the-pan.
Medium Rare features the talent of the gasp-worthy, gallivanting Rhys Mathewson. It is only fitting that a playboy like Rhys should be supported by two of the hottest Wellington women of comedy: a compliment to his frantic style in the quiet radiance of Dominique Lecchi and a break from the norm in the phenomenally talented, acerbic humorist Jim Stanton (yes, it is a boy’s name, but she is all woman!). With each of this dynamic trio boasting their own accolades you can be assured you will witness three of the keenest young guns in Kiwi comedy!
Rhys Mathewson – Best Newcomer NZCG Awards ’07; National Finalist with commendation, RAW Quest ’07
Jim Stanton – Runner Up, Most Feminine Jim NZ Pageant ’07
Dom Lecchi – Top Five Finalist, Wellington Comedy Club Rookie Comp ’07
Tastier than a plate of hot cheerios and more refreshing than a glass of L&P on a hot summer’s day Rhys, Jim and Dom present a bright, juicy, nut-packed showcase filled with song, dance and stand up that will find you salivating for more.
This is the future of New Zealand Comedy.
Medium Rare – Less bloody than you think!
Dates: April 22nd – 26th, 7pm
Venue: The CLASSIC Basement (formerly Silo Theatre), Lower Greys Avenue, Auckland
Tickets: Adults $15, Concessions and Groups of 10+ $12 (service fees may apply)
Bookings: TICKETEK – 0800 TICKETEK (0800 842 5385)
Show Duration: 1 hour
1 hr
Fledgling comics show promise
Review by Sian Robertson 23rd Apr 2008
Medium Rare are the fresh meat of NZ’s comedy talent pool, high school aged lads and lasses who, with a bit of experience under their belts, are now ‘less bloody than you think’. Not all of their material centres around being a teenager – in fact they’ve all done well to avoid most of the predictable clichés, and they’ve all got something to say.
Rose, a chatty sixteen year old, delves back into her childhood for material, because there’s nothing very funny about being a teenager when you are one. She’s confident, pretty funny, though some of her material is generation-specific, and she has a segment about her favourite childhood toys, in which she keeps asking if we "remember the [insert popular 90s toy]?" Most of us don’t …
Stephen, the second in the line up, isn’t credited in the programme and has a short but sweet set. Like the other three he has the requisite charm and enthusiasm, complemented by a pleasantly laid back style.
Jim Stanton is quite a performer, though she didn’t get any laughs out of me (just a few quiet smiles) until the bit where she comes up with a collective noun for emos and has me cackling. She’s sharp, droll and charismatic. Like her co-performers, she’s still honing her material and some of what she’s talking about makes me go ‘Um, so what?’. This isn’t entirely an issue either of subject matter or delivery, rather a bit of both – it feels like she’s doing stuff she wants to talk about rather than what she thinks would make us laugh.
Though reasonably fresh out of high school, Rhys Mathewson has a rapport with the audience that bridges the age gap. He’s the act with the most going for him. Rhys is very likeable in an amiably geeky, pudgy-guy-with-weird-hair kind of way. And I was grateful that he doesn’t keep self-consciously reminding us that he’s a ‘youth’.
Rhys’ jokes centre around making fun of his physical attributes, his inability to score girls, his tendency to get fired from jobs for extremely inappropriate behaviour, and a dance routine called ‘taphop’. His entertainment value lies in his frank, earnest style – his unabashed geekiness when talking about his exploits. He gets off scott-free with some fairly off-colour jokes simply because he comes across as such a harmless, friendly, unfashionable dude.
The amateurism of the show is compounded by intermittent raucous laughter from backstage, which I found a bit off-putting.
Yes, a bit rough around the edges, and with the gangly awkwardness of fledgling comics still practising how to fly, Medium Rare is a glimpse at what the future holds for NZ comedy, because these guys and gals all show promise. You can also catch them and others of their ilk at the Macleans Class Comedians: a two hour showcase of ‘the elite of funny from Auckland’s secondary schools’ on 10th May.
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