NOTHING TO BE DONE
Fringe Bar, 26-32 Allen St, Te Aro, Wellington
19/02/2014 - 21/02/2014
Production Details
Half dry, half sassy and mostly funny
The collected musings and broodings of a twenty-something former international student of Wellington, comedienne Luwita Hana Randhawa. Half dry, half sassy and mostly funny. Thumbs up.
Nothing to be Done at the 2014 New Zealand Fringe Festival
Made in England. Raised in South Africa and Brazil. Studied in Wellington and lived in New York. Luwita Hana Randhawa may be Malaysian, but her international and nomadic background feeds well into her personality and her comedy.
After moving back to her hometown Kuala Lumpur in 2012, Luwita began to test her hand at stand-up comedy. Soon, she became a regular open-micer in the local stand-up scene and in September, she won the Best Female Youth Newcomer Award at the Short+Sweet Stand-Up Comedy Festival Malaysia.
Comedienne Luwita Hana Randhawa is bringing her jokes to the 2014 New Zealand Fringe Festival
As one of only a few up-and-coming female comics in the Malaysian scene, Luwita has in the past year also performed at shows in Hong Kong, Cambodia, Singapore and Sydney. Now she is coming to Wellington with her solo show Nothing to be Done for three nights during the 2014 Fringe.
Luwita finds the root of her jokes in the quotidian, delivering her observations and anecdotes in a dry and at times sassy manner. “I guess I tend to start with myself, poking fun at myself and my life. I think it’s a good place to start, to be introspective, and that way the audience gets to know you a little too. I’m looking forward to returning to Wellington, where I studied film and theatre for three years at Vic – there are some good stories in there to tell.”
Below are the full details of the show:
Nothing to be Done (45mins)
Feb 19-21, 830pm | Fringe Bar
Full $15 / Concession $12 / Group + Fringe Addict $10 / Artist Card free
Tickets: fringe.co.nz
Website: nothingtobedoneatthefringe.tumblr.com
Theatre , Comedy ,
Wry and sharp
Review by Deborah Eve Rea 20th Feb 2014
Waiting for Godot opens with Gogo (Estragon) struggling to remove one of his boots. He gives up and mutters, “Nothing to be done.”
Luwita Hana Randhawa is an up-and-comer (and award-winner) in the Malaysian comic scene. She has been developing her comedy skills in her home country and in New York. For the Fringe Festival, she returns to Wellington which was her home for three years while studying at Victoria University.
Although she is from Malaysia, Randhawa has lived in the UK, USA, South Africa and of course, New Zealand. The comedy of Nothing to be Done is geared either western or universal.
Randhawa converses with us over observations on life, family and pop culture. Her delivery is wry and sharp and presented with relaxed confidence.
It’s in her one-on-one banter and riffing with audience members that Randhawa really shines. She diverts from her material to get to know audience members and charmingly quips over their lives before returning to task. Sure, some material needs more development but we are won over by her approach.
My only negative about Nothing to be Done is that it came in short at 30 minutes rather than it’s advertised 45 which caused a few quiet grumbles in the audience. That can only be a good thing, right?
Randhawa is the first Malaysian to perform at the New Zealand Fringe Festival and is one of the few female Southeast Asian comics in the world. Nothing to be Done is well worth your support.
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