As we all know, some of the funniest things pop up on the internet. Memes, comments and viral posts capture the attention of millions of people every day. Tonight (Friday), Snowc*ck allows us to experience all the joy of internet humour mixed with the magic of a live stand up comedy show.

Held at Studio One, this show stars comedian and former Manawatu District Council worker Ben Tito Caldwell. He brings us stories not only of his own life and family, but relives the success of a post he made, while working at the Council, that went viral.

The audience tonight is small but everyone is clearly up for a good time. As people start to arrive, Ben chats to them and breaks the ice. Crowd work feels like a good choice tonight and it gets everyone warmed up before the show even starts. It doesn’t open with the titular Snowc*ck story straightaway. First, we learn about Ben – his life, lockdown experiences and family. It’s a strong first half and Ben is a delightful comedian to watch. It sounds like his family are all as funny as he is.

The second half is spent talking about the famous (or infamous?) Snowc*ck story. A screen to the side of the stage helps to tell the story with screenshots of emails, articles and social media posts. Ben explains how it all unfolded – how one innocent post spiralled out of control and won him an award for community engagement. Much of the story is told through online comments and public response to the incident. Though the comments themselves are funny, they are made even funnier when Ben has something to say about them. This is a story anyone will enjoy, whether or not you saw the viral post at the time. And yes, there are plenty of dick jokes along the way. 

There’s a lot to love about this show. Ben knows how to tell a good story while also making sure to hit the audience with punchlines and jokes along the way. He’s charismatic, articulate, passionate and a downright good comedian. He has a great ability to show us the joy in silly things and bring out the humour in serious moments too. Sometimes his comedy can be rude, dirty or push a few boundaries, but always, I think, in a fun way that has the audience on his side. 

This is a show that would play well to a larger crowd as well. I’ll say it – this first night was criminally undersold, and anybody who didn’t come missed an absolute treat. But don’t worry, it isn’t too late to see Ben’s last Nelson Fringe show on Saturday 23 March, 7:30pm at Studio One. You can also catch him performing around the country and running shows in the lower and central North Island.

Copyright © in the review belongs to the reviewer