Describing himself as the “comedy fluffer”, Matiaha Paku addresses a few clichés about being Maori and indulges in some Maori swearing without giving us much in the way of a payoff for the set-ups. He then does the standard chat with the audience bit: what’s your name / where are you from / what do you do … and only finds traction with the third.

His deconstructing of some of the strange things people say – e.g. “keep it real” and “all good” – is more amusing although he doesn’t provide the ‘aha’ opportunities that generate the most satisfying laughs in comedy.

Matiaha does, however, achieve his goal of “making Fergus look good” by comparison (earning his best laugh with that self-effacing observation) and his clap-happy dancing segue into bringing Fergus on works well.

I can’t help but wonder how many in the Fringe Bar audience first saw Fergus Aitken as Mr Fungus at a party, a fair or some other festivity over the past decade or two. Knowing his skills in physical comedy infuses his stand-up shtick with a subtle sense of anticipation although he does nothing to suggest he’s here to do more than chat amiably and engagingly about … stuff, that may or may not be true.

He picks up on the strange expressions theme – e.g. “slept like a baby” – and moves in to getting us to think twice about particular advertising slogans. His somewhat surreal perceptions move up a notch with his exploration of the Wainuiomata-Hamilton-Bermuda triangle and his school days in Upper Hutt. Then there is predictive texting …

Encounters with boy racers, the “spikes of commitment” at Pack ’n’ Save and pedestrian accidents offer more new perspectives. If you’re not inclined to be active, standby – or rather sit – for the advent of MyFace. And if you want to know how male multi-tasking relates to the wet spot, Fergus is your man.

I love the Michael Laws t-shirt joke too. Are they available? 

A sojourn in Europe reveals what happens when Russian performing bears are released into the wild, and finds Fergus busking at Covent Garden: true stories.

Throughout there are flickers of the physicality that sets Fergus apart from your average raconteur. But it’s when he recalls his bizarre encounters with airport security in Belfast during “the troubles” that a couple of the old skills are displayed, to the great pleasure of an audience he has well and truly won over with his laid back-style and content.

Worth catching when he comes your way.

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Venturing into the depths of the Paramount, we take our very comfortable seats in the dimly lit Bergman theatre.

First up is Guy Williams. I wasn’t expecting a warm up act so this was a nice surprise. Dead pan delivery on a range of completely unrelated topics. A talented young comedian who turns the banal into something truly chortleworthy.

And then, the great man himself. It is little wonder D-vice are sponsoring Fergus Aitken’s show in the festival. He is just like one of their magic sex toys – the perfect thing to stimulate you at 10.30 on a week night!!!  His other sponsor is Coffee Spot, I rest my case.

This show was completely mad, in all the best ways. All that manic physicality that he poured into Mr Fungus is now being channelled into a really knicker wettingly funny stand-up show. This is just Fergus, no character, just the great man himself with all his natural charm and ebullient energy, sending himself up, his hometown of Upper Hutt, taggers, boy racers, his high school teachers, Facebook, it doesn’t really matter what he talks about, it is all funny.

In spite of the rather imposing venue, far removed from the cosy chairs around the stage at the Fringe Bar, Fergus really just hangs out with the audience. It wasn’t so much a monologue as a conversation between him and, well, most of us really at one time or other. That’s territory for only the most confident and skilled stand up comic but hey, if the shoe fits…

Look I am sitting here wondering why Fergus Aitken is not a household name like Mike King, Ewen Gilmour, the Corbett Brothers and the other middle-aged Man Dowagers of Kiwi comedy. I guess because he was off juggling in Irish airports in his 20’s instead of doing stand-up.

So for goodness sake will someone give him a Billy T award or whatever it takes to make it in NZ comedy, because Fergus Aitken is right up there with the best and whatever else you go to see in the comedy festival, follow it up with this late night treat.
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