JONNY POTTS in The Delusionaries
Puppies, cnr Tory & Vivian Streets, Wellington
07/05/2014 - 10/05/2014
NZ International Comedy Festival 2014
Production Details
THE ONLY COMEDY SHOW THAT GUARANTEES TO SAVE YOUR FAMILY, YOUR CAREER AND YOUR VERY SOUL…
Lives will be changed at this year’s 2014 NZ International Comedy Festival when three of the country’s self-professed gurus hit the stage from 7 – 10 May in a new show by award nominated Wellingtonian Jonny Potts.
Parenting expert Alan Legtit will kick off this ‘seminar’ with his white-hot truths on family psychology. Raising a child will be a snap when this visionary imparts the inner workings of the ‘right way’ to parent.
“had me in stitches…TOO GOOD!” – Wotzon
Next up, soap star deluxe Richie Richardson will take the stage to solve the mysteries of acting, career enhancement, and generally getting noticed. Don’t let the downward spiral of his career fool you; he’s a true acting inspiration.
“Hilarious!” – Salient
And finally, with family and career paths sorted, the audience can look forward to ‘hipster heaven’ when Cool Youth Pastor rounds out the evening with instruction on the saving grace of JC.
“That’s his name? Just Cool Youth Pastor?” – Various audience members
Jonny Potts is a comedian and actor who hit the comedy scene with a bang three years ago to much fanfare. He has written and performed in several comedy shows, among them three solos, which have all been nominated for awards including Best Comedy Show 2012 NZ Fringe Festival, Best Comedy Show 2013 NZ Fringe Festival, and Best Newcomer 2013 NZ International Comedy Festival. Jonny is also the narrator of the popular podcast series The Witching Hours. The Delusionaries is his fourth solo show.
As part of the 2014 NZ International Comedy Festival in cahoots with Old Mout Cider, grab some mates and join us for a great night of laughs from 24 April – 18 May.
For the full Comedy Fest show line-up head to comedyfestival.co.nz
WELLINGTON
Dates: Wed 7 – Sat 10 May, 7:30pm
Venue: Puppies, Cnr Vivian & Tory Sts, CBD
Tickets: Adults $18, Conc. $15, groups of 6+ $15
Bookings: eventfinda.co.nz
Cleverly crafted
Review by John Smythe 08th May 2014
The poster image for this – a parody of The Luminaries cover – is brilliant. And that’s about as topical as The Delusionaries gets, apart from the fleeting reference Jonny Potts makes to Judith Collins by way of emphasising he’s not going there. Even when he manifests the morally compromised fallen star of a local soap opera, he makes no reference to the day’s headlines about a sportsman and a Shortland Street actress.
When he reminds us to vote I’m hopeful for some political satire* but he means the NZICF’s People’s Choice election (about which I can see nothing on the NZICF website). The observations about Wellingtonians v the Auckland Elite are good, though.
Declaring himself the curator rather than the star of the show, Potts runs his mic into the nearby dunny (“If you need to go to the lavatory during the show … don’t”) so he can keep up the banter while “looking for” his next guest. Although the three are very different – comedic characterisation, especially vocal, is Jonny Potts’ strong point – all are equally self-deluded.
Pparenting expert Alan Legtit, exhumed from The No Nonsense Parenting Show Potts brought to The Fringe in 2012, lampoons a self-aggrandising ‘expert’ who no longer (dis)graces our screens or screens, unless I am suffering from short-term Repressed Memory Syndrome. Also his presentation is devoid of the PowerPoint slides of yesteryear (“Try getting a projector in Wellington during the Comedy festival”). Nevertheless “ut’s a wuckud send ip” of supposedly un-PC but actually wildly oxymoronic “tups for puruntung kuds”. He’s an expert metaphor-mixer too.
Actor Richie Richardson, well known for his core-cast role as Dr Bryn Catchall on the daily soap Medicine Street, has been out of the limelight for a while in the wake of “what I did” but that doesn’t stop him dispensing his dubious advice on the art of acting, commenting on the Wellington theatre scene and having a crack at stand-up while waiting for his film to be crowd-funded. Some sharp barbs find their targets here.
The progenitor of Cool Youth Pastor has also been off the radar for a while in my perception, unless you follow him on Twitter, but everything about his prayerful proselytising is spookily familiar. He does impressions too, to prove his powers. And gets a volunteer up to participate in his ‘Blessed As’ sketch. Wonderfully creepy.
Maybe the show could do with some more dynamic pacing and a bigger finish but overall, despite and unnervingly wobbly stage and the very relaxed vibe on stage and in the room, The Delusionaries is a cleverly crafted lo-tech show. It’s a good opening house and Jonny Potts deserves more, “Even though I’m not on TV or a foreigner.”
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*Is it just me or is there a surprising lack of topical political satire from local comedians in this election year?
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