The Big Show is exactly what it sounds like. It’s in the Opera House with a large audience and four heavyweights from overseas to make us laugh "like its 1999". And they do – with comedy from 1999.

MC/Host Mickey D’s quick to whip us up to a highly vocal pitch as he fears we may be too quiet for the riotous evening ahead. He is very adept at wrapping local references as segues into his material and deftly re-incorporates ad libs into his intro. He quickly gets a feel for his crowd and plays to that denominator. Though, like a lot of shows this festival, we are constantly reminded that the acts’ success will depend on our loudness. After a while I wonder why I feel like the target of a salesman who’s a little too loud himself.

First up is Neill Delamere (Ireland) followed by the Geordie John Fothergill, an interval and, after a glass or two of vino and Mickey D, American Eddie Iffit hits the stage.

All three acts use material from the previous gala and the televised Auckland gala which is fine but I expected them to have more material to hand. The usual "what I’ve noticed in Wellington"; "what it’s like touring"; "I’m American feel free to pity/hate me" sections flow into each comedian’s set piece. It’s good to see each comedian taking a measure of the Wellington audience and sensing when and where the audience would go.

Similar styles of observational humour that tend toward the sex, black, white, gay, women vs men sensibilities, "wouldn’t fuck a Jew", anal sex, lead to a lack of build during the show. And more than once the comedians remark on our apparent lack of audibility. Perhaps Wellingtonian’s sensibilities are a little more erudite than that. Though there were some great guffaws and some good performing, this was the opening show and it felt like it. I expect the show will find its feet very quickly.

The stage is bare, actually not so much bare as empty. John Fothergill, (my fave for best of the night), points out someone came and knicked the amazing set. We are here to watch the comedy but I think the international showcase could warrant something a little better than stage blacks and simple coloured lights.

And I do have to ask: what’s the story with the toilets? From ‘the gods’ its five flights of stairs down then one up and a wait in line – and that’s the blokes!

It’s so good to see that if these are some of the international headliners then, like other fields (film, fashion, wine, etc.), we are not waiting in the wings. We were on the week before, and booked out.
  

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