The Comediettes
Comedy Underground, 305 Queen St, Auckland
12/05/2009 - 16/05/2009
Fringe Bar, Cnr Cuba & Vivian, Wellington
19/05/2009 - 23/05/2009
NZ International Comedy Festival 2007-09, 2013
Production Details
HILARITY IN HEELS
Celebrate a new generation of hilarity in heels as these vixens of NZ comedy take the stage to tickle your funny bone in all the wrong places. 2007 RAW Comedy national winner, Emma Olsen; Wellington favourite, Jim Stanton and newcomer, Sarah Harpur, are ‘The Comediettes!’
Fighting fit from their runs in the New Zealand and Dunedin Fringe Festivals, The Comediettes are playing 5 nights in both Auckland and Wellington, ‘The Comediettes’ is the Comedy Festival and debut of this all female, all hilarious, new act.
These fresh faces of female funny mark an exciting transition for kiwi comedy. Dubbed by insiders as "the next generation" of New Zealand stand up, ‘The Comediettes’ is a show that provides a superb way to sample the work of these exciting new talents.
All hailing from Wellington, the city that gave us Flight of the Concords, Raybon Kan and every Billy T Award winner for the last three years; ‘The Comediettes’ embody the new wave of confident comedic expression that is flowing from the capital.
Each offering their own unique flavour of humour, this triple scoop serving of stand up is a treat for any comedy connoisseur.
"…Emma Olsen, whose bright and brilliant set is a highlight of the show. Olsen has scooped the pool of Comedy Awards both in Wellington and Auckland, and it’s no trouble seeing why. Her humour is both sharp and impeccably fast-dealt, fizzing with the faux-irony of youth. She leaves the audience breathless." – Thomas Lahood, theatreview.
"Jim Stanton is quite a performer…sharp, droll and charismatic" – Sian Robertson, theatreview
AUCKLAND
Dates: 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 May 2009
Venue: The Comedy Underground
Tickets: $20/$15
Bookings: Ticketek
WELLINGTON
Dates: 19, 20, 21, 22, 23 May 2009
Venue: The Fringe Bar
Tickets: $18/$13
Bookings: Ticketek
1hr, no interval
Sharp, sassy and wearing stilettos
Review by Maryanne Cathro 21st May 2009
It’s a bit like one of those jokes: a blonde, a redhead and a brunette go into a bar…
These girls really know the way to a woman’s heart. Mischief shoe discount vouchers on every chair at the venue!! I’m already won over!!
The Comediettes are Jim Stanton, Sarah Harpur and Emma Olsen.
Each Comediette has her own style. Jim Stanton, the redhead, is thoughtful and endearing, bouncing between being laid back and being incensed at people’s stupidity. I feel your pain, Jim. A successful mix of self-deprecation and satire as she banters with the audience. I can see us having a laugh over a coffee. At other people’s expense mind you. The coffee and the laughs, I mean.
Next up is Sarah Harpur. Sarah is the blonde and has a whacky, ditzy style that seems to come naturally, but she is WAY too clever for it to be real. Every joke hits the mark, she is in control and she knows it. Just when we don’t think we can take much more, out comes the guitar, courtesy of ‘Roadie Jim" and two hilarious songs. Put it this way, I won’t be commissioning Sarah to write a song in honour of MY 40th birthday (and not just because it was several years ago!).
Last up is brunette Emma Olsen. I’m a little phased by her act as the last time I saw Emma she was about four and I was a grown up, which serves to remind me how old I am, and how disconcerting it is to hear people you knew as children use the C word. Emma is not into self-deprecating humour, she is pure, self-absorbed Gen-Y in her merciless impressions of newsreaders, her stories of friends, family, heavy road equipment and a much-deserved dig at real estate agents.
I don’t know what I was expecting; these lasses are a far cry from Maeve Higgins’ cosy style of comedy. They are sharp, sassy and wearing stilettos, and they are not afraid to use them.
Bottom line, comedy is about making people laugh, and yup, that happened. I laughed, my husband laughed, the two English lasses sitting with us laughed, the whole audience laughed. Mission accomplished. I just can’t shake the feeling that the joke was on me.
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