THE NOWHERE SHOW
Brooklyn Bar - 57 Lorne St, Auckland
16/05/2012 - 19/05/2012
NZ International Comedy Festival 2012
Production Details
A JOURNEY FROM NO WHERE TO NOW HERE
The Nowhere show will have you belly laughing, shedding tears, even weeing yourselves a wee bit and will be an experience you’ll never forget.
The performers, David Oakes, Anthony Wilson and Scotty Tulloch will take you on a journey from birth, childhood, to the awkwardness of adolescence to finding a partner and settling down to the present moment relating these experiences as if they were your own.
These up and coming comedians have performed throughout the country, gigging at venues such as the classic comedy and bar, Queen St, Auckland and Side splits comedy in Christchurch. Anthony Wilson organizes the very successful Comedy on the rocks in Parakei and just received a nomination for best new face of 2011. “No one should be that good and that funny, that young. But he is. The riskiest young comedian in NZ” – Brendhan Lovegrove
As part of the NZ International Comedy Festival 2012
THE NOWHERE SHOW – A JOURNEY FROM NO WHERE TO NOW HERE
AUCKLAND
Date: Wed 16 May – Sat 19May, 10pm
Venue: Brooklyn Bar, 57 Lorne st
Tickets: Adults $15, Conc. $12, Groups 6+ $12
Bookings: 0800TICKETEK or www.ticketek.co.nz
Duration: 1 hour
For a full line up of performances, booking details & more information, visit www.comedyfestival.co.nz
1hr
Discomfort and awkwardness
Review by Joanna Page 20th May 2012
“Want to belly laugh, shed some tears or even wee yourself a little bit?” read the promo blurb for this show. “Then here’s an experience you’ll never forget!”
Yes, I did want to belly laugh, perhaps shed a tear or two, and put my pelvic floor muscles to the test. Sadly none of that happened.
On paper the concept of the show is brilliant: relive those awkward angsty moments of growing up and finding yourself through the supposedly hilarious experiences of the comedians on stage. Genius! But I experienced more discomfort and awkwardness in the hour I spent at the Brooklyn Bar than I did through puberty and my 20s.
And it all came down to the performers – David Oakes, the emcee for the night, Peter Dodds, Anthony Wilson, and Scotty Tulloch – not reading the audience and at some points attempting to explain a joke that had fallen flat.
Don’t get me wrong, I did laugh a few times – at Oakes spending the first years of his life as a girl, Dodd’s calls to police, Wilson’s last pick-up line, and Tulloch’s NavMan directions. More often than not, though, it seemed as if the seed of a joke was there but hadn’t been germinated. I felt as though I was part of a test audience.
And listening to the comments of fellow punters afterwards, I wasn’t alone. Which might be why the show’s press night was saved until the last performance … [What’s that about? – ed.]
It’s such a shame; the concept is great. Maybe try it again, but stick to the brief. And if the comedian before you has used material about dating a homeless woman, drop it from your set. Just a thought.
Copyright © in the review belongs to the reviewer
Comments
Melanie Miles May 23rd, 2012
I am quite appalled and disgusted by this review as I was there on this night and do not know what this woman is on about. With a personal background in media I know that one of the fundamental principles of journalism is to give a balanced view of an event not an individualistic opinion. This is to truly serve the people and not make up some sensationalist comments that belong in a gutter tabloid. In my opinion a reviewer should know that the truth is maleable and therefore look around and see how other people are enjoying the show and record that.Therefore I would like to try and give a more balanced account that speaks for the majority of the attendants and not just one individual.
The show began even before the emcee for the night came to the stage, with a slide show of a progression of funny photos accompanied by "the road to Nowhere" by talking heads that started to warm up the audience for a night of comedy. When the emcee came to the stage he clearly sated that technically you would shed a tear and wee your selves a wee bit from holding on as they had locked the toilets. This was obviously understood as tongue and cheek as the audience laughed, being a comedy show after all. Having seen other show case performances it is refreshing to see an integrated storyline that doesn't just have the comedians separate material one after the other. This was achieved by the emcee introducing the audience to the different parts of the show and the other acts intergrating their relevant material with other material. I witnessed the audience enjoying and interacting with every part of the show to countless laughs. Granted, the concept was an ambitious one to execute and the reviewer acknowledges and gives credit to the cleverness of the concept but fails to give credit to a valiant attempt which was not perfect but entertaining in its own right. It was if she had read the blurb and built up an unrealistic expectation in her mind only to become disappointed. My experience of the crowd afterwards was one of mostly satisfaction and utterances of professionality and enjoyment. It seemed like this reviewer had just sought out those who had disliked the show to verify her own opinions and perhaps the performers had waited until the last night for a review as they had intended it to be their best night. As a subcriber to these reviews i hope i do not see any more cynical writings again by this reviewer and if so she may want to reconsider her career. Just a thought.