This is, in simple terms, a hilarious evening for a very worthy cause. All funds raised go towards Amnesty International’s work in defending human rights worldwide. It ticks almost all of the right boxes. Do I enjoy myself? Tick. Would I like to see some of the acts again? Tick. It is a great misfortune for Auckland theatregoers that it only runs for one night, as it is most definitely a mirth-quaking show, and one I will not forget for a long while.

Te Radar hosts the evening, and the audience are fortunate to hear from nine comedians, drawn from all corners of the comedy world. The mixture of different comic styles is mostly marvellous, and it is delightful to be exposed to such a variety. A sprinkle of one comedian here, and a shower of another there allow the show to pulse along at a lively pace, and laughter rarely departs the chamber.

Te Radar as the MC is reasonable. He brings bubbly warmth and an energetic buzz to the evening but as a stand up comic I find him a little dull.  I have the greatest respect for the guy and his work. However, he does take a long while to get to the point, and his tales of travelling overseas in his younger years to film funny war documentaries are average. To his credit, he does have some super stories about creating trouble at a border security check point, and also about scorpions in his knickers, but most of his comedy is welcomed with only ripples of laughter, and he could have used his time better.  

Reginald D Hunter is wonderfully satisfying! He has such a fabulous voice, deep and dare I say gorgeous, but sadly at times he is a little difficult to understand and I have to lean forward to catch some of the humour. Thoroughly enjoyed his gags about the All Blacks (got to commend the fellow for doing his research of our treasured sport), past relationships, and Lance Armstrong. I do hope he decides to return to our shores in the near future.  

Nick Rado is dazzling; I am impressed with his comic timing. He does do a first class Scottish accent, and his character comedy is rather fine. I especially fancy his opinion of Raro (powered drink sachets) being better than cocaine, and his mockery of the tricks that women use in online dating photographs that they think makes them sexier. A sublime performance.

Terry Williams provides some lovely comic moments throughout his time at the microphone, pulling laughs by chatting about his family life and his mid-life crisis trip to an Indonesian jungle away from civilization. He is very much at home on the stage, and from his entrance it is like watching an old friend: lovely jubbly, as Del Boy would say.

What ho, another Williams! But it’s not a Terry, it’s a Guy! He drags his dry sense of humour into the Town Hall, and is well rewarded with many titters. He has a good poke at Big Money Finance, and the Big Save Furniture lady. Guy also reads some emails from his mother in the hopes they will be entertaining, but they are completely bizarre and in my honest opinion it kills his performance for a minute or so, and makes him stick out like a sore thumb. His timing needs work, but hopefully this will improve over time. Sound effort from a talented comedian, but could have been better.

We are treated to some glorious hilarity from Tarun Mohanbhai, who embraces society’s stereotypical ideas of his Indian heritage, making some cool wisecracks about his nationality and how he enjoys pretending to work at Harvey Norman just so he can offer customers ‘special deals’ just for a laugh. A talented young man for sure, and I hope he goes far.

TM Bishop – the night’s only female performer I might add – is extremely over the top with her re-enactment of trying to impress a guy who hit on her at a bar. She is ridiculously funny and she dwells significantly on the subject of being gay in her hometown of Dargaville. She brings a lovely Kiwi flavour to her comedy, however some of her jokes fall on deaf ears, and there is a lack of laughter at some points. But she soldiers on, and delivers well.  

Simon McKinney. One word: wow! If Simon Cowell wanted to sign a comedian, then without any hesitation I would send him along to see this comic genius. He is one of the most talented character actors I have seen in a while, he is master of so many voices, and his performance is, without a doubt, spot on.  He imitates Elmo and Gollum (apparently one is actually the other on heroin) but the cream of his act is most definitely his portrayal of the different classes in the UK. Brilliant facial expressions + brilliant voices = heaven. A shame he does not have his own show in the festival.

Next up is a unique comedian, Ian D Montfort, who draws a member of the audience up to showcase his psychic powers in the area of numerology. He goes down a hoot, and his vibrant personality rubs off well. Some terrific comedy. 

And finally the evening closes with Englishman Gordon Southern, who brings to the table his enchanting sense of humour, talking about the Queen (or should I say QUILF, as he dubs her), the British Empire, and reminding us to sing the bibles we find in our hotel rooms. He is married to an Australian (groan of merry laughter) children’s entertainer, and he takes time to extract humour from this, and does this very successfully. A smashingly entertaining fifteen minutes.  

If my mission were to sum up this evening with one word, then I would have to cheat and coin one especially. I think ‘Splendelicious’ would work quite well.

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