Perhaps it is a fitting beginning to the evening that, not having visited The Twisted Hop in its newest incarnation, I drive past the venue twice without spotting it. Once inside, however, the anticipatory bustle that is building well in advance of the competition is testament to the level of below-the-radar support this event has generated. 

Drawn from two previous heats, the seven finalists on display tonight represent a perfect storm of diversity: two women, a blind guy, a guy in a wheelchair, a young newcomer, an American, and a self-described “ethnic chameleon”. And the comedy on offer, presented for the sake of fairness in random order, is accordingly variegated. 

American Rob Fuller’s six-minute apology for America (drawing parallels with being the parent of an embarrassingly wayward child) offers few surprises, but is presented charmingly and with confidence.

He is followed by the bombastic David Correos, who begins with a self-effacing explanation of his choice of a life of extraversion (because the alternative was being alone with his own thoughts) and ends with a mesmerising physical theatre piece that, it is fair to say, nobody had been expecting, and which perhaps would have better suited a YouTube video. Sight lines here are not great, but the inclusion of a mince pie in the opening sequence of The Lion King is an absurd kind of genius. 

Lawyer Katie Cowan’s insightful set on the delights and pitfalls of online dating gives new insight on the phenomenon of the dick pic. Dating culture is so picked over as stand-up material that it is rare to encounter this kind of fresh, honest humour.

In stark contrast is Dylan Neale, whose assured, ascerbic delivery almost always sells what is without doubt the roughest material of the night, and who single-handedly earns the word “raw” on the poster. I went to the interval with the guilty feeling I’d laughed once or twice too often. 

Opening the second half, Kate Revell delivers a sweetly romantic ode to the office nerd who has (inexplicably) captured her heart. Musically and lyrically, Revell is top notch, and I’ll be looking out for more from her in the future.  

Next, Thane Pullan delivers a pre-written set through a voice synthesis setup, utilising a piece of software of his own invention that allows him to pause for audience response. The set is necessarily an exploration and reinvention of the form, and Pullan leaves very few stones unturned. 

Last by random assignment, newcomer Corey Humm is unfortunately the only real disappointment of the evening, as I find his urgent, almost shouted delivery difficult to engage with. Nevertheless, there is promise even here, and this set could certainly be reworked with an emphasis on timing and delivery to win over even the most reluctant crowd. 

Just as a car engine is powered by a series of tiny but potent explosions, the night is kept ticking over by Derek Flores, who simultaneously acknowledges the underground nature of the event, and makes each performer a kind of six-minute Maximus. We are entertained. 

After a remarkably short deliberation, the judges announce the winners: Kate Revell in third place, David Correos in second, and Thane Pullan winning the right to represent the South Island at the finals in Auckland in May. 

Congratulations to all the finalists. With such a wide array of talent on offer, this is definitely a competition I’ll be looking forward to next year.

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