Sam Brooks has watched a lot of stand-up comedy specials in his 26 years on this planet. These are his five favourites. First things first: yes, my five most beloved comedy specials are all by women. That’s not because it’s two days after International Women’s Day but because I always have and always will believe … Read more
Australian comedian Matt Okine sat down with Spinoff comedy dunce Calum Henderson to discuss radio, early-90s cricket memories and his unquenchable thirst for cooking and property shows. Every NZ International Comedy Festival is the same: I pick up the programme, scan the list of names for any of the three to five comedians in the world … Read more
We asked comedians and Boners of the Heart co-hosts Rose Matafeo and Alice Snedden to have a conversation about women and comedy to mark International Women’s Day. The following (lightly edited and hyperlinked) Facebook conversation is what we received. Alice: Na, it’s still the same Someone brought them back from America i just realised this is just like … Read more
Sam Brooks flicks through the programme for this year’s Comedy Fest, powered by Flick Electric Co, and rounds up this year’s incredibly relevant and important festival statistics. Amount of shows on in Auckland: 117 Amount of shows on in Wellington: 68 Amount of shows involving women: 24 (20%) Amount of shows with photos of men … Read more
The annual Billy T Jams showcases the nominees for the Billy T Award, New Zealand’s biggest prize for comedy. Former Billy T winner Hamish Parkinson reviews Friday night’s show in two parts: the first the show itself, the second what this year’s lineup can tell us about the state of local comedy in 2017. Review … Read more
Natasha Hoyland gets to know the Billy T nominees ahead of their showcase at Q Theatre tonight. To be in the running for the biggest and most prestigious prize in New Zealand comedy, budding comedians are required to pitch their show ideas to a panel of industry judges and perform in an applicants showcase. The … Read more
Spinoff Comedy editors Natasha Hoyland and Sam Brooks flick through the hot-off-the-presses NZ International Comedy Festival programme and give their expert kneejerk opinions on what you should go to this year. Natasha’s top picks: Aunty Donna – Big Boys The infamous Australian sketch group that do weird, insane, things. There’s basically nothing much else to … Read more
Starting today, and running until the close of the NZ International Comedy Festival, The Spinoff’s comedy pop-up section will be your daily guide to the festival and all that leaks out of it. Co-editors Sam Brooks and Natasha Hoyland explain what they think they’re doing here. What is this? We’re Sam Brooks and Natasha Hoyland, … Read more
Sick of seeing women portrayed as squeaky clean and virtuous, Jaya Beach-Robertson created PSUSY to prove they can be anything but. Liam Maguren sat down with her to talk through the ups and downs of creating a worldly web series. If you haven’t come across the New Zealand web series PSUSY yet, I’m not sure how … Read more
Alex Casey chats to Chris Parker and Tom Sainsbury about putting on The Basement’s now-institutional Christmas show, and how to survive the holiday season. Unlike Santa’s darkest truth, it’s no secret that writers and performers Chris Parker and Tom Sainsbury are two of the funniest people in Auckland. At any given moment, their comedic powers … Read more
In a hectic schedule, comedian James Nokise finds time to tell Waikato journalist Annette Taylor about touring, the country’s faux class system and the sound of his aunty’s laugh. James Nokise has been called New Zealand’s favourite Samoan/Welsh stand-up comic. Over the years he’s been to the Edinburgh and Adelaide Festivals, lectured at universities and … Read more
We didn’t know what to do about the Comedy Festival, so convened a motley trio of know-nothing punters to talk about it. Host Alex Casey is joined by Spinoff editor Duncan Greive and internet sensation Paul Williams to discuss the final week of the New Zealand Comedy Festival. We look at the Billy T nominees we weren’t … Read more
We didn’t know what to do about the Comedy Festival, so convened a motley trio of know-nothing punters to talk about it. Host Alex Casey is joined by The Spinoff editor Duncan Greive and internet sensation Paul Williams to discuss the second week of the New Zealand Comedy Festival. Acts assessed include James Acaster, … Read more
We didn’t know what to do about the Comedy Festival, so convened a motley trio of know-nothing punters to talk about it. Host Alex Casey is joined by The Spinoff editor Duncan Greive and internet sensation Paul Williams to get amongst week one of the New Zealand International Comedy Festival. The trio discuss the Comedy Gala, 5.30pm … Read more
During the New Zealand International Comedy Festival, ‘Behind the LOLs’ will reveal the inner workings of some of our finest comedy talent. Today, Hamish Parkinson reveals his four-step process for comedy success. Book tickets to 2015 Billy T Award winner Hamish Parkinson’s NZ International Comedy Festival Show: Moon Baby
For three decades, Jesse Mulligan has followed his favourite comedian to the point of obsession via every available medium, facsimile included. On Garry Shandling, who has died at 66 Before YouTube, it was so much harder to follow the careers of the comedians you loved. I’d fallen hard for the comedy of Garry Shandling when … Read more
Friday night’s alright for… laughing? Duncan Greive seeks comfort in TV3’s reliable and formidable week-ending comedy schedule. For a long time, One’s Sunday night line-up was the most reliable and on-brand night in New Zealand television. You had your news, your magazine-style current affairs and your prestige drama. Everything you needed to feel like an … Read more
Cool TV freaks Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim, creators of batshit cult sketch show Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! are playing Auckland’s Sky City Theatre this Friday. Joseph Harper called them for a chat. Those who are already fans need no introduction to the work of Tim & Eric, and the uninitiated should … Read more
The Spinoff has the rare and singular pleasure of bringing you a full scene from TV3’s eagerly anticipated sketch comedy ‘Funny Girls’, debuting on TV3 this Friday at 10pm. For the past few weeks I’ve been traipsing across Auckland to bars, breweries and bars, watching a brand new New Zealand comedy being made. It’s a … Read more
Have you ever wondered what it would be like if New Zealand’s favourite soap-opera and New Zealand’s coolest comedy improv group combined forces? Weird thing to wonder. But it happened on Friday night, when I had the privilege of attending ‘Snortland Street’. It was the stuff of dreams: an evening with Ferndale Strangler-levels of suspense and … Read more
I was leaving Countdown Whangaparaoa with a bag of bananas and some chocolate milk when I saw the poster. “Gary McCormick and Mayor Tim Shadbolt,” it read. “Stand-up comedy at it’s best!” And there they stood, suited and grinning, framed in yellow hibiscus flowers. The poster raised more questions than it answered, like: what the … Read more
With a few minutes before showtime, I took in the crowd at the Comedy Festival’s One Man Breaking Bad show. Unsurprisingly, they were a picture of Breaking Bad fandom. Balding. Novelty t-shirts. Pleather. I was particularly taken by one t-shirt featuring the Disney castle, with Walt Disney’s name replaced by Walt White. Much like the gates … Read more