The NZ Comedy Festival is set to unleash itself upon the funnybones of Auckland and Wellington from April 29. TimeOut has rounded up a dozen or so local and international stars of this year's fest to discuss their approach to funny.
From: New Zealand.
As seen on: That girl that sometimes gets confused for Rose Matafeo. I'm the "other one".
Name of show (and how long did it take you to think it up?): Expecto Patronum. It was originally going to be called "Snape Is My Daddy" but then that would just give away too many spoilers.
Conceptual description of show in 10 words or less: Life is over when you don't get invited to Hogwarts.
Are props required? If so, what's the most important one? Probably a Sorting Hat. I'm going to sort everyone into houses according to the four personality types: brave, clever, evil and badger.
Can we bring our mum? Your mum will love it if she's the kind of creepy mother who has a weird crush on Alan Rickman.
If you don't have another telly/radio/whatever gig, what would you like it to be? My friend Rose and I have come up with a concept for a show really late at night where we just show creepy fan videos people have posted on YouTube and discuss them. Kind of like Reel Late With Kate, but with fewer movies and Kate.
How many Auckland comedy festival appearances is this for you? This is my third one-hour show.
What have you learned from your past appearances? I've learned to deal with the nightmares leading up to the festival. I've learned that if you're true to your own style, people who are like you will come to your show and you'll have a great time. I also learned how to make Brendhan Lovegrove go away.
In a year like 2011, what is there to laugh about? I don't ever do topical humour. I'm stuck in the past, like Doc in Back to the Future III. That joke just proves my point.
Who are your favourite live comedians of all time? Stewart Lee, Daniel Kitson, Josie Long.
Complete this sentence: "Please come to my show because ..." I know what it's like to be lonely. We can make a death pact.
* Upstairs @ The Basement, May 18-21
