As the comedy festival's international line-up prepares to hit town, TimeOut asked its stars to ponder the question: does funny here, equal funny there?
The comedy world is beating a path to our door next week as the New Zealand International Comedy Festival invades the stages of Auckland.
But it made us wonder, now they're laughing at our accents in the rest of the world - via the careers of Flight of the Conchords and Rhys Darby - does all comedy transcend borders? Or are there still cultural differences that make chicken-crossing-road a knee-slapper to one nation but a grave insult to the poultry road safety of another? Does anyone/anywhere not find poo funny?… And are New Zealand audiences hard work?
So we rounded up a panel of experts on pan-global comedy relations - some, well, all of whom have shows in the upcoming festival - and asked them how far laughter travels ...
CHARLIE PICKERING
(AUSTRALIA)
Is comedy really an international language or do things get lost in translation?
I think it goes either way. I once had a Japanese exchange student stay with me when I was in high school and we took her to see Weekend at Bernie's and I've never seen anyone laugh harder. That was when I realised that comedy can be genuinely universal. That said, with time, I think people have universally grown to hate Weekend at Bernie's.
How have you found comedy and people's sense of humour to vary around the world?
From a personal point of view, as an Australian, I found that it took me a long time to earn the affection of New Zealand audiences. There was just a resistance to Aussies. Whereas you go to somewhere like South Africa and they're just grateful that you're there. That you went all the way to Africa and braved the street crime to come and tell jokes to them.
As an Australian, which nations seem to appreciate your humour the most?
My favourite place to do comedy is Ireland, because it has a story telling culture and I tell stories. They're very receptive. Almost every single person at the gig will come up and shake your hand afterwards. It's the friendliest, warmest place but I also felt that every single person I met was funnier than I was.
How would you sum up the Australian sense of humour?
It's a little bit irreverant. It's very laid-back as a comedy but not quite as reclined as New Zealand comedy. I love New Zealand comedy because a lot of the time it feels like your uncle telling you a joke. Jeremy Corbett is one of my favourite people in the entire world but when he talks it's literally like your uncle telling you a story.
How do Kiwi audiences compare to other countries? Are we hard work?
They're a bit of hard work initially but I think it's actually changed a lot. When I first came over I don't think that many Aussies had done the NZ comedy festival. But since then we've learned to get along really well and I've found that they've warmed a lot. But I have seen NZ audiences be very discerning with what they like.
Does anyone/anywhere not find poo funny?
In my experience, poo can be made funny anywhere in the world. It is all what you do with it.
DANNY BHOY
(SCOTLAND)
Is comedy really an international language or do things get lost in translation?
I see it in a positive way as a uniter, rather than a divider of nations. It's the one thing that we all have in common - a sense of humour. Often it's a good way of showing how little conflict there is between countries in the world, when we can all get together and laugh, essentially, at the same stuff.
How have you found comedy and people's sense of humour to vary around the world?
I probably travel more than most comedians - around 10 or 11 months a year - just to get away from the cold most of the time. The rather dull answer is, generally, people laugh at the same things. You have to change references and phrases every so often but if a story or a yarn is funny in Scotland, it's going to be funny in New Zealand and Australia and America and Canada.
As a Scot, which nations seem to appreciate your humour the most?
Scotland's always good for me because I think I'm one of the few comics at the Edinburgh Festival that does a Scottish show - a show for Scottish people. And I tend to localise it towards Edinburgh. So I find my crowd are really, really up for it. It's an annual thing for some people. I get more of a fierce crowd in Edinburgh and I like that because it keeps me on my toes.
How would you sum up the Scottish sense of humour?
We're quite a gloomy nation really. You've got to remember for six months of the year, you get up in the morning and it's dark and you go home at night and it's dark. It's very rainy and cold. A lot of the Scottish mentality has been born out of indoor living - going to the pub after work. I think that has a lot to do with our love of story telling. It's what keeps us going.
How do Kiwi audiences compare to other countries? Are we hard work?
It's strange, I've done really well in New Zealand. I don't know how really. I think there's a Scottish/NZ link definitely, they're quite similar to the Scots. They take a bit more time to warm up but when they get going, they're really up for it.
Does anyone/anywhere not find poo funny?
Well I've never done an international survey but I guess there are certain topics that everyone can laugh at.
ED BYRNE
(IRELAND)
Is comedy really an international language or do things get lost in translation?
Things definitely get drastically lost in translation, without a doubt. Going to somewhere like Amsterdam, performing in a second language for them, you have to make sure you speak in American English because that's generally what they've learnt. I find, particularly when performing somewhere like the States, more so than anywhere else, you have to use their vernacular.
How have you found comedy and people's sense of humour to vary around the world?
It doesn't change drastically among English-speaking people. I know from experience that stand-up is fairly peculiar to English-speaking people. On the continent for instance, in Germany and France, cabaret is more the thing. They don't have a guy just talking and telling jokes. Stand-up - the idea of a monologue - is very peculiar to the English-speaking world.
As an Irishman, which nations seem to appreciate your humour the most?
It's hard to say. Everyone says 'oh, go to America, they love the Irish there'. But as I said, America was quite a tricky one because you've really got to translate for them. The Australians seem to have an appreciation, I think because many of them are descended from the Irish. New Zealand has the thing, like Canada, of identifying with having a big brother next door. Ireland's got
Britain, Canada's got the States and New Zealand's got that country I can't remember ...
How would you sum up the Irish sense of humour?
I think Irish, in general, do more storytelling stuff. That's one aspect of our culture that's leached very much into our comedy - the tradition of exaggerating stories out of all proportion. I think it's the reason we are fairly over-represented as a nation when it comes to stand-up. There is an Irish show at the Montreal Comedy Festival. We used to be lumped in with Brit-com. For a population of four million to get our own show at Montreal is nothing to be sniffed at. Do the Scottish have that? No they f***ing don't!
How do Kiwi audiences compare to other countries? Are we hard work?
The first thing I found when I went there was you're reserved and don't like answering questions. But other than that I've found [the audience] very pleasant. And they remember you. I'm one of the few people going to NZ this year who is completely bypassing Australia. Because they forget about you, they move on to the next person. They're like a high-maintenance girlfriend, if you go and talk to someone else they go mental and never speak to you again. So I just haven't bothered going this year.
Does anyone/anywhere not find poo funny?
Everyone's got to find poo jokes funny. Stephen Fry put it very well in an interview once. He said what's funny about jokes like that is they remind us of what we are. As much as we try to consider ourselves civilised and cultured and creative, at the end of the day, food goes in one end and poo comes out the other. We are basically just tubes.
DAVE WIGGINS
(USA)
Is comedy really an international language or do things get lost in translation?
Things definitely do get lost in translation. Comedy has the potential to be universal but I've done some gigs in the States, and I did this one joke about Warehouse Stationary. Just simply about the name and a play-on-words type of joke. It's a really funny joke in New Zealand, I must say. But it fell extremely flat. You just go 'hmmm, it's a different world over here'.
How have you found comedy and people's sense of humour to vary around the world?
Americans are definitely more sort of slapstick. It's evident even in TV shows, where there's a laugh track and you go 'oh, that's where I'm supposed to laugh'. You watch a British show and you're not quite sure when you're supposed to laugh.
As an American, which nations seem to appreciate your humour the most?
Australia and New Zealand probably. Just because you develop comedy within your context. I've written comedy in New Zealand so that's my perspective. I think if I went back to America, half my material would be gone because they've never heard of Helen Clark or watched a New Zealand television show.
How would you sum up the American sense of humour?
I'm not quite sure. It is more energetic, it is less subtle. It's funny to try to dissect comedy. Everything's bigger in America - everything from hamburgers to jokes. It's just bigger.
How do Kiwi audiences compare to other countries? Are we hard work?
Definitely, I would say so. But the minute you understand a New Zealand audience, you're fine with it. You just need to relax and know that they're not going to give you huge laughs right away but you know when you win them over. When they unfold their arms it's like a standing ovation in another country.
Does anyone/anywhere not find poo funny?
No. I'm pretty sure it's universal. Unfortunately, that's what brings us all together - poo and fart jokes.
MARK WATSON
(WALES)
Is comedy really an international language or do things get lost in translation?
On the whole, I'd say it's more universal than I ever thought it would be. Before I came to Australia and New Zealand, I wouldn't have imagined the material would translate so well. Popular culture and stuff are bound to get lost but the basics, I think, tend to carry over really well. There's something about the energy of live comedy that works for you even if people don't understand every bit.
How have you found comedy and people's sense of humour to vary around the world?
In Australia and New Zealand, I would say the sense of humour is pretty much identical to the British. New Zealand crowds tend to be a bit more reserved, compared with Australians, but that's more of a temperamental thing, that's not to do with sense of humour. Obviously it is different playing in Hong Kong or somewhere than playing in London, but basically the difference is less to do with actual sense of humour and more to do with how people behave in groups.
As a Welshman, which nations seem to appreciate your humour the most?
New Zealand is one of the best places probably. I think the New Zealand national character is quite similar to the Welsh. New Zealand really does remind me of Britain really, you like to avoid a scene and play things down. All that is quite British.
How would you sum up the Welsh sense of humour?
The defining aspect of Welsh humour is gloom and negativity. Dark, dark humour. As a nation, Wales tends to have a bit of an inferiority complex. Our sense of humour is 'just when you thought things couldn't get any worse, they have'. It doesn't actually mean people are miserable. Rather it's profound, quite funny, pessimism.
How do Kiwi audiences compare to other countries? Are we hard work?
My first year, I really did find that. I'd just come from a season in Melbourne and Sydney which had gone really well and I was probably more confident than I usually am. I found Auckland quite tough crowds. People would say how much they enjoyed it afterwards and be very warm but you wouldn't get much of a sense of it at the actual time. Last year I was braced for that and I actually found it much easier. Maybe I got used to the Kiwi temperament a bit more.
Does anyone/anywhere not find poo funny?
I'd be surprised. I can't imagine a place like that really. I would say in the civilised world, most people find poo funny. Probably, the funniness of the subject is in direct proportion to how civilised a country is in a way. The more pretentious societies are, the funnier it gets to talk about poo.
JASON COOK
(ENGLAND)
Is comedy really an international language or do things get lost in translation?
No, in New Zealand, last time I was there, I only had to change one reference in a joke in an hour-long show. It's fairly international, I think. I was in Australia a couple of weeks ago and I had someone say 'could you slow down?' but I think they were Tasmanian.
How have you found comedy and people's sense of humour to vary around the world?
I think Kiwi audiences are much more laid-back than other places, Scotland for example. There, if they like a joke, they're like rabid dogs. Whereas Kiwi audiences are much more laid-back and they like to appreciate the whole thing.
As an Englishman, which nations seem to appreciate your humour the most?
New Zealand's got a special place in my heart, I love it over there. The Australian sense of humour is a bit more brash, they enjoy a bit more filth. They do like a good story as well. But I do love the Kiwi festival, it's like a month-long party for me.
How would you sum up the English sense of humour?
Depreciating, quite cutting, I think English people don't like to show off. Success is not something that we like. We revel more in someone's failure than going out and saying 'I'm brilliant, look at this!' I think if you put yourself down, which I'm quite good at, you'll do all right.
How do Kiwi audiences compare to other countries? Are we hard work?
What seems to happen, I think, is there's 20 minutes of solid laughter and then collectively all the Kiwis go, 'right, we'll have a rest now for 10 minutes and we'll be back with you'. Ten minutes pass and then they're back. I was talking to loads of other comics who played New Zealand and said 'It's weird, I started to wonder if 20 to 30 minutes of my show were a bit shit. People were just sitting there.' And they went, 'No, no, it's the 20-minute thing. It happens to all of us.'
Does anyone/anywhere not find poo funny?
No, poo's always funny. It's poo. It's the funniest substance known to man.
JASON JOHN WHITEHEAD
(CANADA)
Is comedy really an international language or do things get lost in translation?
Laughter is always international, but sure things can get lost in translation. In Holland some people have learned all their English from The Simpsons, and in some countries like Germany and Sweden, where English is a popular second language, they've learned it so technically that any slang terms are completely misunderstood for their 'real' meaning.
How have you found comedy and people's sense of humour to vary around the world?
We're all aware that sometimes Americans don't quite grasp sarcasm. The English just want you to make fun of them because they're sure as hell gonna make fun of you, but overall a sense of humour belongs to the individual and not the country.
As a Canadian, which nations seem to appreciate your humour the most?
I personally love working in Britain and Ireland right now. It's not just my humour but all comedy as live entertainment. They just have a real healthy comedy circuit that they've all helped build and nurture. It could also be that the miserable weather drives them indoors and gets them ready to laugh.
How would you sum up the Canadian sense of humour?
I'm sure it's not too different from the Kiwis. We've got influences from Britain and the US and yet we have our own distinct sense of humour from being cut off in a corner of the world.
How do Kiwi audiences compare to other countries? Are we hard work?
It still depends on the night. For the most part I find the Kiwi audiences really warm and giving but they don't necessarily want to be talked to. There is definitely a lot less audience participation here than, say, somewhere like the UK.
Does anyone/anywhere not find poo funny?
A janitor at a mental asylum.
RADAR
(NEW ZEALAND)
Is comedy really an international language or do things get lost in translation?
They are inherently funny things that transcend language, like Mr Bean, which has gone to more countries than any other comedy. Someone slipping over on a banana skin, that's funny anywhere. Where you get variations is something that relies upon some kind of local knowledge.
How have you found comedy and people's sense of humour to vary around the world?
Internationally comedy finds itself in interesting times. No longer can you do something and have it slip under the radar because of the internet. Saudi Arabia, or it could have been Pakistan, were putting through a non-binding resolution at the UN to say that religion be exempt from freedom of speech laws. That's serious, and particularly so as comedians, because I don't think any topic, particularly religion, should be exempt from a thorough going over.
As a New Zealander, which nations seem to appreciate yours and our humour the most?
Between us, the Australians, the Canadians, and the British, I think there are strong links between our humour. I like the stupidity of British humour. And the Canadians are willing to poke fun at themeselves and to look stupid.
How would you sum up the New Zealand sense of humour?
There's that laconic New Zealand laid-back guy, the taciturn rural guy that drops in that one line at the end that has people cracking up for weeks. And we love to laugh at ourselves, self-parody is very strong in New Zealand, amongst the populace as well as on stage.
How do Kiwi audiences compare to other countries? Are we hard work?
We don't have the tradition of going out and seeing comedy every week like the British. But [in New Zealand] they may do it several times during the comedy festival. It's not that they are more reserved, it's just that comedy is an event for them.
Does anyone/anywhere not find poo funny?
I think a fart joke is funnier than a poo joke. Poo is dirty and scatalogically unhygienic. But a fart is funny. Have you seen the photos of Prince Philip [on the internet]? He has clearly made a smell, and the Queen is not amused. The great thing about a poo or a fart gag, as much as people say they don't like them, it's something that everbody does. It's like laughing, if you don't laugh and you don't poo, then you die.
LOWDOWN
What: New Zealand International Comedy Festival
When: May 1 to 24
Tickets: For the full festival line up see www.comedyfestival.co.nz
