Exporting our jokers to Britain

Benjamin Crellin. Photo / Supplied

Some of the Kiwi comics with shows at this year's comedy festival return home after stints on the British stand-up scene. Here's their thoughts on their time Up Over and how it compares to back home ...

SIMON MCKINNEY:
Within the first three weeks of being in Edinburgh, I was having a bit of a tough time workwise. I went to a comedy club and thought 'well if nothing else, I'll find out what they laugh at'. I had a go and immediately found that being the little blond Antipodean with the stupid voice was actually quite valuable over there. The British crowd are easier and louder than New Zealand. And a lot drunker.

BEN HURLEY:
They drink a lot more over there. People in New Zealand are a lot more laid-back so it's hard to get a big reaction out of them. It's kind of why they all do amphetamines and we just smoke pot.

It's not the accent, but you do have a rich vein of comedy when you're a fish out of water. It's the same as why overseas comics do well over here.

The English have got quite a cruel sense of humour. They like their mates getting the piss taken out of them, whereas the Americans don't find that funny at all. I think New Zealanders used to struggle to laugh at themselves but we're getting better at it.

BENJAMIN CRELLIN:
In my experience of the UK circuit, they just went for funny. They've been doing stand-up for a long, long time and they just look for funny, over any kind of international flavour. It lasts for a few seconds on stage and then they're just keen to know if you're funny.

I think the Brits have a more advanced sense of humour, I don't think it's different. I think New Zealand audiences have a lot of catching-up to do in their understanding of comedy. New Zealand audiences have a tendency to be quite quiet and a lot of overseas acts perceive that as making them a hard audience. But I think we're a little more downplayed sometimes. Sometimes we're just not as comedy savvy as some of those other crowds and we actually miss a lot of stuff.