Rhys Darby: Kiwi comics crack Aussies up

Buttons' unorthodox Shocca coffee treat rattles baristas. Photo / Richard Robinson

Sydney crowd gets a proper reason to laugh at us ...

Hello Kiwis, here's some cool news which you probably haven't heard because it's not sports related.

Last week I took a troupe of our greatest comics over to Sydney and we performed in the first offshore New Zealand Comedy Gala. It was in front of 1600 people at the Sydney Opera House.

Ironically, we felt rather like a transtasman school sports team once we were there.

The only thing missing was matching tracksuits. We all stayed in the same hotel and we were ushered to and from the gig by a man in a fancy van. One of the highlights was watching the tiny bollards magically submerge into the pavement when we drove up to the stage entrance of ... I think I mentioned it before but I'll say it again - the Sydney Opera House!

So why were we there? Well, the event itself was the Australian leg of the famous Just For Laughs festival. An elite invitation-only affair that comics from all over the world hope to attend one day.

It originated in Montreal, Canada, but these days it has branched out to a few other cities. It's a pretty big deal really. Just For Laughs has helped to launch the sitcom careers of many comics since the mid-80s and I just wanted you guys to know that our gang did great!

Ben, Urzila, Chris, Brendhan and Jarred all did storming sets and the crowd went wild. I'm proud that we're that good now. Our comics are world-class and they're starting to get the attention of big industry players.

In true transtasman fashion one of our team members had an unfortunate incident in his hotel room ... but I'll let Brendhan tell you more about that.

In news back home, my buddy Buttons has invented a new coffee. One of Buttons' many personal issues is that he can't drink cow milk. He's finally at the point where he can no longer stand the ridicule of using the word soy before the words flat white so he's dropped milk altogether and added chocolate. It's essentially a short black with chocolate powder mixed in it.

He's calling it the "Shocca". The long black version is called the "Locka". I think these are perfect names because I've seen him try to order these coffees from baristas and they generally look "shocked" and think that he should be "locked" up.

Baristas in this country, or "coff jocks" as I like to call them, are pretty precious when it comes to inventing new coffees. Their simple answer is no you can't do it. Don't mess with the bean!

That's not very Kiwi now is it? New Zealand is all about messing with stuff. Let's all get behind Buttons and let the Shocca thrive.