Comedians Ben Hurley, Hayley Sproull, Vaughan King and Justine Smith coming to Taranaki for comedy show

Ben Hurley features in The Great Comedy Night. Tickets go on sale soon.

Four comedians walked into an Eltham town hall ...

This isn’t the start of a great joke, but rather the introduction to a great night out on offer for Taranaki comedy fans. In fact, it’s double the fun, with two venues booked for The Great Comedy Night next month.

The Great Comedy Night has become an annual feature for comedy fans in the region, and will once again be hosted by Ben Hurley, a comedian well known to Kiwi audiences for his appearances on 7 Days and The Project.

Ben, who grew up in Taranaki, says he looks forward to returning home for the comedy event once again.

Joining him on stage will be another South Taranaki grown comedian - Vaughan King. Vaughan is one of the busiest stand-ups on the circuit. Having done stand-up for over two decades now, he certainly knows what Kiwis find funny better than most.

Justine Smith is another familiar face for comedy fans, with regular appearnaces on The Project, 7 Days, Have You Been Paying Attention and Taskmaster NZ as well as many stand-up shows across the country.

NZME’s own Hayley Sproull will be back in Taranaki for the show as well, just a few short weeks after her sold-out show Ailments in New Plymouth was a huge crowd favourite at the Tarankai Arts Festival Trust’s Right Royal Cabaret Festival. She’s a familiar name and voice to radio and television fans as well, with her weekday job as a ZM breakfast host as well as hosting television shows The Great Kiwi Bake Off and Have You Been Paying Attention.

The four comedians will be making audiences laugh at two shows in Taranaki next month, taking to the stages of both Eltham Town Hall and Hāwera Memorial Theatre. South Taranaki District Council events co-ordinator Emma Vennell says she chose the Eltham Town Hall for the event this year, as it is a “stunning hall that is ideal for stand-up comedy”.

“It’s a perfect venue for this type of event. Winter can be a slow time for events and getting out, so it is nice to be able to offer the community something like this.”

She says demand is high in winter months for high-quality shows, making it an easy decision to book a second night of the comedy show for Hāwera audiences.

The Details

What: The Great Comedy Night

When: Friday, August 18 (Eltham Town Hall) and Saturday, August 19 (Hāwera Memorial Theatre). Both shows start at 7.30pm.

Details: Tickets - $30 each, on sale at the South Taranaki i-SITE Visitor Centre and Eltham Library Plus from July 7. The show is R16.