Joker's Guide To Armageddon
Fringe Bar, Cnr Cuba & Vivian, Wellington
17/02/2010 - 20/02/2010
Production Details
With the Armageddon Pulp Expo just around the corner, James Nokise presents a comedic guide to New Zealand’s ultimate celebration of all things Geekdom.
From Fantasy to Sci-Fi; across Movies, Books, Comics, Cardgames, Computer games, Wresetling, Roller Derby, and more, comedian James Nokise (user name: Joker) explores the many facets of fandom in Joker’s Guide to Armageddon. All important questions will be asked: Xbox, Playstation, or Wii? How do you make a good comic book film without killing the star, or using a former drug addict? What is the appeal of Seth Rogan? Is it cheating if it’s virtual? Is it cheating if it’s Twilight? What the hell is cosplay about?
Joker’s Guide To Armageddon is not just a show celebrating all things Geek, but a light-hearted introduction for people curious about peoples love of Pulp Culture. The show wont be all in-jokes and obscure references.
Like most people, James had no idea about such important matters as World of Warcraft, Magic: The Gathering, etc. So, in an exhausting move, he went out and learned about them, with hilarious consequences.
Armageddon is a science fiction, fantasy and comics convention first held in Auckland in 1995, and Wellington in 1997. Special guests from TV, Film, Comics, and Games appear as guest speakers. It has become the largest event of it’s kind in Australia and New Zealand, with over 20,000 visitors each year.
Special events include a Dragonball Z kamehameha contest, Cosplay contest, gaming tournaments, live Wrestling and Roller derby. There are also stalls run by companies from all over New Zealand as well as local artists.
At only 27, James Nokise is an 8 year veteran of the Stand-up comedy scenes in both New Zealand and the UK. With a Welsh/Samoan background that often provides a unique view on society, James has been nominated for the Billy T James Comedy Award twice.
Obsessed with Voltron since the age of three, he is consistently beaten on Mario Kart by his 15yr old brother and stays in shape by staying up all night playing RPG’s and forgetting to eat. His girlfriend lives in fear of Final Fantasy XIII’s iminent release.
JOKER’S GUIDE TO ARMAGEDDON
The Fringe Bar
Corner of Cuba and Vivian streets, Te Aro, Wellington
Email: fringebar.nz@gmail.com
Wed 17 Feb – Sat 20 Feb
Show Starts: 7:00pm
Full: $15, Concession: $12, Fringe Addict Card Holder: $10
Easy relaxed style makes pulp culture engaging
Review by Priyanka Bhonsule (Hutt News) 18th Feb 2010
Due to a technical problem on opening night which rendered the projector useless, an audience of about 12 had to gather around James Nokise’s laptop to watch his show. Nokise did away with the mic to make the atmosphere more intimate.
Though he was hampered by that and the disappointingly small audience, Nokise powered on with his show about pulp culture expo Armageddon, covering everything from Star Trek to his favourite 80s comics.
In an hour, Nokise attempts to take us through the pulp culture genre, explaining the finer details like ‘Five Most Embarrassing Moments in Star Wars’ and why he loved He-Man’s simplicity.
As a video game-loving male with a relationship, Nokise also explains how to strike the balance between gaming and your girlfriend. His bit about men trying to chat up the promo girls at comic expos and its consequences is hilarious.
As a Twilight fan (guilty), I love Nokise’s take on the tween/teen vampire love story phenomenon and his suggestions to make the Twilight saga better.
Of course no guide to Armageddon would be complete without ‘New Zealand story’ Lord of the Rings getting a once over. Like 80% of New Zealand’s population, Nokise had a part in the movies and talks of the movies fondly.
Nokise has an easy and relaxed style and relates to his audience well. Any fan of the genre will be well entertained at this show.
It’d be interesting to see the effects of the show with a larger audience and, as Nokise himself kept saying, how much more impressive the photos and clips would have been if the projector had been working.
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