It’s a real delight to be in a completely packed-to-the-rafters Hannah Playhouse for the first of what I hope are many shows of A Welly Full Of Laughs. We are promised a night full of Wellington’s finest professional comics, showcasing the best of what the capital city has to offer.

It’s an excellent show concept – the Wellington scene can be dominated by big international touring acts (e.g. Jimmy Carr, Ed Gamble) performing at the Opera House, or Auckland comedians coming down to test out their material before showing it in Auckland (e.g. the first week of every Best Food Comedy Fest, this reviewer’s previously salty hot takes). It’s a pleasure to be in a room of hilarious Wellingtonians, curated by Wellingtonians, for Wellingtonians.

MCed by the delightful Lesa McLeod-Whiting, each comedian is given six minutes to show us their best material. There are (literally and figuratively) buckets of talent on the stage tonight.

Lesa is, as always, charming, smooth, feminist and feminine in equal measure. We’re in safe hands with Lesa always, and her recent clean sweep at the Wellington Comedy Awards shows that.

Here’s my best go at describing each of the 12 acts over the evening in 5(ish) words.

Mo Munn: chaotic, nostalgic, authentic, hilarious reinvention.

Trent H Baumann: understated, quips lasting beyond the moment.

Jerome Chandrahasen: professional, slick, big and strong.

Joanna Joy: high energy, theatrical, clowny, relentless.

Kipling DC: goofy, charming teenage boy-adult.

Ginge and Minge (Nina Hogg and Mog): absurd, committed, crying with laughter.

Zach -Mandeville: polished, unassumingly hilarious, storytelling chops.

Booth The Clown: physical clowning mastery, excellent emu.

Keegan Thomas: confidently vulnerable meets wholesomely laddish.

Lily Catastrophe: self-deprecation with a smile.

Jak Darling: effervescently and effortlessly whimsically sexy.

Alayne Dick – as the closer, I’ve given myself a few more words to speak on Alayne’s set. It’s a real skill and a unique one in this lineup, that Alayne makes the audience feel like we’ve all created the joke together. It’s like we’re all hanging out in a living room doing bits and riffing on each other, but it’s all Alayne. It’s such a joyous feeling to be in the room when Alayne gigs – it feels like hanging out with your hilarious best friend.   

I’ve been overseas for the last year spending a lot of time at Fringe Festivals and experiencing a lot of comedy. Tonight’s line-up shows that Wellington has some world-class acts that deserve to be getting higher billing than they do. A huge shout-out must go to Mon Platon Productions – they spent time with the comedy community to discuss how to give Wellington’s comedy scene an injection of energy, they saw a gap in the market, and they delivered on it spectacularly.

I’ve heard a lot of people complain over the years and especially recently that ‘the scene is dead’. It’s a tough time to get bums on seats and people out of the house to support any art, let alone local comedy. However, the effort tonight by Mon Platon Productions shows that (to quote Mo Munn) if you do the mahi, you get the treats.

I hope to be a bum on a seat at many more Welly Full of Laughs to come.

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