ADAM WRIGHT in UTOPIA

Kitty O'Sheas, 28 Courtenay Place, Wellington

29/04/2014 - 03/05/2014

NZ International Comedy Festival 2014

Production Details



ONE MAN’S GIFT TO THE WORLD. YOU’RE WELCOME 

Move over, Al Gore. Watch your top spot, Bono. In a world full of charlatans, globalisation and John Key, there has finally arrived a man with the power to save us all. Come 29th April – 3rd May at Kitty O’Shea’s, and Adam Wright’s blueprint for the perfect society will be revealed in his debut 2014 NZ International Comedy Festival show, Utopia.

Adam Wright has the answers the world has been missing for generations. After literally hours of research, he’s solved the ten biggest problems with the world today and will deliver the solutions to each and every one of you, free of charge* (*not free of charge). You will leave this show knowing that humanity has been saved.

Adam Wright burst onto the scene in Wellington at the beginning of 2011, and quickly made a name for himself as one of the funniest new comedians in town. Since then Wright has been a Wellington Raw finalist twice, supported the likes of James Nokise and Steve Wrigley, and was invited to the Classic’s New Pros showcase in January 2014. Now a favourite around Wellington, Wright hosts a podcast with Billy T award Winner Jarrod Baker and is an active (some would say overactive) tweeter at @Wright_Now.

Observational and funny” Theatreview

Clever, funny and a great story teller. Recommended!” Steve Wrigley

As part of the 2014 NZ International Comedy Festival in cahoots with Old Mout Cider, grab some mates and join us for a great night of laughs from 24 April – 18 May.

For the full Comedy Fest show line-up head to comedyfestival.co.nz

WELLINGTON
Dates: 29th April – 3rd May, 8:30pm
Venue: Kitty O’Sheas, 28 Courtenay Place
Tickets: Adults $18, Conc. $15, Groups of 6+ $15
Bookings: www.eventfinder.co.nz




1hr

Personal experiences opened

Review by Shannon Friday 01st May 2014

From the marketing material, I went into Utopia expecting character comedy – something Stephen Colbert-ish: a guy who thinks he knows how to build Utopia but is really just an idiot. 

Instead, Adam Wright is an affable guy who uses a loose structure of bringing up issues and proposing non-solutions to riff on a variety of topics from economics (read: work) to entertainment (read: nostalgia for children’s TV and movies).  For a structure based around a satirical political work, the show is determinedly non-political. 

All in all, it is a well-shaped, smooth set.  Some of the night’s humour is accidental – Wright’s boss is in the audience, and the jokes about work take on a whole new – slightly desperate – angle.  I like it.  As someone else who has never, ever, ever used the office printer for show posters (I swear), I totally get that awkwardness of trying to prove you care about your day job without only caring about your day job. 

And Wright handles the crowd with ease, taking on board our reactions and turning them into the next joke.  Wright also has a good ear for accents, and they pepper the set adding some great definition to what could be really straight-up-and-down characters.

The more personal the connection, the more I like the show.  Some of the best later material comes from imagining what Hollywood would do to a beloved TV show from Wright’s childhood.  There is also a gold mine of material in Wright recounting his learning curve of the comedy circuit, and the oddly flattering nature of hyperbolic criticism.

There are gestures to a larger scope or awareness here, but for me, that wasn’t the highlight or focus of the night. Instead, it is Wright’s ability to structure his own experience and open it up to us that kept me grinning and giggling for much of the show.

Comments

Make a comment

Wellingon City Council
Auckland City Council