Ed Caruthers and Graeme Rowe in As Many Jokes As We Can Get Away With
Comedy Underground, 305 Queen St, Auckland
30/04/2008 - 03/05/2008
NZ International Comedy Festival 2007-09, 2013
Production Details
RECORD BREAKING LAUGHS FOR THIS YEAR’S FESTIVAL?
Ed Caruthers and Graeme Rowe announce their 2008 New Zealand International Comedy festival show, "As Many Jokes As We Can Get Away With".
The title is a reference to a common theme in their own-stage personas; both comedians are addicted to bombarding audiences with gag after gag, with little regard for meaningful social commentary, or for staying within the boundaries of good taste.
Says Rowe: "Yeah, I’m not into storytelling or anything. I’m just into gags bro. I get nervous when I’m on stage and haven’t told a joke in a minute or two. Go hard and be relentless."
Caruthers has taken the idea to extremes. His one-liners jump from topic to topic without any regard for linking material. The set-up is delivered as concisely as possible, and then the punch-line suddenly falls like a tonne of bricks. Then he does it again and again and again.
Caruthers says: "I once told forty-three jokes in a seven-minute set at the Classic. I tried to maintain this gags-per-minute ratio buts it was impossible. The audiences laughed for too long for me to cram more gags in. Its real annoying."
Proud Aucklander Caruthers and ashamed Hamiltonian Rowe decided to team up because together they could guarantee a non-stop one hour cavalcade of laughs.
Rowe says: "We want to set a record for most laugh-out loud moments in a Festival show"
Dates: April 30th – May 3rd, 10pm
Venue: Comedy Underground, Wallace Trust Gallery, 305 Queen St, Auckland
Tickets: Adults $16, Concessions $12 (service fees may apply)
Bookings: TICKETEK – 0800 TICKETEK (0800 842 5385)
Show Duration: 1 hour
1 hr, no interval
Ho-hum bigotry + rapid fire gags
Review by Nik Smythe 01st May 2008
Simple two-header standup show this, first one, then the other, half an hour each.
Graham Rowe opens in a lukewarm fashion. Every bit the Hamiltonian, with his Barkers label shirt and slightly apologetic stance, Rowe muddles along with a fairly ho-hum array of un-pc jokes: racism in various forms, child abuse, disabled people, pensioners, celebrities and spouses. No one is safe from being the subject of Rowe’s second rate bigot comedy.
When lazy-eyed Ed Carruthers takes the stage it’s remarkable to note the sheer contrast between the two’s individual styles. Ed is everything Graeme is not, apart from somewhat perverted. Where Rowe attempts more of the slow-burn type set-up-and-knock-’em-down kind of gags, Carruthers unleashes a rapid fire barrage of pull-the-rug-out style one liners.
‘I like to show my girlfriend who’s the boss, and other 80s sitcoms’, or ‘So I’m on my way to this job interview, …actually I’ve probably missed it’… har! With such blink-your-ears-and-you-miss-them gems, including his extensive and wholly rational list of reasons why he reckons he’s bad with girls, Carruthers is far and away the star of this gig.
Copyright © in the review belongs to the reviewer
Comments
Paddy Jackson May 18th, 2008
Read the review again, Raymond. It sets out very clearly what the two styles are and makes it equally clear “bigot comedy” is not to the critic’s taste. If you go “great, bigot comedy, I love it” he’s informed you well and you won’t be put off. So what’s your problem?nik smythe May 18th, 2008
As objective as I strive to be, my critiques will always reflect my personal taste. There is no such thing as an unbiased review.Raymond Thorne May 17th, 2008
Just asa well Nik Smythe wasn't the only person in the audience. While Caruthers induced a giggle he was rather cheesy. I found the show almost the complete opposite to what Smythe says. A rather biased review i must say.