You may know him as part of the first same sex dance pair on Dancing With The Stars, a contestant on Celebrity Treasure Island or most recently for his TV show about Aotearoa’s queer history: Queer Aotearoa: We’ve Always Been Here on TVNZ. Tonight, though, Eli Matthewson is doing his show Heaven’s Devil which describes as “a show about lies” that was brought about by a lady at a show in Petone asking him if he was actually gay or lying for the laughs.

The start of the show is hilarious and the crowd is already roaring with laughter.

Eli’s first story is one I won’t forget anytime soon, I definitely won’t try, and one of many jokes to come that make me think this gay lad knows more about what a woman wants than most straight men do.  

Matthewson has such a cheeky personality that comes through in his jokes and stories, and the audience are lapping it up. He claims not to be worried about the risk he’s taking with the Hells Angels story.

We are told there is actually one lie in the show and we will be asked to guess what it is at the end. This adds a fun element to the rest of the show and has me questioning everything he says.

Frequently laughing at his own jokes and taking the piss out of himself, asking the audience questions and sharing some very intimate moments, makes it feel like we are all just friends hanging out and sharing funny stories.

I am taken down memory lane when Matthewson starts to talk about religious class in schools and the classic Christian cartoon Veggietales, before talking about The Passion of The Christ 2. Here is where I somewhat embarrass myself when Matthewson asks what Jesus even does after he’s resurrected. I yell, “Miracles!” He asks, “What miracles,” I reply resurrection and healing the blind …. This results in, “I’m going back to my joke now,” and many laughs from the rest of the audience. Apparently in 8 weeks of touring Australia this is the first time someone replied!

With that ordeal over, Matthewson starts to talk about his version of heaven and hell, and warns us to watch what we say about him coz one day he will hear it. I’m safe since he can just read it here now.

Throughout the show we have been treated to a few sex stories, talked about sharing kinks with people who come out to us, and many a gay joke, but this show is worth seeing just to hear Matthewson’s first gay sex story. Everyone is losing it with laughter.

It’s time to guess the lie. It takes a few guesses for someone to get it right but we eventually get there (I did not guess it right, FYI). To end the show we are told by Matthewson we can take photos but they must be uploaded to Instagram with a lie about the show, to make things fun.

Matthewson smashes this show, he makes the audience feel welcome, knows when to move on from a topic or keep it going, and has everyone engaged and laughing from start to finish. This is a show that makes dirty jokes not cringey, allies and queers alike laugh, and makes me wish it was longer than an hour – which is a first for me at this Comedy Festival.

I leave Heaven’s Devil full of new knowledge, nostalgia, curious about things I shouldn’t be curious about, ready to share my kinks with people and to tell a lie on Instagram! 

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