Hook, Line And Sphincter
Circus Bar 17b Allen Street, Wellington
26/02/2026 - 28/02/2026
Production Details
Created, produced and performed by Jack Gerards
Jack Gerards knows better than most that life has it’s crappy moments. One moment the sun is shining, the birds are singing and you haven’t a care or a worry in the world, the next the spicy vindaloo curry you had the night before makes a sudden reappearance and there isn’t a restroom in sight. You’re never quite as prepared as you think you are, but it’s these trying times that show the true extent of your gastro-intestinal fortitude and just how resourceful you can be when you’re under pressure.
“Hook, Line And Sphincter” is a series of half-baked and fully formed movements: one half is work in progress material that is still in the process of being digested, the other half is tested material that has completed it’s long and laborious journey into the a(n)nals of Kiwi comedy. Whether this dark matter will reach it’s ultimate destination or be prematurely ejected into the universal sewer of space and time remains to be seen. Hold your nose, take the plunge and come experience it for yourself… if you have the stomach for it, of course.
Circus Bar, 17B Allen Street, Te Aro
February 26-28th 2026
7PM – 8PM
$15
Fringe Festival website listing: https://tickets.fringe.co.nz/event/446:8216/
Facebook event listing: https://www.facebook.com/events/1203254138456500/1203254145123166/
Theatre , [R18] , Comedy , Stand-up comedy , Solo ,
60 minutes
Most of his material – essentially observational and dad jokes – is really good
Review by James Redwood 27th Feb 2026
This is a work in progress for Jack Gerards. He is new to standup and giving it a red hot go. There are nerves. He describes himself as an introvert, so this achievement is impressive for that reason alone. We are empathetic as an audience (his mum and other family members are in the audience) but he is also really funny.
The material mainly covers his life experience, with a large section at the beginning describing his family’s first, very damp, house in Wellington. This segues into the meat of the story – his Crohn’s disease.
The main theme is unapologetically: shit. There are segues into Wellington water and sewage woes, and Wellington politics, but mostly it is about shit. Colonoscopy, dietary limitation and disturbing remains on used toilet paper are covered. The bit at the end about Elon Musk weakly connects with the rest of the material, as in ”speaking of shit…”.
There is none of the suicide, addiction, mental illness or drug references warned about on the Fringe blurb. I have no faith in these warnings now as it is not the first time these have proved incorrect.
Gerards’s style is essentially observational and dad jokes, some extremely painful. Some venture into Gervais-level discomfort as he compares his experience to a woman’s in two different ways. These got the least-empathic responses, especially from the female audience members. I imagine his mum had something to say about them.
Most of it is really funny though. There are a couple of walk-ins to the Circus Bar during the show whose loud laughter shows they clearly love the material.
Gerards’s nerves show from time to time. He needs to consult his notes twice, there are other shorter pauses where he needs to think about what comes next. He winds up at about 48 minutes.
I hope his confidence builds, and he slows the pace because most of his material is really good. The key is avoiding milking his condition for sympathy. Callum Wagstaff’s I Want Your Kidney is a good reference for achieving this.
Entry is the same price as a beer at the bar, so I encourage you to catch him tonight or tomorrow, if you have a good tolerance for poo.
Copyright © in the review belongs to the reviewer
Comments
Jack Gerards March 3rd, 2026
^”Behaviour” in this instance means one untrue rumour that was spread about me by another comedian.
Cheers for your review, James. It’s appreciated.
Hank Mardukis February 28th, 2026
I’m glad he mentions poo in the show, does he also mention making several women in the Wellington comedy scene uncomfortable with his behaviour?