Little Moustache is comprised of three emerging female comics: Chelsea Hughes, Natalie Britten and Danni Taylor.

We are told early on that the reason for the name “Little Moustache” will become clear to us – and it does during one of the pieces of sketch comedy. A tendency to over-explain is the hallmark of this work. Although it is cute and quirky, subtlety is not their forte.

Hughes, Britten and Taylor energetically bound onto the stage at Club Ivy and thank us for coming along. The audience on Friday, the second night of their run, seemed mostly made up of people known to them. Their Laugh Experiences show is comprised of a stand up set from each performer, with pieces of sketch comedy in between.

The sketches include a pirate interviewing at a job agency, a brush with an overzealous shop assistant and the first day at a Tawa pancake shack. It was only the pancake shack sketch that I found especially funny. The trio hasn’t yet learned that comedy often lies in setting up expectations only to subvert them, rather than having them pay off in an obvious way.

The individual stand up sets were more successful. Taylor made observations on glasses being sexy, being a student and her urge to buy odd things in second hand shops. Britten played a kiwifruit shaped ukulele as she delivered totally un-PC statements in a deadpan manner. Hughes mostly joked about her pregnancy (conceived on purpose, woohoo!). All three performers show promise as stand up comedians, especially Britten.

Although the trio bring a lot of energy to the sketches, I felt that the blend of sketch comedy and stand up was a bit strained and led to long pauses between parts of the show. I read in the programme afterwards that the trio all belong to the Wellington Improvisation Troupe, so that may explain their attachment to sketch comedy. Personally, I would have enjoyed longer stand up sets and fewer/shorter sketches.

However, I got the sense that all three were testing the waters with this show and sketch comedy was a more comfortable style for them. All three have obvious comic talents and hopefully they will build on this show in the future.   
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