NZ vs THE WORLD
BATS Theatre, The Random Stage, 1 Kent Tce, Wellington
27/10/2018 - 27/10/2018
Production Details
Plucky Kiwi underdogs take on the world in this feisty finale! Festival Director Jennifer O’Sullivan pits a team of local improvisors against the best of our international guests. Round by round we’ll see who’s got the goods – will Team New Zealand make it best out of three or will our international superstars humble our hometown heroes? See out our tenth anniversary festival with a heck of a bang!
Director and host Jennifer O’Sullivan (NZ) is an award-winning performer and producer in Wellington, NZ and holds an MFA in Creative Practice from Victoria University. She has performed, taught and directed nationally and internationally during her 15+ year career in improv, theatre, and comedy. Jennifer is the director of the New Zealand Improv Festival, performs with No Nombre, Late Night Knife Fight, and Kickin’ Rad Productions, and collaborates frequently with various theatrical outfits across Wellington. She is very glad you are here.
The Random Stage at BATS Theatre, 1 Kent Terrace, Wellington
Saturday, October 27, 2018
9:30pm
Tix $14-20 – Book Now!
Theatre , Improv ,
1 hr
Sweet as
Review by Margaret Austin 28th Oct 2018
As a grand finale to the tenth NZ Improv Festival, the avid crowd watching NZ v The World couldn’t have had it better. Drawn together by Festival director Jennifer O’Sullivan, this event pits two teams of improvisational giants in a glorious play-off.
Introduced and MCd by a stiletto heeled Matt Powell, who is aided and abetted by a bodiless entity called Strawberry as vote keeper, NZ is represented by performers from Auckland, Dunedin, Wellington, Nelson and Christchurch. There is a wild card from Upper Hutt. And facing off as The World are performers from Canada, England, South America, Germany, Melbourne and Ireland. Their wild card hailed from Denver, Colorado.
In the rounds that follow, we are treated to tastes and experiences from all the countries and cities in the line-up. An interpretive troupe from Melbourne gives us the dance of the barista, the dangers of Nelson are explained to a German tourist, a Cadbury jaffa race up Dunedin’s steepest street is staged – and because of Argentina’s economic crisis, a cast of three characters gets cut to two then to one.
Words fail me to describe the last couple of rounds which are characterised by the kind of mayhem that occurs when the audience has abandoned itself to whatever is going on and can be persuaded unquestioningly to contribute in whatever way asked. I hope the relationship between the Polish girl and her NZ boyfriend survives.
NZ and The World join in a chorus of ‘Sweet as – she’ll be right’ before the score is announced: NZ – 3 points; The World – 3.01.
Sweet as.
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