THE COMEDIETTES: Better Living! (NZ)

Fringe Bar, Cnr Cuba & Vivian, Wellington

17/02/2010 - 20/02/2010

BATS Theatre, Wellington

05/05/2010 - 08/05/2010

Comedy Underground, 305 Queen St, Auckland

11/05/2010 - 15/05/2010

NZ International Comedy Festival 2010

Production Details



Hilarity. Heels. Hot tea. Handy Hints.

2009 Fringe and Comedy Festival favourites, ‘The Comediettes’, bring you their second show, ‘Better Living!’ It’s making its debut at The NZ Fringe, before appearing at the Adelaide Fringe Festival in March.

The Comediettes take a look at the things you can do to make your lives better. How about wrapping your child’s head in Glad Wrap to keep it fresh? Or, for the ultimate gingerbread men, try cooking a ginger man! 

‘Better Living!’ contains fresh twisted stand up, epic ballads, plus handy hints and hot tea.

Featuring 2009 NZ RAW Comedy Quest Winner, and ‘Best Newcomer’, Sarah Harpur and the wickedly funny Jim Stanton; who are both weekly correspondents on TV3’s primetime show, ‘@Seven’.

The Comediettes enjoyed successful seasons in the New Zealand and Dunedin Fringe festivals last year as well as the New Zealand International Comedy festival, gaining rave reviews. 

"I laughed, my husband laughed, the two English lasses sitting with us laughed, the whole audience laughed. Mission accomplished." – Theatreview. 

"The Comediettes will have you in stitches" – Express Magazine.

"The Comediettes are clever, witty and hot… definitely up there with the boys club that dominates the comedy world." – Critic Magazine. 

Date: 17-20 February
Venue: Fringe Bar, Cnr Cuba & Vivian St
Bookings: fringebar.nz@gmail.com
Tickets: $15/12/10
Show Duration: 1 hour 

Wellington
Dates:  Wed 5 – Sat 8 May, 9.30pm
Venue:  BATS Theatre, 1 Kent St, City
Tickets:  Adults $16 / Conc. $13 / Groups 10+ $14
Booking: BATS 04 802 4175 or book@bats.co.nz 
Show Duration: 1 hour

Auckland 
Dates: Tues 11 – Sat 15 May, 8.30pm
Venue: Comedy Underground, 1 Wellesley St West, City
Tickets: Adults $18 / Conc. $15 / Groups 6+ $15
Booking: 0800 TICKETEK (842 5385)  www.ticketek.co.nz  
Show Duration: 1 hour  

Web address: www.harpursbizarre.com/the-comediettes 




Energetic, slick and stylish

Review by Hannah Smith 07th May 2010

The Comediettes: Better Living would make great skits for a late night TV show. Their combination of handy home hints and off-the-wall musical numbers is quirky, original and would easily garner a cult following. Kitsch is the new cool.

Jim Stanton makes dry observations on her name, her relationships and her eating habits; Sarah Harpur is energetic, and toes the line of good taste with a giant smile plastered on her face. The two energies work well together and their musical numbers work a treat.

The stage looks great. They have excellent (presumably self-made?) costumes, and a set of beach balls and beach umbrellas. There are lights, lighting changes and a really good chase. The whole is colourful and bright and eccentric and cheerful – money went into this. That’s novel. 

The crowd last night was small. While a less professional pair might have faltered in the face of thin laughter, Harpur and Stanton kept the energy up and delivered a slick and stylish show. Nevertheless I think this would have been buoyed by the energy of a bigger crowd. So you should all go see it and give them the audiences they deserve.
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Comic blend of deadpan and lively

Review by Priyanka Bhonsule (Hutt News) 19th Feb 2010

Having gathered, just a few of us, around James Nokise’s laptop for an intimate hour of comics and fantasy [Joker’s Guide to Armageddon], half an hour later we are struggling to find seats for The Comediettes show: Better Living.

All settled in, the feisty duo of Sarah Harpur and Jim Stanton launch into their spoof title song; a lifestyle segment on TV giving handy household hints. Last year’s Raw Comedy Quest winners, the two women know how to endear themselves to the audience and get the chuckles, giggles and belly laughs out.

After a duet about handy hints, the stage is left to Stanton to unleash her comedic genius on us. She starts with her childhood and adolescence, growing up on a farm in small-town NZ. Her comedy is self-assured and she tells her jokes deadpan.

We’re treated to a wee ditty which Stanton wrote as a 13-year-old trying to be an emo. She then moves onto how she tries to keep the romance alive in her relationship, keeping things steamy (not having the extractor fan on – zing!)

Harpur joins her on stage again and they do a hilarious bit on Titanic-themed weddings, singing a duet about love before we’re left to Harpur’s jokes.

She is the more physical and extroverted comedian of the two. Harpur’s face is more expressive; she does hilarious accents and impressions from dolphins to Irishmen. This blonde grew up on a farm as well, not the industrial type, she explains, but small nice type, where … [gag not given away].

Her life experiences, from being a young mother to job hunting while the recession was on, make for the best comedy of the night.

The jokes are endless, running thick and fast, and too many highlights to list here. The Comediettes have to be seen and heard to be enjoyed.
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For more production details, click on the title above. Go to Home page to see other Reviews, recent Comments and Forum postings (under Chat Back), and News. 

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