Oliver Smith – The Speakeasy

And The Winners Are… Raw Comedy Quest 2019 Crowns 2 Winners

May 24, 2019

Comedy, Entertainment, NZ International Comedy Festival

I made my way to the Rangitira at Q Theatre on Thursday night to witness the final of Raw Comedy Quest, New Zealand’s premier competition, and a launching point for the future of New Zealand Comedy. The nig...

New Zealand International Comedy Festival In Review: Alan McElroy Is S#it @ Twitter – Alan McElroy

Oliver Smith

May 23, 2019

Comedy, Entertainment, NZ International Comedy Festival

On Wednesday night, I once again found myself at The Classic Studio, to witness the latest hour of Alan McElroy, fresh from the melbourne festival, with Alan McElroy Is S#it @ Twitter, a man's attempt to make ...

New Zealand International Comedy Festival In Review: Rapture – Tom Deacon

Oliver Smith

May 23, 2019

Comedy, Entertainment, NZ International Comedy Festival

Last Night I made my way to The Classic Studio, to see Tom Deacon, in Rapture, his NZICF debut. The venue was buzzing, Deacon has been smashing line up shows leading up to his show, and found a room full of pe...

New Zealand International Comedy Festival In Review: Spoiler Alert – Ed Byrne

Oliver Smith

May 22, 2019

Comedy, Entertainment, NZ International Comedy Festival

I sat in the Rangitira at Q on Tuesday night, eagerly awaiting Ed Byrne's latest hour of stand up comedy, Spoiler Alert, an anticipation that was shared by a packed out house of buzzing audience members. Ed...

New Zealand International Comedy Festival In Review: I Was Part Of The Problem Before We Were Talking About It – Guy Montgomery

Oliver Smith

May 18, 2019

Comedy, Entertainment, NZ International Comedy Festival

I sat in a packed out Rangatira at Q on Thursday night to witness I Was Part of the Problem Before We Were Talking about It, the latest hour from Guy Montgomery, who has well and truly established himself as a...

New Zealand International Comedy Festival In Review: Legacy – Frickin Dangerous Bro

Oliver Smith

May 15, 2019

Comedy, Entertainment, NZ International Comedy Festival

I made my way to the Q Theatre Loft late on Tuesday night, to witness Frickin Dangerous Bro, a sketch group that always serve one of my highlights for the festival; a group that always manages to find the funn...

New Zealand International Comedy Festival In Review: Myths And Legends – Eli Matthewson

Oliver Smith

May 15, 2019

Comedy, Entertainment, NZ International Comedy Festival

It was a cold Tuesday night when I made my way to the Basement, to see Myth and Legend,the latest hour of comedy from the Fred nominated Eli Matthewson, a show that was in my opinion an absolute masterpiece. ...

New Zealand International Comedy Festival In Review: Crack-Up Late Show with Alan McElroy

Oliver Smith

May 11, 2019

Comedy, Entertainment, NZ International Comedy Festival

It was Friday night, I found myself in the Classic Studio at 10pm, a time associated with the loosest of late night shows, with The Classic's usual Late and Live in the downstairs room, with this Crack-Up Late...

New Zealand International Comedy Festival In Review: Improv Bandits

Oliver Smith

May 10, 2019

Comedy, Entertainment, NZ International Comedy Festival

On Thursday Night I found myself in Herald Theatre, to see the Improv Bandits, one of New Zealand’s premier Improv groups since 1997. As a lover of Improv, I find myself wondering why I’d never seen them befor...

New Zealand International Comedy Festival In Review: Absolute Monster – Alice Snedden

Oliver Smith

May 10, 2019

Comedy, Entertainment, NZ International Comedy Festival

I found myself in a buzzing Basement Theatre, to see Alice Snedden’s Absolute Monster. I was a little sweaty, partially due to the humidity, and partially due to Auckland traffic. I found myself re-enacting th...

New Zealand International Comedy Festival In Review: Elevation – Uther Dean

Oliver Smith

May 9, 2019

Comedy, Entertainment, NZ International Comedy Festival

I greeted Elevation with great anticipation, having seen Uther Dean on the circuit I was already a fan of his work, but had never seen a whole hour. His material is usually high in creativity, so it's only log...

New Zealand International Comedy Festival In Review: Iconique – Chris Parker

Oliver Smith

May 8, 2019

Comedy, Entertainment, NZ International Comedy Festival

I returned to my duties as comedy reviewer/weatherman on Tuesday, to see 2018 Fred winner Chris Parker at The Vault at Q Theatre. It was opening night of his new show Iconique a show about his own icons, and h...

Irks And Quirks With Oliver Smith: Advertising Really Gets My Goat

Oliver Smith

May 7, 2019

Comedy, Entertainment, Geek and Web

Look before I start, let me just say, I understand that advertising is just a part of our lives now. Before smart phones the ads meant it was time to make a cup of tea, or nip to the loo. There was even a time...

New Zealand International Comedy Festival In Review: A Stand Up Comedy NZ Premiere – Paul Sinha

Oliver Smith

May 4, 2019

Comedy, Entertainment, NZ International Comedy Festival

On Friday night, I found myself in The Classic, to watch a stand up comedy premiere, Paul Sinha was presenting his first international solo hour, choosing New Zealand and The Classic, the home of New Zealand c...

New Zealand International Comedy Festival In Review: Late Night Jazz Scat

Oliver Smith

May 4, 2019

Comedy, Entertainment, NZ International Comedy Festival

On Friday Night I headed to Basement Theatre, to witness what is essentially a fusion of Jazz and comedy, in a way that the 2 art forms aren't often combined. The brainchild of Jesse Griffin, who was tappin...

New Zealand International Comedy Festival In Review: Cold Lasagne Hate Myself 1999 – James Acaster

Oliver Smith

May 4, 2019

Comedy, Entertainment, NZ International Comedy Festival, Spotlight

Before I start, let me just state right now, you want to go see James Acaster Cold Lasagne Hate Myself 1999, if you can get your hands on tickets and you're a fan of comedy, you will want to get those tickets,...

NZ International Festival in Review: Sassy Knack – Phill Jupitus

Oliver Smith

May 1, 2019

Comedy, Entertainment, NZ International Comedy Festival, Spotlight

On Tuesdays night I had the joy of witnessing Phill Jupitus on his tour of Sassy Knack, at the Rangitira, in what served as Q Theatre’s opening gambit of this year’s New Zealand International Comedy Festival, ...

1000 Doors: In Review

Oliver Smith

January 12, 2019

Culture, Lifestyle

1

This being the new year, and in the spirit of "new year, new me." I have decided to endeavour to have a little more culture in my life, as a sort of resolution. So when the opportunity to experience 1000 Doors...

Irks And Quirks With Oliver Smith: There’s Just Too Much Content

Oliver Smith

September 6, 2018

Comedy, Culture, Entertainment, Lifestyle, TV

Is there a more obvious first world problem, than stating that there's too much media to consume? I accept this, but at the same time the fact of the matter is, there is too much media to consume. This isn't...

In Review – Precious Little

Oliver Smith

June 1, 2018

Culture, Entertainment, Lifestyle, Theatre

I made my way out to Basement Studio this week to catch Precious Little, a dark comedy by Madeleine George, about the nature of communication, and love. I confess I haven't seen a lot of theater in my day, that...

NZ International Comedy Festival Announces 2018 Fred Award Finalists

Oliver Smith

May 19, 2018

Comedy, Entertainment, NZ International Comedy Festival

Today the New Zealand International Comedy Festival announced the finalists for the highly coveted Fred Award 2018. The award is named after Fred Dagg, the quintessentially Kiwi character created by comedy ...

Author Oliver Smith