Even though N.Z. was right in the midst of the red light scenario laid out by the government, neither it nor the rush of omicron proved to be a deterrent.

Six p.m. and the Honest Liars had arrived at the theatre ready to set up and begin warming the grey matter for the evening’s performance.

But wait! The Green Room was sorted. The chairs were all set out, and the room was ready to welcome the audience. The fantastic crew at 16th Ave Theatre went out of their way to make the players feel welcome. So all that was required was to apportion the games to the players, fiddle with the lights, adjust the music and do some warm-up exercises.

An hour later and the audience began arriving. An excellent contingent crowd from the Matamata Dramatic Society  who are part of the Improv-Ables tumbled out of their van. They excitedly made their way in, with tickets and vaxx passes in hand, to their seats ready for the show.

Players ran onto the stage full of enthusiasm and loud applause, and it was straight into the first game, ‘Scenes from a Hat’. In one scene, appliances written from the bible quickly fell into porn mode as one player tried to explain the workings of a dildo in biblical terminology. In another scene, it was pointed out that the song ‘Ding Dong the Witch is Dead’ is not the best song to sing at the mother-in-law’s funeral.

‘The Alphabet’ game was played slightly differently as two opposing teams took turns to play out their scene using the letters of the alphabet. The audience then clapped the loudest for the winning team of Sue and Mark, who had tried not to give birth in the car while on their way to, what turned out to be, a teaching hospital.

‘Hollywood Director’ saw robbers Kelly and Matt in a cemetery trying to steal Prince Albert’s spine but thwarted by Jon, the spine cleaner. A simple scene quickly ramped up when the director, Kathy, changed the theme to read like a late-night infomercial. Jon brought out his Glee Spray designed to dissolve any leftover flesh. And, when there was about to be a dual in the Regency version, the director cut it to become like a Western.

Audience participation is something the Honest Liars like, and having fellow improvers in the audience, was a great time to bring a couple of them up to be in the ‘Change’ game.

Fun ensued as the visiting improvers made Kelly and Mark work their magic on the alligator wrestling classes they were trying to set up.

Of course, ‘Pocket Note’ fell into disrepute when Sue, Kelly and Kathy discovered a bidet type contraption that gave more than they bargained for as they tried to find the toilet in the Matamata theatre.

See for yourself.

 

 

Another favourite where members from the audience are needed was ‘Puppets’. This time another two from the Improv-Ables jumped at the chance, and Kelly and Matt found themselves in quite the tangle. The antics of the puppeteering overrode the story as so much laughter ensued.

The Honest Liars couldn’t let the opportunity go by and invited members of the Improv-Ables to play a game. They were caught on the spot but rose to the occasion as they played a fun rendition of the ‘Gibberish’ game.

The last game of the evening was ‘Themed Restaurant’, and the diners, Kim and Berno, came up from the audience to celebrate their divorce in the Dentist themed restaurant. Minty water was served as bibs and glasses were put on before the main meal was followed by tooth extractions.

To round off the evening, The Honest Liars acknowledge two faithful fans who have been to every show, Colleen and John, with a group photo.

Winding down afterwards with the group from Matamata finished the night off well with still enough time to head off to the local pub for a quiet drink and debrief.

Thanks to players

Kathy Kelly Sue

Mark Matt Jon

Thanks to the Crew: Fee and Sally

The next show on the Black Box Stage is on Saturday April 2nd 7.30 pm

Book your tickets and join the players for loads of laughs.

1^st Saturday of every month.
16th Ave Theatre.
16th Avenue, Tauranga.
Show Starts: 7.30 p.m.
Licenced bar available.