Laughter Beats the Black Caps at 16th Ave Theatre

You’d think the international cricket would have stolen the crowd — Black Caps versus Australia at the Bay Oval is no small distraction — but it turns out that laughter wins every time. A lively audience packed into Tauranga’s 16th Ave Theatre for the October show, to see the Honest Liars in action, and what a night it was.

From the moment the lights came up, the room buzzed with energy. The warm-up game, Categories, had everyone calling out suggestions faster than a ball bowled at ninety miles an hour. “Shades of red!” and “Types of relationships!” set the tone for a night of quick thinking, clever wordplay, and the kind of chaos only improv can create.

Then came The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, with Gala, Steve, and Ryan offering their “expert” advice on life’s great dilemmas. When frostbite was suggested, the wisdom ranged from sensible medical help to fashion advice involving “accessorising with blackened fingers.” But the audience really lost it when the topic of boredom in retirement came up. The good advice was wholesome — “find a hobby or try meditation.” The bad? “Get involved in everyone else’s drama at the retirement village.” And the ugly? “Follow someone like Jeffrey Dahmer — just leave out the serial-killer part!” It was wickedly funny and entirely unrehearsed, proving that even questionable advice can be comedy gold.

The pace never slowed. In Change, players had to instantly switch their lines whenever the MC called “Change!”, leading to an unforgettable argument about Guy Fawkes. Then it was time for Pocket Note and a hysterical plane scene where Jon and Steve’s “pilots” had no idea how to fly, getting lost in each other’s eyes, seeing a pregnant woman in labour floating down with a parachute and leaving Sally to literally save the day. The audience’s suggestions were incorporated brilliantly, with the final note, “Another one bites the dust!” wrapping up the scene perfectly.

But the highlight of the night? The now-legendary Complaints Letter. The suggestion: the U.S. government. Gala and Ryan took turns writing the letter one word at a time, creating a wonderfully bizarre complaint to Donald Trump. Jon and Steve’s “official reply” went delightfully off-course into a debate about different types of cheese. By the end, the audience was in stitches, clapping and cheering for more.

See the first letter here (contains offensive language):

 

As the curtain came down (so to speak), the crowd left with grins wide enough to rival the Bay Oval floodlights. Cricket may have had the headlines, but for those inside 16th Ave Theatre, there was no contest — comedy won by a landslide.

If you missed out this time, don’t worry — the Honest Liars will be back next month with a fresh batch of games, unpredictable hilarity, and maybe even a few new “ugly” bits of advice. Sign up for our newsletter to get info on the next show: Newsletter

Thanks to the players

Book your tickets for the next show 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.