“I Laughed All The Way Through”

By hlimprovers | July 29, 2020

Following on the heels of a sell-out show at the Jam Factory, the Honest Liars had a booking at the Waihi Theatre and, true to form, excitement swelled as the time got closer.

The first order of business was to meet at the local Kebab eatery for some smashing food and a plan of action before heading off to the theatre.

For a couple of the players, it was a bit of a time warp as they had been known to tread the boards on more than one occasion in this theatre.

No time for faffing about though as there were banners to put up, lighting instructions to give and warm up to be played.

In no time at all, it was showtime!

The irrepressible emcee Melissa began warming up the crowd getting them to a full crescendo of applause as the players tumbled out onto the stage. And the games began.

‘Scenes from a Hat’ gave all the players a chance to warm up the crowd with their disrespectful answers and statements to subjects such as ‘the world’s worst nun’ and ‘what you shouldn’t say on a first date’. The mention of Trump in that first game was the kicker for the audience to fall about laughing.

‘Four ways to die’ saw death by suffocation, out of a window, stabbed and crushed with the story set in the mine pit. This was followed by ‘Pocket note’ a game in which the audience gave sentences which were written on paper then incorporated into the game. Of course, the players had left the stage in order not to hear. Naturally, the innuendos flourished making for brilliant comedy.

‘Party quirks’ saw some extremely odd guests arriving including Quasimodo and a gentleman who could turn chairs into humans!!

At the end of the first half, a couple of audience members came on stage and helped with the ‘Change game’. This meant tapping the player’s shoulder, saying “Change” and changing the context of the scene. It is always a thrill to have brave people join in and share the fun on stage.

A bit of a twist came at the beginning of the second half when the audience was asked to participate in sending a “happy birthday” to one of the player’s son. A very quick video recorded as the camera was raised to take in all the Honest Liars and the audience as everyone shouted out the birthday message. (Needless to say, it was well-received by the birthday boy).

Cracking on with the second half the audience by now was well and truly into calling out suggestions, some great, some okay and some definitely R18. But the games continued, and once more two audience members were called upon to participate in the game ‘Puppets’. They quickly took control of the players in a scene held in a ballet studio.

It seemed like just a blink of the eye, and it was over. The Honest Liars mingled with the crowd as they were leaving the theatre and encouraged them to come back to the next performance to be held on August 29th. The players then packed up and went off to Waihi Beach pub for a celebratory drink before heading to their digs for the night to debrief and relive an exceptional night.