Springing Back Onto The Stage.
Springtime! The first show heralding in the warmer months, and the players sprang into action.
The Honest Liars were in fine form and delivered an excellent selection of games to the receptive audience. Emcee Jon buoyed up the mid-sized (once again competing with the All Blacks, who finally had a win) audience beginning with a very concise lesson in clapping. After the quick-fire round of categories to wake up the players, the show got down to business with the first game of ‘Pocket Note’.
The suggestion was organising a birthday party which saw mother Sue dealing with her two delinquent children, Steve and Kelly, as they argued about whether to have a pirate or cowboy party. After picking up a note, Mum told the children, “mum is dying”, which definitely put a different slant on the proceedings. Her instructions (another note) to her boy, Steve, was to say at her graveside “what’s that smell?” had the audience in fits of laughter. Timing is everything with this game, and the notes produced a wonderful storyline.
The Honest Liars played the ‘Jailbird’ game for the first time on stage. One player (Sue) was sent out of the room, and the audience suggested why the criminal Sue had just landed in jail. In this case, it was for punching Serena Williams in the face while at the South Pole.
Sue was then brought in and thrown into a cell with two others. By way of clues, she had to figure out what she’d done.
See for yourself:
Another audience favourite, ‘Sign Language,’ saw Kevin interviewing Dr Shorty McSqueeze (Brett) about his expertise in teaching tigers to pole dance. This had Kelly, the sign language interpreter, in all sorts of poses as Dr McSqueeze explained how he found the tigers moving around the skinny trees of Borneo chasing monkeys. The tigers made an easy transition to the poles. His idea was to take the pole-dancing tigers on tour. Of course, they wouldn’t be paid money as there would be plenty of food with the audience because there’d be no cage. Mind you, Dr McSqueeze hadn’t thought it through as the interviewer pointed out he’d start to lose audience numbers as time went on.
Kelly was up and down, squeezing and twirling as she interpreted this overly descriptive story.
Finishing off the first half was the ‘Emotional Symphony’ in which the players were given an emotion to verbalise. Jon then conducted them just like an orchestra, from which he created a rousing musical composition. The audience well received Kevin’s interpretation of a horny emotion. However, as the symphony increased in speed, he didn’t have much time to catch his breath, bringing the whole game to a wonderful climax which delighted those watching.
With the audience refreshed, the second half began with ‘Rant and Rave, ’ one of which saw Brett and Kevin discussing the good and bad side of Teachers. It was a subject that brought out all those boyhood traumas of getting the strap from vile teachers but flipping it to raving and seeing that the strappings weren’t so bad.
The fun of the ‘The Cube’, in which four stories are told in one hit, had the audience in stitches as each tale evolved. But the highlight was when Sue used the enlarging ray on one particular area of Jon, who came back to complain that it had grown to 15 feet and could she shrink it. By the third (and final) round, it was apparent that Sue’s aim was far from accurate. She’d shrunk his feet instead, and he still had the enlarged and extended member that even a car had run over.
The last game of the night was a Vampire ‘Themed Restaurant’. Kevin and Fee were celebrating an anniversary, but it appeared the staff were genuine horror characters. They should have known that it was real because the first drink, a bloody Mary, was made from blood. Ghouls, vampires and monsters came back and forth to the table for various reasons until finally, one vampire bit into Kevin’s neck. Before Kevin had a chance to do the same to his wife, a steak was plunged into his back, and he collapsed. Of course, Fee still had to pay the bill.
The show ended with everyone enjoying not only the drinks from the 16th Ave Theatre bar (thanks to the bar staff) but a fun-filled evening of great games by the Honest Liars.
Thanks to players
| Brett Kelly Sue |
Steve Kevin Jon |
Thanks to..
Crew: Fee and Sally
Sound engineer: Summer.
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Book your tickets for the next show and join the players for loads of laughs.
1st Saturday of every month.
16th Ave Theatre.
16th Avenue, Tauranga.
Show Starts: 7.30 p.m.
Licenced bar available.
