A Cold Winter Night, a Warm Theatre, and Plenty of Laughs

Winter may have officially arrived in Tauranga, but inside the 16th Ave Theatre for the first show of winter, there was nothing chilly about the atmosphere.

As audience members escaped the cold evening air and settled into their seats, the theatre quickly filled with warmth, anticipation, and plenty of friendly chatter. By showtime, the venue was packed, creating exactly the sort of energy improv performers love. When the Honest Liars cast burst onto the stage to enthusiastic applause, everyone knew they were in for an entertaining evening.

One of the opening games was a great warm-up for the players. I Can Do It Better. This fast-paced challenge sees performers attempting to outdo one another in increasingly ridiculous ways, with confidence levels soaring far beyond actual ability. It set the tone perfectly for the rest of the night and had the audience laughing from the outset.

The evening soon moved into an audience favourite called Pocket Note, where a seemingly ordinary workplace became the setting for extraordinary nonsense. The location suggested by the audience was the Huntly power station, where workers were supposedly responsible for keeping the country’s lights on.

As often happens in improv, things didn’t stay sensible for long.

The workers appeared to be struggling with their coal-shovelling duties, resulting in power outages across the country. Meanwhile, the series of mysterious notes, written by the audience, were inserted into the story. Each containing increasingly bizarre messages. Among the gems were warnings such as “Don’t eat that pizza,” declarations like “I don’t have a passport,” and some highly questionable dating advice involving one-night stands and swiping left.

The mystery finally unravelled when it became clear that the workers weren’t feeding coal into the boiler at all. Instead, they had somehow been shovelling chocolate. As explanations go for a nationwide power crisis, it was certainly one of the more memorable ones.

Another highlight was Complaints Letter, a game that demonstrates just how difficult — and hilarious — communication can become when four improvisers are responsible for writing letters one word at a time.

The audience suggested a complaint about ring binders, and the players embraced the challenge. The resulting letter informed our MP, Mr Peters, that the binders were buckling under pressure and desperately needed strengthening. Matters escalated dramatically when the complaint revealed that a previous binder failure had resulted in a rather unfortunate summer injury involving a gouge to the writer’s left testicle.

As if that weren’t enough, the reply letter somehow managed to become even more absurd. The correspondents confidently identified the source of the problem as a man named Richard, who apparently had no business designing stationery in the first place. The response concluded with appreciation for the customer’s contribution to Mr Peter’s political party and the promise of a special medal shaped like a testicle.

Customer service has rarely reached such heights.

The second half featured Puppets, one of Honest Liars’ most delightfully chaotic games. Inspired by an audience suggestion reminiscent of an Avatar-style movie, the performers, with help from puppeteers chosen from the audience, found themselves in a fantastical world facing an unexpected threat: penguins.

Lots and lots of penguins.

What followed was exactly the sort of mayhem audiences have come to expect from improv comedy. Characters struggled heroically against their feathered invaders, storylines twisted in unexpected directions, and performers somehow managed to keep a straight face as they navigated the increasingly ridiculous situation. The audience certainly didn’t.

And a new game, the Relay, was introduced to the audience. With five players taking turns to tell the story, it certainly was a rollicking good yarn. See for yourself with the video.

As the evening drew to a close, the audience left with smiles on their faces, still discussing favourite moments as they headed back into the winter night. The performers took their final bow to generous applause, knowing they had shared another memorable evening with the Tauranga community.

One of the joys of improv is that no two shows are ever the same. The performers begin with only a handful of audience suggestions and create entire scenes, stories, and characters on the spot. Sometimes the results are clever, sometimes they are chaotic, and occasionally they are gloriously nonsensical. The Honest Liars’ shows manages to be all three.

Most importantly, they deliver exactly what people come for: laughter.

If you missed this show, don’t worry. Honest Liars will be back next month with more unscripted comedy, unexpected twists, and plenty more opportunities for audience suggestions to send the performers down wonderfully ridiculous paths.

After all, you never know when a national power outage might turn out to be caused by chocolate.
Thanks to:

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.