pocket note Archives - Honest Liars Improv

Even a Forgotten Theatre Key Doesn’t Stop the Honest Liars.

By hlimprovers | November 28, 2024 | Comments 0 Comment

The evening started with a small panic over the forgotten theatre key.

Phone calls and a quick dash to meet halfway soon got the theatre key back in safe hands, and the doors were opened. The players quickly got the chairs out, signage up, and then onto the stage for a good warm-up and run-through of the games.

Once the audience had settled in with their drinks and expectations of a good night, the players ran out and onto the stage to loud applause.

After the first game of Objections, it was on to the ‘Change’ game. Ryan and Kathy stood in line to get on the roller coaster. The conversation kept going off in different directions because as Jon dinged the bell, the line they last spoke had to be changed.

‘Pocket Note’ saw Jon, Kelly, and Sally breaking out of a Youth Hostel. The scene was set as the two girls puffed away on a not-so-decent bit of weed. But they decided they had to break out because the food was only baked beans. At that point, Jon entered as the warden. As the story progressed, it revealed that both girls were backpackers who thought they were in a normal hostel and couldn’t understand why they couldn’t leave.

Another popular game, the ‘Returns Desk,’ had three players returning items they had no idea about. Operating the desk, Jon was responsible for giving clues, which he did very well. Ian’s Santa costume was green, so Jon started off with an Irish accent, saying, “Welcome to Paddy’s Festive Store. How can I help you?”

Next, Sally had a custard square made of mustard that she wanted to return, and finally, Brett pulled in the Grand Canyon to return as it was full of Skittles. The audience loved this game as it was through their suggestions that the crazy items were created.

To see an example of this game, go to our YouTube. In this clip, the item being brought back to the returns desk is an electric bus with a flat tyre.

Once again, Kelly made the audience laugh in the game ‘Sign Language Interpreter’ as she visually tried to interpret the conversation between Ian and Brett. Ian, the host, Mike Hunt, was interviewing Brett, Dr Dick Lively, who was creating an octopi Olympics.

Take a look at a wee snippet of this fun game.

At the end of intermission, David, the trusted barman, got onto the stage to pose a question to the audience: “Would you like to be in a box?” and with that, he expanded on the many reasons why you would even be in a box. Very entertaining.

With all the Honest Liars present, the stage became filled with innuendos as the game ‘Sex With Me’ had the players stepping forward and declaring why sex with me is like brushing my teeth – yoga – and driving to work. For example: “Sex with me is like driving to work, it takes me forever to get there.”

The ‘Complaints Letter’ game had Ryan and Kathy writing to the Tauranga City Council to complain about the Lime Scooters. As the letter is written one word at a time, it can go off in all directi

ons, as you’ll see in the video below.

The last game of the evening was ‘Puppets’. Two wonderful people from the audience, Andrea and Kim, came up for this and quickly learnt how to be the puppet masters of Kelly and Brett. The theme of the story was James Bond being chased by a baddie down a mountain. It didn’t take too long before James Bond was nabbed, but he quickly got away, and the pair skied down the mountain.

All too soon, the show was over. The audience went home, the Honest Liars unwound with a drink from the bar, and then it was lights out for the penultimate show of 2024.

Thanks to players

Brett
Ian
Jon – MC
Kelly

Kathy
Sally
Ryan

Thanks to
Admin: Fee
Sound engineer: Anthony.

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.

It’s Always Good When It’s A Full House

By hlimprovers | October 7, 2024 | Comments 0 Comment

Extra chairs were called for, and it’s always good when it’s a full house!

After sunny skies, rain descended, but, once again, it did not deter the Honest Liars from getting to the theatre on time. Warm-up vocals and a run-through of the show’s games were done before it was time to leave the stage and head off to a side room as the audience arrived.

The patrons purchased their drinks and found seats, although extra seats were brought in for this show, with so many walk-ins, the Honest Liars had to create another row of seats.

Right out of the box was the first game of ‘I Can Do It Better’. This starts with two players who set the scene, but then all the players have the chance to jump in, exclaiming, “I can do it better!” and take the place of one actor. A load of fun and with the suggestion from the audience of ‘shoplifting’. It started with the perpetrator in a toilet cubical with all sorts of goodies and the store detective peering over the door. The stolen items ranged from condoms to camels to razor blades. The arrest was violent, and the characters ended up vampires. That’s comedy improv; you never know where it will lead!

The next game was ‘Pocket Note’. This one relies on the suggestions from the audience, who offer up sentences that are written down on notes (see a few of them in the image below)

The scene was set with Jon, Brett and Sue surviving a plane crash. Sue’s dog, Fluffy, was desiccated entirely, so the first note was read from the 1st Aid Manual: “Eat all the cats and dogs”. Having injured her arm, Sue conveniently picked up the note “Where are the drugs kept?” which was both appropriate and timely and sent the audience into roars of laughter. The notes were weaved in as the story continued, but it was the last one when they were discussing Fluffy that stole the show – “well potty trained, not flees, free to a good home”.

‘Returns Desk’ operated by Jon saw Brett, Ryan and Steve returning damaged or non-functioning items of which they had yet to learn what they were. These small, medium and large-sized items were a vape which made you fart, a breast pump that delivered dust and a rocket made of chocolate. In order to guess, each one asked a series of questions to Jon, who also gave clues, but the questions that brought out the most laughter were “my children were not impressed” (the rocket), “this doesn’t taste anything like it should” (the breast pump), and with the Vape Jon said there were different flavours including “Fluffy” – a great reference to the earlier game.

After intermission, a quick round of ‘Sex With Me’ warmed up both the players and the audience, and then it was into ‘Complaints Letter’. This had Sue and Brett writing a letter of complaint one word at a time to a vasectomy clinic. They complained that, among other things, they were left in a shopping mall, that it was all so complicated, and all they wanted was a plain vasectomy with no frills. They ended the letter saying they didn’t know what would happen “when this explodes in my face”. They demanded chocolate and McDonalds as compensation.

The clinic responded, starting with a restraining order and continuing with all sorts of denials and accusations. They did, however, offer one concession: a single Happy Meal, which would consist of one nugget and three fries.

A few more games were played before the show ended with the brilliant ‘The Twitch’ game. Jon was on form copying all the twitches until, in the end, confusing them up, sending the audience into loads of laughter.

You can see how he handled interviewing for a parking attendant on our YouTube channel, The Twitch.

Check out more photos from the show in our Gallery.

Thanks to players

Brett
Jon MC
Gala
Ryan

Mark
Steve
Sue
Kathy – MC

Thanks to
Crew:
Admin: Fee
Sound engineer: Ian

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.

A Springtime Show

By hlimprovers | September 15, 2024 | Comments 0 Comment

Spring was in the air, so it was time for another Honest Liars show.

Although the day was overcast, the players brought the sunshine as they arrived at the theatre, ready for the springtime show they were looking forward to performing.

Laughter abounded during the warm-up games as the players practised the rules of the different games. But it wasn’t long before the first audience member arrived, so it was off to another area to continue loosening up.

The audience settled into their seats after getting their drinks and chatting to friends. The lights dimmed, and Jon, the emcee for the night, ran onto the stage to begin the evening’s entertainment.

After introducing the fellow players, it was time for the brain-storming game of ‘Sex With Me’. The first audience suggestion was “washing dishing”, which proved excellent. The players came up with:

“Sex with me is like washing dishing – my wife and I avoid it all week.”
“Sex with me is like washing dishing – I have to wear rubber gloves.”
“Sex with me is like washing dishing – I have a machine to do most of the work.”

Then it was onto “shouting at kids” with lines such as:

“Sex with me is like shouting at kids – I’m now allowed to do it in playgrounds.”
“Sex with me is like shouting at kids – only old people are interested in doing it.”

And so it went on, making it very obvious why the Honest Liars must rate their shows R18.

The first game, Pocket Note, always a firm favourite, brought out some epic one-liners from the audience. One suggestion after Jon asked the audience a question was, “Can you say that again?” Jon repeated the question, not realising that was the suggestion. Sometimes, the audience participation brings just as much laughter as the players do.

“He Said, She Said” was set in a New York train station, but Kelly and Brett took it in a very different direction as they played the game of directing each other’s stage moves. Please look at a quick snippet of the game to get an idea of how it’s played.

In the “Complaints Letter”, Ian and Jon wrote (well, spoke one word at a time) a complaint letter to a mobile/broadband/power company complaining that their products suck. They went on to explain that the internet was too slow, especially watching porn.

The company, Gala and Mark, wrote back saying they were crazy and didn’t know what they were talking about as their company did not provide pornographic internet.

Then, it was the turn of the interview of an expert, with Kelly being the ‘Sign Language Interpreter’. Jon interviewed Brett, an expert at teaching bison the art of fishing. During the interview, it soon became apparent how it was done. A small bison was lowered over the side of the boat in search of sharks. Two larger bison linked elbows (🤔) to use the winch (bison don’t have fingers!). Sadly, the small bison became food for the sharks, and no fish were ever caught. Jon suggested teaching the bison how to pack shelves at Pak’ n Save would be better and probably easier.

Here’s a medley of Kelly’s interpretation of the interview – quite the workout!

After the intermission, ‘The Dating Game’ saw Steve, who had a hobby of collecting nipple tassels, Gala morph into a goat, and Mark, a professor of broccoli. Ian, who was Sven from Sweden, had to discover these quirks by asking each contestant three questions. He finally decided that the nipple tassels were going to be a much more exciting date than any of the others.

A couple more entertaining games followed, including ‘Foreign Film Dub’, which saw Kelly and Jon in the 1978 Estonian classic ‘Education of a Mother’. As the film was in the Estonian language, better known to the Honest Liars as gobbly gook, Steve and Brett had to interpret what the actors were saying. The movie took twists and turns that even the film actors were unaware of. But through much laughter, a story was told.

Finally, it was time for the last game of the evening, one that saw Jon having to remember and do all the different ‘twitches’ the players came up with for their interview. The job was for a horticulturist, but it wasn’t until the last applicant arrived that the position was filled. In the meantime, it was fun to watch Jon saluting, pointing, bobbing, and spinning each one with its verbal outcry.

The audience had been brilliant with their audacious suggestions, raucous laughter and loud, appreciative clapping. And so they left the theatre, vowing to return another night.

Thanks to players

Jon (MC)
Steve
Mark
Gala

Ian
Kelly
Brett

Thanks to
Crew: Fee
Sound engineer: Anthony.

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.

A Raucous Night for the Honest Liars.

By hlimprovers | August 5, 2024

Another crisp evening as the players made their way to the 16th Ave theatre.

It proved to be another raucous night for the Honest Liars starting from the moment they arrived. After setting up the chairs and warming the room, the players jumped onto the stage for warm-up time. And so the fun began.

They took their laughter into the next room as the audience started to arrive. Getting their drinks as soon as the bar opened and finding their seats, it wasn’t long before there was hardly a spare seat in the house. The lights dimmed, the music was up, and Jon (MC) came out to applause to start the show.

The first game was Sex With Me—always a good start. Of course, the Olympics was suggested, and some of the statements were definitely outrageous enough to win medals.

‘Pocket Note’ saw Sally, Jon, and Mark at an amusement park, with Mark most upset that his lowly cleaning position meant he had to deal with a “code brown” and a defending mother. His boss, Jon, arrived to save the day, but with the usual twists and turns that only happen in improv, the offending poo was finally removed, and the mother ran off with the boss.

Another audience favourite, ‘The Returns Desk’, had Gala, Steve and Ryan returning items they had no clue about. The only clues came from Jon, who was manning the desk. For example, as Steve walked into the store to return a vibrator that didn’t vibrate, Jon immediately said, “Any Erotic Experiences! How can I help you?” That had to give Steve an idea where he was, but his first line, “This ruined my child’s birthday party!” had the audience erupt with laughter.

The other two items being returned were an armchair that vibrated when it shouldn’t and an aeroplane on fire.

Speaking of aeroplanes on fire, in the ‘The Change’ game, Sue and Sally were two pilots with a burning aircraft. The MC constantly made them change their lines, so with parachutes on and off, doors open and shut, and cabin crew that went from being sexy to ugly, it was a game of twists. Finally, one pilot phoned (yes, phoned, not radioed) for help and ended up ordering pizza instead.

After a short intermission, giving people time to order more libations, the ‘Objections’ game brought the audience back to laughing and fired up the players again. Discussing mortgage interest rates proved a great topic, but in the end, it turned into a chaotic mess of everyone shouting “Objection!!”

‘Complaints Letter’ followed – check it out on our YouTube

This next game had two brave members from the audience come up on stage to participate in the ‘Puppets’ game. They had the task of putting the players into different poses by which they could control the story. This time, the scene was a police chase through a shopping mall. However, the actors were in for a great surprise as the positions became more bizarre. Everyone was laughing so much that the actual storyline got utterly lost. See for yourself:

The show wrapped up, and the audience filed out, laughter still ringing in their ears. The players were treated to a well-deserved drink before finally heading home to sweet dreams of fun stories.

Thanks to players

Jon
Ryan
Mark
Sally

Sue
Steve
Gala
MC – Jon & Ryan

Thanks to
Crew: Fee
Sound engineer: Anthony.

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.

May The Fourth Be With You.

By hlimprovers | May 11, 2024

A Star Wars theme, and although there weren’t many references made other than right at the show’s start, Kathy (Emcee) began with “May the Fourth Be With You!”.

That’s right. The nod to the famous show was sprinkled around the games during the night, beginning when the players arrived and started chatting and continuing with the warm-up games. All players were on fire and looking forward to another packed house with loads of belly laughs.

The Honest Liars ran onto the stage, and the show proper began. The warm-up game was ‘Sex with me is like’, and behold, someone actually shouted out the suggestion of Star Wars! And so there were all sorts of ideas:

“Sex with me is like Star Wars – long and blue”.

“Sex with me is like Star Wars – an old guy breathing heavily”.

“Sex with me is like Star Wars – too long and I get bored”.

But the clincher was:

“Sex with me is like Star Wars – Hans Solo appears a lot”.

With both the plays and the audience warmed up, it was time to get into the games and a crowd favourite – ‘Pocket Note’. The scene was set in a Death Star space station’s canteen – enough said! Watch a wee snippet from the game.

View the entire game on our YouTube channel: Honest Liars.

The next game was ‘The Returns Desk.’ Three players left the room while the audience gave ideas for what they could be returning and what was wrong with the item.

It turned out that Sue had a glass shoelace, Sally returned a pasta machine because it opened a portal into a gluten-free world, and finally, Ryan’s large object was a Pak’ n Sav with Zombie staff. Needless to say, Ryan had difficulty bringing his object to the desk but guessed quite quickly, especially after Jon suggested the staff would like the meat week.

Sue had tried to put cheese into her item, thinking it could have been a trap, which got her up onto the chair. It took her a while to get that her object was a glass shoelace, but she did in the end.

In the second half of the show, the warm-up game was called ‘Objections’. This game was about people who don’t turn their car lights on. There were plenty of arguments, including “smashed headlights” and “police officers eat doughnuts,” until it ended in a chaotic mess as the players vied to get their objections heard.

A new game was introduced, and Jon sat at a typewriter tapping out his novel—the title of which had come from the audience—an erotic novel called “You, Me and Everybody.”

The story began with a shepherdess from Austria, and by the time it had finished, there were sheep, strudel, a large spoon and a collection of sugar vases.

A few more games followed, and then the finale of ‘Themed Restaurant’, the theme of which was Dracula. A lot of blood and bats were served. Two members of the audience were brave enough to dine in this restaurant and be part of the plot, even sucking the blood of one poor man and exposing their necks!

It was the end of another great, full house show, and after a bit of a wind-down in the bar, the players wandered home with May the Fourth Be With You ringing in their heads.
Thanks to players

Brett
Kelly
Jon
Sally

Ryan
Sue
Kathy – MC

Thanks to
Crew: Fee
Sound engineer: Anthony.

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.

The Heat Was Ramped Up!

By hlimprovers | March 24, 2024

It wasn’t the Honest Liars’ fault that the heat was ramped up!

Well, that was what the players said.

The Honest Liars arrived at the theatre full of laughter and ready to get into the games. Even the warm-up had everyone in stitches, which bode well for the show. The first patron arrived early, sending the players from the stage to the back room. A couple of players took off to the bathroom when suddenly, the fire alarm shattered the peace.

Thankfully, the 16th Ave Theatre president was on hand and immediately issued the evacuation order. So everyone made their way outside to the curb, standing around wondering why. Could it have been one of the missing players? They were both thoroughly questioned when they appeared on the pavement.

There was no time to worry if this event was going to stop the show as not one but two fire trucks turned into 16th Avenue with sirens blaring.

Out came the firefighters. Poor chaps had no chance with the female Honest Liars watching their every move and asking if they were in the 2024 calendar. The heat was certainly ramped up as the firefighters made their way into the building.

The all-clear came, but not before the players grabbed a group selfie with the fire engine.

Safely back indoors, the audience members began arriving, giving themselves enough time to get a drink and find their seats. Then it was Show Time, and Jon ran out onto the stage to welcome all and let the games begin.

Now, the players do look out for one another, and this was made abundantly clear as Kathy spied the untied shoelace on Jon’s shoe and so helpfully tied it up for him. Of course, this went along with a lot of banter, and, like the show, nothing is scripted.

The opening warm-up game ‘Sex With Me Is Like’ began with “tying my shoes” (no surprise there), but it brought out all sorts of improv, like the use of leather, young boys, tongues and Velcro.

A few favourites were played, and then a new game called ‘Faster, Faster, Backwards’ was introduced to the audience. The idea of this game is that a scene is acted out in two minutes, then the same scene is repeated in one minute, then 30 seconds, then 15 seconds, and it ends with the whole scene going backwards. Set in a hospital, the story took all sorts of twists and turns, from Ramen noodles to chopping off an arm.

When it got to the 30-second round, the players were hectic but still had control and told the story.

‘The Dating Game’ saw Steve, who lived in his mother’s basement and didn’t get out often, talking to the three contestants: Sue, a Shame Therapist; Sally, who had a waste management obsession; and Ian, who was morphing into a dragon.

One of the questions he asked was, “What kind of sandwich would you be?”

The Shame Therapist replied, “How do you feel about crusts?”

The waste management obsessor, “What does your mother do with the crusts?”

And the dragon said that “steak and burnt toast” would be his favourite.

Here, he asks the shame therapist what her username would be.

In the game ‘He Said, She Said,’ the scene was a jailbreak. Kathy was making a wooden chainsaw, which Brett snatched away from her. Even though these two had shared a cell, it was only now that Brett saw the large cauldron and realized that the chainsaw was magic.

Now, the trick to this game is that each of the players directs the other in some form of movement before saying their line. Kathy directed Brett to dance, which had the audience in fits, but not before Brett had directed Kathy to first show him the dance moves.

The dancing created the magic so the chainsaw could do its thing and create a hole through which she could get through. But as she did, the hole closed up, leaving Brett dancing for his life to get the hole open again.

The show ended, and the Honest Liars had successfully delivered another round of improv games. It was time to turn out the lights, turn off the music, and head home with a head full of laughter and fun.

But don’t worry, another show will be held on the first Saturday of next month, and you can get tickets here:

A great show – Thanks to the players

Brett
Ian
Jon – Emcee
Kelly

Mark
Steve
Gala
Kevin

and…

Crew: Fee
Sound engineer: Anthony.

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.

First Show of 2024

By hlimprovers | February 10, 2024

A packed-out crowd turned up for the first show of 2024, and the players were on fire!

The skies opened, and the gods sent down a bucket load of rain almost as if they were saying, “Now let’s see who is going to venture out tonight!”. But it was all in vain because the players turned up and were ready to perform improv for the packed-out audience.

The first game, ‘Sex with Me is Like….’, got the audience and the players into the laugh-out-loud mood. With descriptions like:

“Sex with me is like eating Chinese food because I’ll eat anything.”

“Sex with me is like eating Chinese food because I never have enough.”

“Sex with me is like eating Chinese food because my wife gets upset when I bring some home”, and there were others, such as “Sex with me is like launching a boat…

Of course, there’s no show without the game ‘Pocket Note’, and the players didn’t disappoint. With the suggestion of a theme park and one person not wanting to be there, it soon transpired that Gala’s ‘son’ Ian, was scared of everything the park offered, including Steve the clown, who turned up with balloons in hand.

From lines from the notes:

“Can you please stop scratching?”

“How many goodly creatures are there here?”

“My wife’s having a baby”, which turned the clown into a sad, complaining employee who had to be at the park.

Finally, with the words from the lawyer they had on the phone, “I won’t pass the drug test”, the story ended.

It’s amazing where these stories go from simple suggestions from the audience.

In ‘Scene Three Ways’, the suggestion of pottery the game began with Kelly attending the Pottery 101 course. Gala soon had her on the wheel and creating a vase when Brett, a ghostly figure, began the haunting. Of course, the two women couldn’t see him, but as Jon, the director, changed the genre from romance to horror to porn, the ghost upset the pottery experience at every turn.

Once again, ‘Sign Language Interpreter’ had the laughter at full volume as Kelly mimed what was being said between Kevin, the interviewer, and Brett, the Professor who taught cows yoga.

If you want to watch the whole game, go to our YouTube channel.

The Dating Game had three contestants vying for the bachelor’s approval. Kelly was transforming into a tree, Gala was Courtney Love, and Brett was obsessed with toothpicks. You think they were strange; the bachelor wasn’t that much better. See for yourself:

After a few more games, such as ‘Foreign Film Dub’, ‘The Returns Desk’ and ‘The Cube’, it was time to wrap it up with the grand finale of ‘The Twitch’, which saw Jon interviewing for a funeral director without much luck. Each prospective candidate had come with some form of twitch or mannerism that Jon had to copy. The trouble was that quite a few were being interviewed, which had Jon entirely exhausted by the end.

On that note, the show was over, and the audience meandered out of the theatre still with smiles on their faces. The players relaxed with a well-earned drink before heading home, satisfied with their fun night.

Thanks to players

Brett
Kelly
Ian
Mark

Steve
Gala
Kevin
Jon (MC)

Thanks to

Crew: Fee
Sound engineer: Anthony.

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.

It’s An Improv Comedy Christmas

By hlimprovers | January 12, 2024

It’s Christmas! That means an improv comedy Christmas show, and what a show it was.

A large group booking meant that the theatre filled up quickly, then the other bookings and walk-ins added to the audience, and by the time the players ran onto the stage, the crowd was already in high spirits. There was a good round of applause as Jon introduced the motley crew, the Honest Liars.

In the last show, LINK, the warm-up game of ‘Sex with Me is Like’ was such a hit that it was decided to do it again. And what a good decision. The first suggestion of “Sex with me is like a tennis ball because….” produced from the players such zingers as:

“… no one knows why it’s so furry.”

“… I always make a racket.”

“… it’s better with doubles!”

That was followed by “Sex with me is like a Rubix Cube.”

“… really, really confusing.”

“… who gets it done the fastest.”

“… I haven’t done it since the 80s.”

This game had everyone warmed up – the players with their wit and the audience with their laughter.

‘Pocket Note’ was the first game after the warm-up, with Henare, Sally and Sue trying to sell a product (of their choosing). It was fun as they picked up the notes of “I love you, Jenny.” “Oh, that’s spicy!” “You remind me of your sister”, “You should put some cream on that”, and other notes they tried to weave into the story seamlessly. But, here, have a quick look, as I’ve left the classic note for the video.

In the ‘Dating Game’, our three contestants had odd quirks. Kathy was a Mexican Waver, Sue’s occupation was to inseminate octopus, and Sally crocheted sexy stockings. Steve, whose name happened to be Santa Claus, asked each one a question before having to guess each of their quirks. Kathy’s was relatively easy as she constantly waved her arms in the air and spoke with a Mexican accent. Sally made sure Santa liked her sexy stockings, but Sue’s occupation wasn’t quite so easy, and Steve needed a little help.

‘The Clap’ game saw three teams battle it out for lines. Henera and Brett were teaching a hen to make trifle (it was Christmas, after all), and Steve and Sally were having Christmas together, making snowballs and getting very drunk. Kathy was the 80s fairy from the Christmas tree, and Sue was a new, moveable apprentice who was having her first time at the top. It didn’t help that she was not only scared of heights, but as the game progressed, we discovered she was a demon.

In the game ‘He Said, She Said,’ Kathy and Brett were trying to get the Christmas tree decorated before the store opened. However, it all turned to custard when the box of decorations turned out to be a box of cutlery. To top it off, the 2nd box was full of plates. But never fear, these two enterprising staff members decided to make the whole tree kitchen themed.

In the ‘Returns Desk’ game (another favourite), the three items returned were a cross-eyed goldfish, a piano with all the notes being C and the moon that didn’t smile. This is a fun game, as those returning the item have no idea what it is.

Watch a short clip of Brett bringing back the cross-eyed goldfish. You can see Brett’s entire segment on our YouTube channel.

A game of ‘The Cube’ followed with much hilarity, and then the night’s final game was ‘The Twitch’. Another round of Jon being put to a series of individual actions that had him sweating by the end.

While having a wind-down drink after the show, the players agreed that this Christmas audience had to have been the loudest and most fun one in all of 2023. It was a terrific, fun night and a great one to round off a very successful year.

Thanks to players

Sue
Kathy
Sally
Jon – MC

Steve
Brett
Henare

Thanks to

Crew: Fee
Sound engineer: Anthony.

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.

Great Suggestions from the Audience!

By hlimprovers | November 22, 2023

The great suggestions from the audience meant that the Honest Liars had fun making up the script on the spot – exactly what Improv is all about.

The day shone brightly as the players headed for 16th Ave Theatre and a night of improv games.

Being Guy Fawlks night and not many tickets sold, there was a bit of trepidation in the air about having to play to a minimal crowd. But, the Honest Liars should have kept the faith because the number of ‘walk-ins’ swelled the audience to near capacity, and their raucous laughter with brilliant suggestions meant that cracker sparks flew from the stage.

A new game of ‘Sex with Me’ kicked off the show as the players came out with great one-liners. For example – the suggestion was a Rubix cube:

“Usually only a 12-year-old boy can figure it out” or
“Takes way too long to finish it”.

A spade and a book were other suggestions that had the crowd laughing right from the show’s start.

‘Pocket Note’ saw Kelly, Sally and Sue building a fence, but when Kelly said she wanted to put deer, sheep and alpacas in behind it, Sally told her that the picket fence would be too low. The notes such as “Don’t tell your mum”, “It wasn’t syphilis”, and “Don’t squeeze it” were seamlessly woven into the story. But the “Good afterbull, cutstiamoon” (drunk talk to a constable) had the crowd in stitches. Kelly ended up holding onto an electric fence, which just about floored her and the audience alike.

Brett, Kathy and Steve were abseiling in the game ‘Scene Three Ways’. This is a game where the ‘director’ changes the scene into different genres – this wee clip is when they had been directed to do the scene as pirates!

It was on to ‘Sign Language Interpreter’ in which Kelly did an outstanding job of signing for the bizarre interview of an expert in teaching racoons to be beekeepers. Between Brett, the expert, and Jon, the interviewer, Kelly was thrown into hilarious poses. She had to come up with signs for “chucking trash outside to get the racoons”, “lazy racoons”, “gnashing of teeth”, and “whipping”.

During the interval, Dave from 16th Ave Theatre took the roll call with surprising names and made sure everyone was back in their seats for the 2nd half.

Jon staffed the ‘Returns Desk’ and was able to help those returning items to figure out what they were returning. This game sees small, medium and large items returned because they are faulty. However, the customer has yet to learn what it is. For example, Sue had a frog which didn’t croak, Kelly, a blind deer, and Brett, an electric bus with a flat tyre. All three managed to guess their items – here’s Brett working out what his large object was.

Other games such as ‘He Said, She Said’ and ‘The Cube’ brought out wonderful stories and lines such as: ‘Maybe you should take steroids to look more like Lance Armstrong’, weird trail names such as “Widow Maker”, which ended up being more a widower maker! The weeds in the garden turned out to be “weed in the attic” and elves stuffing toys with cocaine.

The night’s last game saw Jon in the hot seat interviewing for a divorce lawyer. This was the famous “Twitch Interview”, with each candidate bringing in an unusual twitch or mannerism that Jon had to copy. This game is for all players, and by the end of the interviews, Jon was exhausted from repeating all the cramps he was given.

Another successful night ended, and the audience wandered off home with laughter still ringing in their ears.

Thanks to players

Brett
Kelly
Kathy

Sally
Steve
Sue

Emcee: Jon
Crew: Fee
Sound engineer: Anthony.

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.

Another Comedy Improv Full House

By hlimprovers | October 22, 2023

People had booked early for the comedy improv night, and with the walk-ins, it proved to be another full house for the laughs that followed.

Yes, the rain came, but so did the audience and the players were definitely ramped up and ready for another SHOWTIME!

To get the players into the swing of comedic genius, the first ‘practice’ game of ‘Categories’ had some rather good suggestions from the audience. The Pets category had dubious ones, such as tarantula and children, but the “hedgehog” flavour was booed off in the ice cream category. The audience enjoyed the answer of “Camilla Parker-Bowles” in the category of Accessories, and the player could stay for another round.

Once again, the audience came up with some great lines for the ‘Pocket Note’ game, such as: “This is my first time” and “This is hot”. They all played into the story as the players investigated a dog’s murder. The fact that there was a pregnant woman, a dead chihuahua and the investigator was a priest does make you wonder how the players come up with a story that flows. Aptly enough, the very last note picked up ended the game perfectly – it read, “I killed my dog”.

‘Improvisers Anonymous’ is a great game where one of the players leaves the room, and the audience suggests what the IA meeting is about and what their addiction is. The player then returns and has to guess. This time, the addiction was putting on socks.

In ‘Press Conference’, Jon and Ryan had to guess who they worked for and what the company had done. They did this by having the rest of the players in the audience and being members of the press. The suggestion was that Netflix and streamed an orgy on the children’s channel.

After they had apologised, the first question was asking if this was an attempt to stop putting on political ads. Then, Jack Johnson from Child Psychology magazine asked if they had plans to offer trauma therapy. A preschool teacher also asked them if it was deliberate that they replaced Teenage Ninja Turtles with such graphic imagery.

It didn’t take too long for the players to get that it was pornography and then, a moment later, twigged that it was Netflix.

The bar was busy during intermission, and then it was back into the laughter.

‘The Returns Desk’, a new game, saw Jon operating a desk where people bring back faulty items. The key is that each player has no idea what the article (suggested by the audience) is, which meant Jon must give them clues. They only knew that the three items were small, medium and large. Enjoy the video!

‘Sign Language Interpreter’ had Kelly doing the interpretation of an interview. Jon had on his show the esteemed professor who taught alligators endurance running. Just how he taught them was definitely left field, and it had Kelly running in circles.

The show finished with another outstanding game of ‘Twitch’. Jon was interviewing for the position of Toilet Cleaner. The twitching candidates ranged from only cleaning their home toilet, prison toilet cleaner and another who was simply a fan of toilets. Jon ended up twirling, sniffing and making pirate noises amongst other brilliant twitches, much to the audience’s delight.

Many stayed on for drinks after the show and got to know the players; then it was lights out and time to wander home after another very successful Honest Liars Improv performance.

Thanks to players

Kathy
Ian
Steve

Ryan
Mark
Kelly

Thanks to

Emcee: Jon
Crew: Fee
Sound engineer: Henare.

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.

NEXT WORKSHOP: TBA

NEXT SHOW: SATURDAY 1st FEB

ENGAGE US TO ENTERTAIN YOU

Tag: pocket note

Even a Forgotten Theatre Key Doesn’t Stop the Honest Liars.

By hlimprovers | November 28, 2024 | Comments 0 Comment

The evening started with a small panic over the forgotten theatre key.

It’s Always Good When It’s A Full House

By hlimprovers | October 7, 2024 | Comments 0 Comment

Extra chairs were called for, and it’s always good when it’s a full house!

A Springtime Show

By hlimprovers | September 15, 2024 | Comments 0 Comment

Spring was in the air, so it was time for another Honest Liars show.

A Raucous Night for the Honest Liars.

By hlimprovers | August 5, 2024

Another crisp evening as the players made their way to the 16th Ave theatre.

May The Fourth Be With You.

By hlimprovers | May 11, 2024

A Star Wars theme, and although there weren’t many references made other than right at the show’s start, Kathy (Emcee) began with “May the Fourth Be With You!”.

The Heat Was Ramped Up!

By hlimprovers | March 24, 2024

It wasn’t the Honest Liars’ fault that the heat was ramped up!

First Show of 2024

By hlimprovers | February 10, 2024

A packed-out crowd turned up for the first show of 2024, and the players were on fire!

It’s An Improv Comedy Christmas

By hlimprovers | January 12, 2024

It’s Christmas! That means an improv comedy Christmas show, and what a show it was.

Great Suggestions from the Audience!

By hlimprovers | November 22, 2023

The great suggestions from the audience meant that the Honest Liars had fun making up the script on the spot – exactly what Improv is all about.

Another Comedy Improv Full House

By hlimprovers | October 22, 2023

People had booked early for the comedy improv night, and with the walk-ins, it proved to be another full house for the laughs that followed.