The Honest Liars Turned Up the Heat (and the Absurdity) at 16th Ave Theatre

The first Honest Liars Improv Comedy show of 2026 arrived with impeccable comic timing: right in the middle of a classic Tauranga heatwave. The sort of day where even your thoughts feel slightly wilted. But heat, it turns out, is no match for a group of improvisers armed with water bottles, determination, and an alarming willingness to make absolute fools of themselves for public enjoyment.

Despite competing with a UB40 tribute show and Shakespeare at the Quarry (which feels unfair, given that they are two very different but equally powerful cultural temptations), the audience still turned up in strong numbers at the 16th Ave Theatre. Many were brand new to improv, which is always a delight. There’s nothing quite like watching someone discover, in real time, that yes, this is all made up, and no, there is absolutely no safety net.

Thankfully, the theatre’s air-conditioning had been cranked up before the audience arrived, meaning brains could fire properly and no one slid out of their seat mid-scene. A strong start already.

The show opened with the ever-popular Good, Bad & Ugly, a game that proves once and for all that asking improvisers for advice is a bold and deeply questionable life choice. One brave audience member asked how to decide which ice cream flavour to choose. What followed was a masterclass in escalating logic.

• Good: Go every day and choose a different flavour. Sensible. Optimistic. Dairy-forward.
• Bad: Get a job at the ice-cream shop, volunteer to close, and lick every flavour until clarity arrives. Questionable hygiene, but thorough.
• Ugly: Have a frontal lobotomy so you never have to make a decision again. About ice cream. Or anything. Ever.

And just like that, the audience knew they were in safe, if slightly unhinged, hands.

An audience favourite, Pocket Note, followed, transporting everyone onto a cruise ship that somehow ended up stuck in a cave. The joy of this game lies in watching players attempt to justify increasingly impossible circumstances with absolute conviction and seamlessly weave in the audience-provided notes. If you haven’t already, the video below is well worth a watch, pure, nautical nonsense at its finest.

Next up was Complaints Letter, featuring Steve and Shawn painstakingly writing a letter one word at a time to Auckland Zoo. The grievance? The elephants are too wrinkly. According to the letter, these excessively wrinkled elephants exude bad vomit over visitors, which is apparently “just not good enough.” The complaint was formally signed by the unforgettable H. R. Benjamin Esq.

The Zoo’s reply (courtesy of Kathy and Ryan) was gloriously defensive and completely baffled. The elephants, they explained, were perfectly fine. In fact, all the animals receive Botox to combat wrinkles, including the scorpions. Particularly helpful, as it stops them from being sweaty. The Zoo suggested, quite reasonably, that H. R. Benjamin Esq. never visit again.

A brand-new game made its debut: Time Warp. Kathy and Steve began a scene visiting the in-laws (already a dangerous premise) before Jon rang a bell and hurled them backwards and forwards through time. The result was joyful chaos, emotional whiplash, and a growing appreciation that this game is far easier to watch than to explain. The video below will clarify everything.

The show closed with Puppets, a guaranteed crowd-pleaser. Two audience volunteers served as puppet masters, physically positioning a player each as they attempted to play out a scene in which the Eiffel Tower collapsed during an earthquake. Grace was not the goal. Commitment was. And commitment was delivered in spades.

Puppet masters in full force.

The night wrapped up with big laughs, warm applause, and that particular post-improv glow where everyone leaves a little lighter than they arrived. A cracking way to launch 2026, hot weather, cool air-con, brand-new audience members, and improvised nonsense doing exactly what it does best.

Same time, same chaos—see you at the next one.

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.