To mark receiving the most coveted of New Zealand comedy awards, Hotene joined the Herald’s comedy podcast, Billy T’ Billy, alongside the 2024 winner of the prize, Lana Walters.
Hotene said that there is a feeling of relief to being done with the competition - as comedians are nominated for the award around seven months before the festival begins.
“It’s not like a nagging thing, but it’s always there in your mind that this is the Billy T.
“Finishing it off though, with like all the Billy T nominees that we had, it was like, ‘Oh man, this really was like a really nice group to do this with’.”
His next move is taking his winning show, It’s Getting Hot-ene, So Tell Me All Your Jokes, to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
The show touches heavily on his Māori identity, and Hotene is hoping that it will translate to the international audience.
But even with performing the show in New Zealand, Hotene said that he did feel some anxiety over focusing on his culture.
“When you talk about your culture, that’s representing a whole lot of people, so I was worried that when I was talking about it ... I felt like it was a large representation, a large responsibility.
“And then I had someone talk to me and it switched my mindset to be like, ‘Oh, I’m not representing everyone when I talk about my own identity.’
“It’s not to be like, this is what it means to be Māori. When I talk about it, I’m hoping that this just kind creates a little more nuance, creates a little more like a wider perspective on what it means to be Māori.”
Walters, who won while pregnant with her second child, is hoping that more women coming through the industry will make it easier for other women to be mothers and comedians at the same time.
" It’s really difficult. I often say to my partner, ‘I’m leaving the house’ and there’s like a potentially a crying baby and a toddler at home who I have to say goodbye to, and then go and get on stage and be like, ‘Hi, I’m gonna tell you jokes now’.
“So you’re not going from like a chill environment to being able to be a fabulous performer.”
Listen to the full episode for more from Hoani and Lana on the Billy T process, politics in comedy, and their advice for rising comics.
Billy T’ Billy is a NZ Herald podcast celebrating local comedy.
You can follow the podcast at iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
