Comedy review: The Big Show, Q Theatre

Ed Gamble hosts The Big Show at the New Zealand International Comedy Festival.

The Big Show certainly lives up to its name. Traditionally one of the best value options at the Comedy Festival, the 2017 edition delivers once again.

Two hours, four British comedians and all kinds of material, from breast feeding flat mates and racist babies to Spotify disasters and revenge junk mail.

Londoner Ed Gamble, who doubled as the host, was the standout.

His set piece gag about an incredibly awkward sports massage session was a highlight, delivered with aplomb and perfect timing.

Gamble's personable presence was appreciated by the crowd, though he struggled early on with a seemingly mute couple at the front of the theatre.

He dealt with it well - wondering aloud if there was a satellite delay he didn't know about - but seriously, why would you sit in the centre of the front row at a comedy show, then refuse to answer any questions, or even say a word, as the opening act is warming up the crowd?

It was a little embarrassing, though said duo were summarily ignored for the rest of the night.

Iain Stirling impressed in a punchy set. The Scot, on his first visit, came up with some witty observations about New Zealand (`why are avocadoes more expensive than cocaine?') and his monologue about racist babies was a beauty.

He is effortlessly funny and his story of a hotel room disaster was delivered superbly. The audience related well to his self-effacing humour, especially his lament about being left behind by married, child-obsessed friends.

Lou Sanders was a loose cannon, in a good way. She is completely unpredictable and knows it, commenting halfway through her set that "some people are not sure how to take me".

But she was very clever and highly original. The section on erotic novels was superb and a weird breastfeeding encounter was a hilarious concept. Sanders also related an engagement proposal gone badly wrong and her 'tips for life' gained plenty of laughs.

Fellow Brit Adam Hess packed a ton of material into his set, and often relied on detailed set pieces. Though he lacked the flow of the other three, his machine gun delivery meant the jokes never stopped coming and the best was a tale about a romantic 'encounter' gone wrong, but not in the way that anyone might have expected.

There were also some great gags involving his seemingly tormented childhood, as well as a German traveller with an apple fetish.

LOWDOWN:
Who: Ed Gamble, Adam Hess, Lou Sanders and Iain Stirling
What: The Big Show
When and where: Q Theatre, until May 13