From stand-up sets on the hallowed stage of Auckland’s Classic Comedy Club to award-winning shows at the prestigious Edinburgh Fringe Festival, it’s no secret New Zealand has proven it can birth comedy greatness.
Renowned satirist John Clarke branded the Kiwi brand of humour as “laconic, understated and self-deprecating,” and those who carry this torch and put their own spin on it have achieved widespread success around the world.
Mitchell Hageman takes a look at the Kiwi comedy legends who have flown the flag for our unique brand of humour and gained widespread international acclaim in the process.
Recently crowned the newest host of Junior Taskmaster UK alongside British comedian Mike Wozniak, Billy T Award winner Rose Matafeo has gone from strength to strength since her decision to take on major overseas opportunities.
Starting off her comedy career at age 15 through the NZ Comedy Trust’s “Class Comedians” programme, Matafeo quickly became a regular on the Kiwi comedy circuit.
Her brutally honest, rapid-fire observational comedy struck a chord with audiences and led to her landing multiple TV and panel shows gigs like 7 Days and Funny Girls alongside fellow comedian Laura Daniel.
Eventually moving to the UK, her show Horndog won the Edinburgh Comedy Award 2018 for Best Show at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
She’s since gone on to co-host and star in multiple UK panel shows, working alongside comic greats like Richard Osman and Alexander Armstrong.
The UK isn’t the only place Matafeo has made waves. She’s even made a special appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in the USA.
In 2020, she told the Herald’s Karl Puschmann that “selling herself short” was what made her unique brand of comedy stick.
“Sell yourself short, then anything you do will exceed the low expectations you’ve set for yourself”.
Today, Matafeo isn’t showing any signs of slowing down, voicing a character in the hit animated movie Moana 2 and last year releasing her comedy special Rose Matafeo: On and On and On to rave reviews.
Her South African/Kiwi accent is so distinguishable you could probably recognise her voice from a mile away, but if she hadn’t moved to New Zealand in 2006, Urzila Carlson might still be working for Africa’s largest newspaper group.
Recently starring alongside US comedian Amy Schumer in Kinda Pregnant, Carlson has had a meteoric rise since she got her start appearing on TV shows like 7 Days and making her way around the NZ comedy circuit.
She had moved to Aotearoa after a stint working in print in South Africa, with the challenges faced in her birth country something she would often bring up in her comedy routines.
Eventually branching out into Australian TV shows and international stand-up tours, Carlson gained a following for her blunt, truthful, laboured humour and knack for nailing a punch line.
Her Hollywood break came, bizarrely, from an Instagram message from Schumer, a story she described to Woman’s Day earlier this year.
“She goes, ‘Hi, can you act? Give me a call.’ I sit up, switch the light on and think, ‘F*** it. I’m gonna call her.’ Amy says, ‘Listen, I’ve got this role for you. I think you’re perfect for it. Can I send you a script?’ She emailed it and I read it straight away. I thought, ‘This role literally reads like it was written for me!”
Between working with Hollywood comedy superstars and raising her young kids, Carlson found time to film her third stand-up special, Just No!, which launched back in February.
She’s also not shying away from doing stand-up shows during her packed schedule.
“I tour relentlessly,” she told Woman’s Day. “This year, I’m doing Melbourne, the UK, Canada, the US and then back to Australia again”.
A master of physical and observational comedy with a distinct New Zealand flavour, Kiwi treasure Rhys Darby has just about done it all when it comes to taking his brand worldwide.
The star recently told the Herald that he’s returning to his stand-up comedy roots, performing a series of shows across Aotearoa in March and April.
Fast gaining international acclaim for his role as loveable band manager Murray Hewitt in Flight of the Conchords, Darby originally played the pub circuit with his comedy duo, Rhysently Granted (with Grant Lobban).
After a standout performance at the 2002 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Darby eventually moved to the UK and found success in the BBC radio version of Conchords.
He’s no stranger to Hollywood either. Darby has starred in hit films like Yes Man, Hunt for the Wilderpeople, The Boat That Rocked, and What We Do in the Shadows.
A regular at Comic-Con conventions across the globe and also garnering a wide following for his TV work, he also played would-be pirate Stede Bonnet in the two-season HBO comedy Our Flag Means Death.
Darby told the Herald last year of his desire to return to live theatre and how he relishes being in front of a crowd.
“For me, it’s getting on stage, connecting to the fans and utilising my skills of comedy,” he said.
“I started off as a live act, and I’m constantly writing down ideas in my notebook. I’ve never stopped writing; I’ve got like 54 notebooks”.
From Timaru to Las Vegas, 2005 Billy T Award winner Sam Wills (AKA Tape Face) is an outstanding example of Kiwi No. 8 wire mentality, taking the traditional comedic mime concept and turning it on its head.
The Christchurch Buskers Festival stalwart trained professionally in circus arts, and by 2002 had secured his residency at Auckland’s SkyCity Theatre.
His simple, eclectic mix of clowning, mime, and audience interaction struck a major chord with festival goers, leading to multiple TV appearances and international festival opportunities.
One of Wills’ biggest achievements came in 2016, when he made the final of America’s Got Talent.
While he didn’t win the show, it heightened his profile in the USA and led to residency offers in the entertainment capital of Las Vegas.
Currently killing it with his residency at Vegas’ MGM Grand Hotel, Wills makes his long-awaited Kiwi return this year as part of the NZ International Comedy Festival.
While his comedy style might be confronting for some, Wills had always made it clear that a synergetic relationship between him and his audience helped his act succeed.
“I’m not about humiliating people or making fools of anyone,” he told the Herald in 2020.
“I rely on the audience for the show, so I make sure that everyone who is on stage is treated like a star, so when they leave, they get a huge round of applause. New Zealand audiences are a very good judge of comedy so if I can make them laugh it tends to work well elsewhere in the world.‘’
In many ways, Aotearoa’s dynamic duo Flight of the Conchords (Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement) put New Zealand comedy on the map.
Business Time, Robots, and Inner City Pressure are some of the most quotable songs in the group’s impressive lexicon, which has taken them all over the world and even got them nominated for Emmy and Grammy Awards.
Their dull expressions and dry wit oozing with a tinge of Kiwi charm continue to be timeless in today’s evolving comedy landscape, and they are often what foreigners immediately jump to when asked to identify New Zealand comedy.
The Victoria University alumni worked closely with Boy director Taika Waititi as part of the five-man group So You’re a Man in their early years, eventually branching out and forming Conchords in 1998.
Starting with their BBC radio series (which garnered a cult following), the duo was quickly snapped up by HBO for a pilot show which evolved into the titular Flight of the Conchords show we all know and love.
Both McKenzie and Clement have gone on to have hugely successful solo careers but continue to get together on the odd occasion for live Conchords shows and reunions.
Interestingly, in 2021 Clement revealed that the group “had a much easier time” finding success in Hollywood than in New Zealand in the early stages of the group.
“I always thought we’d be doing things [in New Zealand],” he told Entertainment Weekly.
“And now I’m doing that, but I had to go to Hollywood first because it’s harder to do here, in a way.”
While the Conchords and their aforementioned compatriots may be the most recognisable faces of Kiwi comedy, there’s plenty of other Kiwis who have achieved widespread success for Aotearoa.
The likes of Guy Montgomery (Guy Montgomery’s Guy Mont-Spelling Bee), Joe Daymond (Comedy Central’s Bouncers) and Madeleine Sami (Super City) have also showcased their impressive skills on the world stage.
Guy Williams (NZ Today) continues to surprise people with his quirky insights into current affairs, and ZM host Hayley Sproull is making waves across the ditch with her heartbreakingly honest stand-up.
There’s also plenty of up-and-coming talent in our own backyard waiting to be discovered, so those interested in seeing the next big thing should head down to The Classic or check out the upcoming NZ International Comedy Festival next month to see what all the fuss is about.
Mitchell Hageman joined the Herald’s entertainment and lifestyle team in 2024. He previously worked as a multimedia journalist for Hawke’s Bay Today.
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