Bringing comedy back to Tairawhiti

FUNNY BUSINESS: Ben Hurley and a raft of other comedians are heading to Gisborne next month for their annual 7 Days Live tour. Picture supplied

Comedy legends from Aotearoa's longest-running comedy TV show will bring laughs and a memorable night of entertainment to Gisborne, when 7 Days Live reaches our shores next month.

A star-studded line-up for this year's tour includes show regulars Ben Hurley, Paul Ego, Dai Henwood, Justine Smith, Josh Thomson, Laura Daniel and host Jeremy Corbett.

The group of seven will be bringing some much-needed laughter to Tairāwhiti for the first time since the TV show shot to fame more than a decade ago.

With 20 years of experience under his belt, Hurley, much like his comrades in comedy, will be taking people on a journey of laughter and fun.

“We are very excited because it is our first time in Gisborne. I'm not sure why it took so long,” Hurley says.

Born in Taranaki, the comedian never thought he would take up comedy as a profession.

He grew up watching the likes of Billy Connolly and David Letterman on television.

His parents loved tuning into British comedy and valued the shrewdness and comic relief the comedians brought to their delivery.

Hurley first took to the stage as a student at Victoria University of Wellington.

“There was a bar that was below the campus and some of my friends used to muck around and do the comedy nights.

“They urged me to join in so during the Wellington Fringe Festival I volunteered to give it a go and it worked out. So it kind of grew organically.”

After earning some comedy stripes in Wellington, he moved to London in 2005 to hone his craft.

A few years later he moved back to New Zealand to settle in Auckland and a company called Download Project expressed their interest in making a comedy TV show.

“That's how the show 7 Days came about.”

In terms of producing stand-up content, Hurley says he usually derives his material through his lived experiences.

“It is very biographical and based on changes as I get older.

“It used to be about me being a single guy and then a married guy and now it's about being a married guy with kids, so it just goes along with the trajectory of life.

“Generally I talk about the embarrassing situations that I get myself into and it's mostly something relatively relatable to people who live in New Zealand.”

Hurley says there is no scientific formula to making a joke, it is something that comes from a bit of trial and error.

7 Days Live is coming to Gisborne on June 24 at the War Memorial Theatre. Tickets from $62.50+bf. To book head to https://tinyurl.com/4ty3yuxt