Hawkes Bay Today
  • Hawke's Bay Today home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology

Locations

  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Havelock North
  • Central Hawke's Bay
  • Tararua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Dannevirke
  • Gisborne

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Hawkes Bay Today / Opinion

Review: 7 Days even better live

By Mark Story
Hawkes Bay Today·
12 Dec, 2017 08:30 PM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Comedian Ben Hurley put in a masterclass at Napier's 7 Days Live last night, writes Mark Story. Photo File

Comedian Ben Hurley put in a masterclass at Napier's 7 Days Live last night, writes Mark Story. Photo File

Opinion

Napier's Municipal Theatre was packed to the gunnels.

For good reason.

Last night's rare visit from the 7 Days crew of Jeremy Corbett, Paul Ego, Jeremy Elwood, Dai Henwood, Justine Smith, Ben Hurley and Josh Thomson provided for Monday mirth of the highest order.

Last night's 7 Days Live included a 5-minute solo standup from each before the well-worn but timeless 7Days comic game show.

Nothing was lost on the live adaptation of the TV format - in fact it was a step up.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

What impressed from the outset was this was no perfunctory-provincial whistle-stop.

Pleasingly, much of the content was deftly localised and researched. Referenced were the hot buttons of amalgamation, Mahia's Rocket Lab "Hastings, we have a problem", our dogged quake recovery, Art Deco and swimming in Ahuriri.

MP Stuart Nash made a guest appearance and was fawned over by Smith, while Henwood reminisced about his time as a visiting schoolboy in Flaxmere where he was beaten up by a big thug and had his new studded cricket shoes stolen.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

To atone, Nash, as Minister of Police, then gifted the diminutive Henwood a pair of kids' shoes.

There was frequent crowd interfacing from Corbett as host, with a text caption competition and winner reveal later in the show a skilled piece of audience engagement.

The show's "mature" TV rating was appreciably ramped up to X-rated in this live version.

Which is why some of the highlights, including Hurley's bawdy take on how he pays his respects on Anzac Day, will never make this review. Suffice to say The Last Post will never be the same.

His standup was a personal highlight; a masterclass in irreverent hilarity from someone on top of his game.

Jeremy Elwood told everyone Napier's muni was one of his favourites, yet had a go at the theatre's "fake royal boxes", hinting they were intentionally bogus as the designers "knew the royals would never come here".

The only disappointment came from a few dimwits in the audience who insisted on snapping distracting flash photos of the very format they can see every Friday night on TV. Who photographs humour?

Perhaps this suggested the world-class calibre of wit on display; 7 Days and seven of our best comics on the same stage.

A stellar night of experiencing first hand what is undoubtedly the country's best domestic comedy product.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Hawkes Bay Today

Premium
Hawkes Bay Today
|Updated

In the palm of his hand – the rise of a third top NZ men's shotputter

Hawkes Bay Today

'I feel aggrieved': 92-year-old online shopper's warning after supermarket meat purchase

Hawkes Bay Today

How new speed limits are making Hastings schools safer


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Hawkes Bay Today

Premium
Premium
In the palm of his hand – the rise of a third top NZ men's shotputter
Hawkes Bay Today
|Updated

In the palm of his hand – the rise of a third top NZ men's shotputter

You know Tom Walsh and Jacko Gill, but a third Kiwi could join them at the world champs.

16 Jul 06:00 PM
'I feel aggrieved': 92-year-old online shopper's warning after supermarket meat purchase
Hawkes Bay Today

'I feel aggrieved': 92-year-old online shopper's warning after supermarket meat purchase

16 Jul 06:00 PM
How new speed limits are making Hastings schools safer
Hawkes Bay Today

How new speed limits are making Hastings schools safer

16 Jul 03:49 AM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Hawke's Bay Today e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Hawke's Bay Today
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • NZME Events
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP