Shoes Off (At the Door) star Aunty Lianne. Photo / Supplied
Shoes Off (At the Door) star Aunty Lianne. Photo / Supplied
Review
The classic Kōtiro Māori E – a song empowering Māori women - was an appropriate tune to play at the end of Shoes Off (At the Door), a live comedy show featuring the talents of five wāhine Māori stand-up comedians – Janaye Henry, Kura Turuwhenua, Courtney Dawson, Charde Heremaia and Aunty Lianne.
The wāhine attracted a full house at Auckland's The Basement theatre on Tuesday evening and had the audience in complete hysterics for an hour.
Each performer brought their different and unique style of comedy and shared the common thread of being proud Māori women who knew how to deliver a joke and work an audience.
Among the group are Billy T award nominees, winners of comedy competitions, social media influencers and comedy TV writers.
There was a time when it was rare to see Māori women on the stand-up comedy stage, which is surprising because it's normally our aunties and kuia at the marae and within our whānau who are the funniest.
The show proved that Māori women can command this space and display humour that breaks down barriers and appeals to Māori and non-Māori audiences.
Janaye Henry, of Ngāti Kahu ki Whangaroa, was the perfect MC with her personable and anecdotal style of comedy. She successfully made going to a tangi funny, with a humorous set about stealing "the spotlight" at her koro's funeral.
Aunty Lianne, of Ngāti Kahungunu, was like the cool, but tough, aunty who told dirty jokes. At 63, it was on her bucket list to be a stand-up comedian and she proves it's never too late to pursue your goals.
Courtney Dawson, of Ngāti Kuri, Waikato-Tainui, grew up in South Auckland with a Māori father and Pākehā mother. She spoke about being raised in a bicultural home and took the piss out of her parents' cultural differences – who were both in the audience.
Comedian Charde Hermaia. Photo / Supplied
Charde Heremaia, of Ngāti Kahungunu and Ngāi Tahu, shared the experience of growing up in the Napier suburb of Maraenui, and introduced us to her alter-ego, Ātaahua, an inspiring rapper with humorous rhymes.
The final act was 21-year-old Kura Turuwhenau, who is Ngāti Porou, Kāi Tahu, Tūhoe and Moriori, and came on stage proudly wearing a moko kauae. Her observational humour was infused with her musical and songwriting talents.
I spoke to Kura before the show who told me that audiences initially don't know what to expect when they see a Māori woman on the comedy stage because there's hardly been a point of reference.
To have five in one show is truly a historical moment.
After watching their performances, we can one day expect to see these comedians become as well-known as Billy T James or Mike King. Ending the show, the MC proclaimed: "Māori women are magic, indigenous women are magic and tonight we did it, sis!"
Take a bow. Yes, you did it indeed!
Shoes Off (At the Door) is playing at The Basement Theatre at 8.30pm until Saturday, September 17.
