Laugh Your A** Off Festival returns to Hastings with top local talent

Florence Hartigan is bringing her one-woman show Me, My Mother and Suzy Cato to Hastings as a part of the Laugh Your A** Off Festival this week at Toitoi.

It’s time to smirk, snicker, chuckle, guffaw, chortle, cachinnate and laugh your bottoms off again Hawke’s Bay as comedy returns to Hastings.

The Laugh Your A** Off Festival starts at Toitoi Hawke’s Bay Arts and Events Centre on Thursday, kicking off a run of national and international comedians who will have the region in stitches right through into summer.

Now in its third year, Laugh Your A** Off brings together four different shows from across the comedy spectrum to help shake off any seasonal affective disorder or winter blues by drying up runny nose with a healthy dose of belly laughs.

This year’s line-up includes Me, My Mother and Suzy Cato – Florence Hartigan’s nostalgic, heartfelt one-woman show journeying through the era of Britney Spears and low-rise jeans to present a tale of past demons, future hopes and the universal struggle of the family we need versus the family we get.

For those who like to sing while they laugh, there’s the supernatural musical cabaret Monster Songs, as well the crazy quiz singalong with an all-out 80s theme Ding Dong Sing Song Pub Quiz Games Night.

This year’s festival will be rounded out by one of New Zealand’s best current comedians Hayley Sproull, bringing her razor-sharp stand-up show The Baroness to town.

Toitoi presenter services manager Glen Pickering said the festival is a yearly highlight at the venue.

“It’s helped us grow our reputation as the go-to venue for smart, high-quality comedy and has put us on the map bringing more top international and national comedians to Hawke’s Bay,” he said.

Toitoi’s comedy programme isn’t stopping at the end of the festival, with some of the biggest names in the business headed for the Bay all the way into summer, including Tom Sainsbury in October, Bill Bailey and John Bishop in November, and Jimmy Carr for two sold-out nights in January.

Tickets for all these shows are available from Toitoi’s website, or from the Hastings and Havelock North isites.