Cate Prestidge is a principal academic and co-ordinator of journalism and communication programmes at Wintec. She has been writing theatre reviews for NZME since 2021.
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It must be a tough gig being a comedian. Jokes you’ve carefully crafted and delivered to great acclaim sometimes just don’t connect the same way onanother night.
But a mixed bill like Garden Giggles gives opportunity for a variety of content and style, making things fun and helping to ride out the flat spots.
It’s fair to say the midweek crowd at The Pavilion at Hamilton Gardens was quiet to start.
They looked primed to enjoy themselves, but it being a “school night”, there wasn’t a lot of action at the bar to loosen the inhibitions required for audience participation.
This left MC Tarun Mohanbhai working overtime to get us warmed up.
The timing also meant there were quite a few work groups in attendance, which may have affected engagement with Liv McKenzie’s saucy set – more on that later.
Mohanbhai opened playing up themes of culture, marriage, Uber Eats and dating to good effect.
He invited the audience to participate and pounced on the only respondent brave enough to raise a hand to say they’d come straight from work.
Garden Giggles make for a fun night, even if not all jokes landed.
With no one else offering, he pumped them for more info, ending somewhere in sheet metal fabrication in the dairy industry.
“Never put your hand up at a comedy show,” my neighbour said with a laugh.
Next, Jack Ansett,who was crowned the Sydney Comedy Festival’s Best Newcomer in 2025, took the stage.
Riffing on a nerdy vibe, he got a good response to stories about working with his gym coach to build muscle, the relatable trials of travelling with your mum and a brilliant turn in the Weet-Bix Tryathlon.
There was a momentary wobble when he dropped a piece about Fortnite after literally no one in the room indicated they’d played it, but he made a swift recovery in what was a fun set.
Liv McKenzie is good fun, likeable and unafraid of getting specific.
I felt we didn’t know her quite well enough for some of the relatively graphic content, though, and literally no one was going to admit to some of her prompts.
Supportive whoops from the back kept her going even while the rest of the crowd sat on their hands.
She literally got down and dirty to emphasise the relatable awkwardness of the beauty technician/client relationship, and she does a mean dolphin imitation, but the older crowd of couples and work groups didn’t quite vibe with it.
Headliner Paul Ego was afforded the biggest cheer, and he got straight into it.
Given the crowd, he was the most relatable as he riffed on hair loss, kids that don’t leave home and being a boy dad.
His brilliant account of a stint in hospital for knee surgery and the ministrations of his ancient nurse had me crying with laughter.
A fun night and the Garden Giggles crew do it all again tonight with Justine Smith on the bill with Ego and McKenzie, and Keegan Govind as MC.
Cate Prestidge is a principal academic and co-ordinator of journalism and communication programmes at Wintec. She has been writing theatre reviews for NZME since 2021.
