Review – Late Night Letters and Numbers

Based on the TV show of a (similar) name, Late Night Letters and Numbers is the late night comedy game show of choice for word nerds and math geeks who don’t want the laughs to end after a night out at the Festival. Only on Friday nights at the Trades Hall, it’s a must-see late show event for fans of the TV show who want to see some of their favourite comedians compete against each other in a battle of wits that isn’t your typical comedy debate or variety show.

For those who aren’t familiar with the format, guests are given a combination of letters (from which they have to use as many as possible to make the longest word possible), or a set of numbers (which they have to rearrange in a sum to get as close as possible to a number randomly selected by the audience). The fun really starts when it gets competitive, or when people start trying to justify made up words – kind of like a big fluid game of Scrabble. Audience participation isn’t just allowed, it’s encouraged- which keeps you switched on at 11pm at night when you’ve had a few beers and are watching people try to do the kind of sums you’d just ignore in real life.

I’m tempted to say that I liked the show because I’m not a huge idiot, but that would be unfair to all the intellectuals out there who just crave a $40 hour of dick and fart jokes. Nonetheless, make the time in your busy Friday night schedule to see Late Night Letters and Numbers if you’re a fan of the game show or just looking for a show that’s a bit smarter and different to other formats in the Festival.