Review – Ha Ha Comedy Late Show
Take a step out of your comfort zone and into the grungy back chamber of the Austral hotel, home to this year’s HAHA Comedy Late Show. This predominantly Scottish line-up proved itself worthy of the R18 time slot as soon as outspoken Glaswegian Alan Anderson took to the stage. Renowned for his audience banter, our host didn’t waste any time getting to know his intimate crowd by immediately relocating everyone to the front rows. Anderson can be vulgar at the best of times yet his interaction with the audience never really crossed the line; he seemed well accustomed to reading the crowd and knew just how far to push a joke. The nervous anticipation that you may be the next target was outweighed by the simple comical possibility that it could also be someone else.
Other highlights included computer programmer-turned-comedian Dan Willis who had barely breathed an obscenity on stage before he was interrupted by a rude heckle. This aggressive (and lame) heckler had been tainting the show from the beginning so it came as no surprise when the entire audience got behind Willis’ blunt and offensive shutdown. Hilarious remarks were directed to the back row for the rest of the evening leaving the remainder of the audience literally wiping their eyes with laughter (and relief that a new target had spawned)
Irish trio Foil, Arms and Hog threw some Catholic jokes into the mix before performing an array of music and mime related skits – all of which managed to keep the crowd continuously laughing even though it was sometimes hard to determine exactly what was going on. These guys were natural entertainers! While the language of the HAHA guests was crass and typical of late night stand-up, I found the storytelling to be witty, engaging and most importantly funny. For under $20 it’s a great way to discover worthwhile international talent that you might not get to see otherwise in a larger showcase.
