Fringe Festival: Two shows great examples of diversity and energy in the comedy scene

Fringe Festival: Sealed Section, Cavern Club; Truly Friday – Before They Were Famous, 2/57 Willis Street, March 3, both reviewed by Nicholas Holm.

There’s a lot going on in local comedy right now, and Sealed Section and Truly Friday represent some of the more promising up-and-comers in the Wellington scene. Between these two shows, you can get a great sense of the diversity and energy that currently characterises humour in the region.

Clarissa Chandrahasen​ and Lesa MacLeod-Whiting’s Sealed Section is less scandalous than the title might suggest: a nod to sealed sections of Cosmopolitan mags back-in-the-day that held out the allure of taboo sexual secrets and relationship advice. While it certainly incorporates some comic discussions of queer desire, pelvic floor exercises, and the different STIs you can pick up in the Hutt, the general vibe is more #relatable than outrageous.

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Chandrahasen begins with a solid set channelled through the character of a vain and exceptionally self-confident millennial, who insists she is the protagonist of her life. Her jokes feel inspired by a 2020s social media vibe and touch upon online advertising, house prices, apps, dating mishaps and feeling out of place as the queer girl at a straight bachelorette party. And they also feel very much like jokes: crafted, prepared, and delivered to an audience as part of a performance that Chandrahasen keeps tight control over.

In contrast, MacLeod-Whiting is more freewheeling. She owns her stage: strutting, leaping, dancing and occasionally breaking into song. It really feels like she’s having a good time. The general theme of her set is her strict Christian upbringing and her subsequent sexual liberation and includes an excellent sequence where she comically labours over intentionally obscure biblical references.

However, the material also ranges much more widely to poke fun at Wellington upper middle-class pretensions and her struggle with the sheer dullness of Three Waters politics.

Anywhere else in the world, Before They Were Famous would be considered a much less orthodox comedy experience, but the inspiration of Flight of the Conchords is so stark that its feels cliché even to make the comparison.

Truly Friday are two young guys with guitars, a selection of comedy tunes and an exquisitely awkward stage presence. At the same time, though, there is something vaguely dirtbag-ish about the whole thing though, which calls to mind another Kiwi comedy band: Deja Voodoo.

The show begins with a piece of archetypal student film-making characterised by cheap special effects, a bewildering sci-fi plot, and probably too many firefight sequences. This provides the narrative justification for the show, as Truly Friday reflect on their forthcoming fame to justify a sequence of expertly-crafted and often genuinely catchy comic songs covering topics from “manic pixie dream girls” and sexy serial killers to an alternate universe where Rippa Rugby players are celebrities.

Is that a flimsy premise for a comedy song? Maybe a bit, but it’s more than compensated for by the overall range, skill, and comic cleverness of the performance. Personal highlights include a sensitive ode to Quentin Tarantino’s foot fetish and a crowd-pleasing, romping ode to Crate Day that closes out the show.

• The Fringe Festival runs until March 11. Tickets and info: fringe.co.nz