Occasionally, I get this feeling that I’ve seen enough comedy and that all that’s left is smarter jokes or ruder double-entendres. Then I get blown away by a show that blares its brilliance into my eyes, blinding me – a punishment for my lack of faith.

This morning, I had that feeling. This evening, I’m believing again.

Created by Lesa Macleod-Whiting and Zach Mandeville, Airhorn! is a show designed for one purpose: to entertain the hell out of any of the locals who place their faith in the madcap talents of the nine amazing comedians that grace tonight’s line-up. It’s the perfect balance of absurdism, crowd work, and heartful comedy that kicks off your weekend with a belly full of laughs.

The main thing going into this show is that Airhorn! has a lot of lore. How much of it is truly inspired by previous shows (or episodes as they are referred to by MC Zach Mandeville) is unclear, but there’s such a great element of second story year. Right from the start, we’re invited to root for not the comedians, but the show itself, against the vicious censorship of the Newtown City Council. They’ve been banned and cut down by the local bigwigs, and the mere existence of the show is a protest against authority, speaking truth to a non-existent power. The audience is immediately on-board, booing the NCC representative (a mere intern) played by Matty.

Eventually, caving to the protests, the intern allows the show to proceed, and the chaos truly starts. Over the next hour and a half, Airhorn! wheels out banger after banger until my eyes are watering from laughter and my jaw is agape with awe.

MC Zach Mandeville does his best to temper the audience’s expectations by insisting that this will be a normal put together show. He’s a great MC who gets the audience on the performers’ side, playing a confused showrunner unable to really cope with the ludicrous demands of the NCC intern. There’s a genuine thrill when he pops on between acts and resets the energy with his charm and calm. He shows pure excitement for all of the acts and does a masterful job at getting in the right mood for what we’re about to see.

The acts are all hilarious, and are incredibly well-paced to deliver a show that feels so much shorter than it truly is. There’s so much going on in this show and so much to heap praise onto.

Jerome Chandrahasen comes out swinging with a great bit of Christmassy crowd work. He gets the audience engaged with his ask-fors and riffs off their neighbourhoods with insanely quick wit and heightening of everyone’s answers. I still don’t really know why he was dressed as Santa. Either way, he gets the crowd raring to go, and then disappears, presumably to deliver jokes to the other 194 countries by morning. He’s your favourite crowd worker’s favourite crowd worker.

Wellington’s most glamourous enby, Jak Darling, graces the stage with their incredibly well-rehearsed audio gags that always hit the mark. From their gestures to the sound cues, everything is impeccably timed and they once again demonstrate why they’re the peak of physical comedy. Every outfit slays and they’re more than happy to delve into dark turns to really hit home the absurdity of what they’re doing, whether it’s a very hungry turtle or an #ally who just can’t seem to get it right.

Half-presenting, half-supporting is The Champ herself, Lesa Macleod-Whiting, once again proving she’s up for anything in the name of comedy. It’s amazing that all she has to do to draw the audience’s attention is merely smolder at the fringes of the stage. She’ll don crazy outfits and justify them within the confines of the scene, making the most out of the tight-knit collaborators she has with her on-stage. Her chemistry with everyone is electrifying and it’s so clear to see the trust she’s built within the ensemble.

Te Waiarangi Ratana is a magnetic performer who manages the rare task of holding the space, even when it’s looking like things are going awry. He’s such a strong performance artist, snapping from a traditional bloke-y stand-up to a hilarious, yet legitimately beautiful parody of Casablanca. There’s this wonderful sense of sincerity he brings, and never seems to break character, or rather, when he does, it always seems like he meant to do it. He never loses control of his performance and it’s magical to watch as a result.

The unstoppable duo of Ginge & Minge continues their steamroll as they bring out their guffaw-inducing brand of alternate comedy. They just love being silly together and as always with these two, the audience just feels lucky they get to be here to see their performance relationship go from strength to strength. In every bit they do, they always find a way to really dig a the heart of what the scene is about, before pulling it all together with a fantastic punchline that has the audience whooping for more twerking.

Alayne Dick reminds us that she truly is a bunch of sitcom characters that have possessed the body of a local librarian. She effortlessly showcases a bunch of different characters that are incredibly easy to get on board with, from a detective who insists that she’s the baby of the group, to an upcoming photographer whose decisions are changed at the whim of the audience. I’ve truly missed seeing Alayne do improv and it was so nice to see a glimpse of it tonight, especially in a format that suits her so perfectly.

The final act is Maria Williams putting forward a character who I assume is supposed to be her great-aunt? Williams is an incredible joke-crafter and the queen of misdirection. She baits the audience with a really fun bit of standard improv ask-fors, and plays with the crowd to get increasingly absurd suggestions. She slowly builds up her platform, and when she reveals what all of the work was for, the audience erupts in awe and laughter. It’s a fantastic magic trick that ends the show with an incredible high.

Leaving Airhorn!, I felt inspired. It reminded me what a comedy variety show can be when it’s not just a line-up of ego-driven funny people trying to one-up each other. There’s no possible way for these acts to feel competitive with each other because they’re so wonderfully collaborative and so incredibly different in styles. It’s a home-grown, honest and hilarious mix of the best comedians in Wellington. It just left me wanting more of the warm, supportive vibe of comedy that I’ve seen previously in all of these performers’ work, and I know just where to get it from now on.

It’s shows like this that restore my faith in comedy. Comedy can come in a myriad of forms, not even limited to the vast array on display tonight at the Newtown Community Centre. This is peak curation of talent and I hope that it keeps up the good fight against the bureaucrats that seek to destroy it.

Airhorn! is the night out that you deserve, a guarantee that you’ll leave thrilled and giggling. A triumph of alternate comedy that can’t stop, won’t stop, and shouldn’t stop.

Against all odds.

Airhorn! runs monthly-ish out of Newtown Community Centre. Tickets available from Kiwiticket.

Disclosure: As a somewhat active member of the Wellington performing arts community, I may be quite familiar with a number of the performers in this show.
Having said that, I am not a liar, and there is zero bias in my reviews, shut up.

Also, tickets were provided to me for free by the production. Literally changes nothing, though.