Review by Eli Cairns
DJ, spin that track!
With a whopping nine performers gathered in Hannah Playhouse’s hallowed halls, Joe Daymond’s Comedy Mixtape proves a strong and clearly well-needed format for foregrounding some of our best and brightest comedians. Whether they’re up-and-comers or seasoned pros, Daymond’s lineup has been hand-picked for these performers’ often underappreciated talents, and the variety this show presents keeps each set fresh and raring to go. Hosted of course by star player Joe Daymond (who you’ve most definitely seen before going viral online) Comedy Mixtape is structured as a killer hour and a half of classic good old fashioned stand-up, promising an abundance of laughs across the entire night.
First and foremost, Joe Daymond is a loose and laid-back host for this show who’s very happy to take us along on our ‘garage party’ kind of night. Although for his Wellington show he was likely saving his best material for his own hour in the comedy fest, he nevertheless delivered plenty of laughs as Mixtape’s MC. Functioning much more unusually freestyle than one might expect, Daymond works his way through several stretches of crowdwork both up and down the audience between each comedian’s set. Though this strategy initially seemed to drag a little in the beginning, it later proved to be worth digging when Daymond struck gold with one particular couple’s decades-ago first meeting in Pigeon Park. Daymond himself is a comfortable performer on stage, creating a welcoming energy for his audience to settle into, and he is always able to find a laugh in the most unexpected places.
Show DJ Randy Sjafrie steps perfectly into the hype-man role for this show, welcoming us in and keeping the music going across the night — even though he’s supposedly set up for failure in some moments (“she told me to play the most stereotypical music I could find!”). Nevertheless, Sjafrie makes for a surprising audience conduit throughout Comedy Mixtape, reacting to the comedians he’s jockeying for as though he’s one of our very own up there, laughing just as hard as the rest of us.
Wellington local Q Potts is the first act up, and although he appears a little shy at first he’s nevertheless a warm performer with a hearty lineup of jokes. While perhaps not a believable ‘fighting warrior,’ Potts is definitely a well-prepared funnyman, using playful jabs and a litany of childhood stories to get us in a mischievous mood. Naturally endearing and a well-paced, engaging storyteller, he hits his punchlines with thinly-veiled glee, and is certainly having as good a time as we are.
Unendingly charming Jenice Goveas’ fantastic comedy attitude is central to her performance, fully embracing the grittier hilarities to be found as an Indian immigrant to New Zealand. She could genuinely say whatever she wants on stage and have her audience giggling to pieces just from her perfect blend of sarcasm and enthusiasm, with every story she tells feeling exactly as extreme as she needs it to for us to fall apart. Goveas is a delight to watch, as cheerful as she is dry, and her storytelling will have you eager for more.
Incredibly skilled and hilarious comic Clarissa Chandrahasen absolutely shines in this show. What stands out most about her performance is her tight-knit and excellently paced writing, which she uses to weave in and out of each anecdote with expertise, always hitting her punchlines just right. Chadrahasen performs with a cheeky arrogant flair and a bucketful of certainty, because she knows she’s got good jokes and is rightfully proud to show them off!
An often unsung staple in Wellington Comedy, Leki Lyons proves in this show he’s got great stuff when given his time to shine. Quick to hit punchlines and even quicker to roll right into the next joke, Lyons holds his audience’s attention like a hot potato, never letting too long go between laughs. Although very unwilling to outstay his welcome, he certainly leaves us in stitches and wanting more.
International comedian Martin Urbano is a kicker of an act. Although misfortunately American, he’s also a funny and abrasive performer who looks to cut right through with a tight punch of dark humour. Using a heavy layer of dry snark to deliver often crude, light-heartedly edgy jokes, Urbano is consistently full of snappy and only occasionally cheap lines. And, as Joe Daymond later proclaimed this night, Urbano was indeed able to procure the loudest laugh of the show for a very special zinger about eating ass.
Tama Alexander is a fresh young upstart who’ll have you chomping at the bit for more. In between a few music-based wordplays, he engages cringe comedy in sometimes teeth-grittingly awful but increasingly rewarding ways. And, though he initially presents a shy and self-deprecating persona, Alexander’s stories shoot for the extremes to shockingly hilarious punchlines. Whenever he loses you, he’s always leaping to grab you back, making for a set as exciting as it is demanding.
And, rounding out this lineup is Raybon Kan, long-standing NZ comedy legend who in 2026 is 30 years on from his first-ever comedy fest in 1996. Leaning into that history, Kan’s set is full of ‘back in my day’ lamentations for the errs of today’s technologically cushy life, with many slights against today’s youth (and aged) poking out at us. Kan is a firm and certain presence in this show’s lineup, proving being a longstander doesn’t mean you’re out of great jokes to tell.
Certainly, Joe Daymond’s Comedy Mixtape is a fantastic and much-needed splash in the comedy scene. While not the first time this format has been done, it’s proving continuously successful for Daymond with a full house audience and a thrilling lineup of comics; shows like these are exactly what we need in a time when it’s harder and harder for great comedians to get their faces out there. Whether you’re a casual comedy fan or committed full-time, attending Comedy Mixtape will absolutely be worth your while for a night of brilliant laughs.
Press play, no skips!
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