review by Eli Cairns
What do you get when you put a stir-crazy lobster in a tank of 30 fish?
Touching My Active Mind is David Correos’s brash and blazing answer to the outer limits of NZ’s goofiest and gaggiest comics, and by God you will have a good time. With a fantastic selection of set-ups and reveals, purely spectacular audience participation, and an eccentric assortment of stories to tell, this show is back-to-back bangers with barely a breath to spare.
Between being forced to hang around today’s youth at Wet’n’Wild, dutifully recounting the general idea of what maybe possibly did or didn’t happen in the bible, and contemplating a retirement home invasion across the Kāpiti Coast, Correos presents a literally explosive hour of comedy which will leave you feeling (much like each night of this show) never quite the same again.
What brings both the most friction and success to Touching My Active Mind is Correos’s non-stop rapport with his audience, constantly bringing the rest of the room to the forefront of his show. Before it begins, he can be very easily spotted in a Where’s Wally costume, running around stage checking for tech and taking care of his eccentric assortment of Chekhov’s gun props. During this time he makes sure to personally introduce himself to the entire front row, and offer plenty of heads up about his abrasive-but-loving crowdwork which will prove to play a large part of the night.
Later, upon failing to find any good restaurant recommendations from his economically weary Wellingtonian crowd, he’s utterly delighted (and horrified) to hear that the whole room has come out tonight specifically for him — something that he puts in every effort to repay to us tenfold. From borrowing one person’s slice of vegan pizza (courtesy of the Fringe Bar) to dancing the entire crowd through a game of good ol’ fashioned pass-the-parcel, Correos knows exactly how to play with a room and get the audience just as stoked as he is to have a chat, and you can feel it in every exchange.
Without a doubt, Correos is a firecracker on stage. He’s open, enthusiastic, and absolutely all over the place as we traverse the loop-de-loops of his rollercoaster mind. Yet, while he claims to be chugging along on ‘256mb’ of memory at all times, his pacing and energy prove the complete opposite: not a laughless moment can pass between audience or performer as Correos cracks up almost as hard as we do, purely ecstatic to be in the same room. Any unpolished moments of the show are still proudly unashamed, and Correos’ mish-mashed ramblings are equally as entertaining as his tightest of fives. This is one comedian absolutely dead-set on the audience getting the most out of his jokes, and his hard work pays off strong at every punchline.
This show is a pin-pulled hand (perhaps yam) grenade thrown right into the middle of kiwi comedy, clearly bringing some of the more goofy and absurdist influences of Correos’ time in Australia back home to meet the parents. If you’re familiar with Welly comedy and love your Booths or your Airhorns or your Chandrahasens, you need to get along to this show, because it’s an astounding blend of form and cheerful play into one unforgettable hour of laughs.
Touching My Active Mind is a must-see of the 2026 NZ Comedy Fest. Although it’s plausible, as Correos himself suggests, you could get a very similar experience simply by being a retail employee he happens to strike up a conversation with on any average weekday, there’s nonetheless every reason to nab a ticket and grab a seat, because this very well could be the night of your life.
O come, all ye faithful, and touch this active mind.
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