Kiwi comedy royalty to support local stand-up
A veteran of the New Zealand comedy scene is returning to Palmerston North in a bid to support local and developing stand-up comedians.
Paul Ego is known for his role as team captain on comedy current affairs panel show 7 Days and as the voice of the Pak’n Save stickman.
He will perform at the Globe Theatre tomorrow and hopes to draw audiences from across the region.
All profits will be given to non-profit organisation Comedy Hub Palmerston North to help it continue to provide a platform for local and up-and-coming stand-up comedians.
Comedy Hub show organiser Tommy Whitehouse hoped the event would generate buzz about what the organisation did and help it get as many comedians on stage as possible.
He said it was always looking for opportunities to put on all kinds of shows, but cost was often a barrier.
‘‘For instance, last year we produced a show with New Zealand Sign Language interpreters with both signing and speaking comedians and audience members.
‘‘The show was reasonably well attended, but by the time we account for the cost of interpreters you end up running a show which would normally be quite profitable at a significant loss, which means other producers often won’t bother putting them on and people miss out.’’
Ego said he was always happy when performing live onstage, and there were some places where audiences didn’t need warming up and were primed and ready to go from the get-go.
‘‘Palmy is definitely one of those places. Whenever I’ve played here as part of the 7 Days Live Tour it’s always one of the best gigs.’’
The show was at the Globe Theatre on Main St tomorrow at 8pm. Tickets can be bought online.
Local comedians Dylan Stewart, Kajun Campbell-brooking and Maggie Malone will join Ego on stage.