Like father, like son

Comedian Eli Matthewson has spent years joking about life as a gay man, but it came as a complete surprise when his dad also came out. Now, their bond is stronger than ever, as George Fenwick reports.

‘‘It’s weird to say, but as soon as my dad came out to me,’’ says Eli Matthewson, ‘‘I was like, well, that’s gonna be a good show, eventually.’’ Eventually was this year, and that good show was great. Daddy Short Legs was crowned the winner of this year’s Fred Award, honouring the best show at the annual New Zealand International Comedy Festival. Previous recipients include Rose Matafeo, Rhys Darby and Dai Henwood.

Daddy Short Legs was Eli’s second show to be nominated for the Fred, and his most personal show to date. The set fizzes with his trademark energetic wit and bold punchlines, and is packed full of astute and hilarious observations about life as a gay millennial in New Zealand.

Where it truly soars, however, is in Eli’s deft blending of humour and pathos, which mostly hinges on a key bombshell that arrives roughly two-thirds of the way into the show: that 10 years after Eli came out to his dad, his dad came out to him. In a recording of the show, gasps are audible around the room as Eli, with a sly smile, reveals the news.

The Christchurch-raised comedian understands that reaction all too well.

‘‘It was a complete surprise,’’ he says, ‘‘but made everything click into place as well’’ – in particular, the moment he came out to dad Peter Matthewson.

‘‘Going back to that moment, he was going through so much more in his mind than: ‘My son is gay’,’’ Eli says. ‘‘He was going through everything. He went silent on me, didn’t talk to me for a day, and then the next day, he was like, ‘let’s go out for dinner,’ and he’s been very supportive ever since then. But I see why he went quiet.’’

Peter told Eli, now 32, the night before he opened his 2017 festival show, titled The Year of Magical F ........

‘‘The bit about it that made me laugh the most is that I’d written a big joke about my dad having a crush on Kate Winslet in Titanic, which I remember so specifically. That whole week, I was going out there doing that joke, but I feel like I had a little glint in my eye. He never liked Kate Winslet.