Snippets from Austin Harrison's review of our first performance on 17 February 2023
"The Big HOO-HAA! Pōneke is a competitive improv show (a-la Theatresports) which was originally created in Perth, Australia and has migrated onto our shores for its New Zealand premiere in this year’s New Zealand Fringe Festival. Despite some opening night wrinkles, it’s a rambunctious, rollicking good time starring some of the city’s finest improv talent."
"A unique feature of The Big HOO-HAA! Pōneke is that it is a 90 minute show with an interval. We’re accustomed to 50 minute jaunts in the improv world, but this is a full meal for comedy consumption. The first half consists of five “rounds”, some with prescribed games which both teams play but at its centre are the “choice” and “challenge” rounds. In the choice round each team gets to choose any game they wish, while the challenge round sees them set a challenge for the other team to complete in 3 minutes. The Hearts set a fabulous challenge for one of the team members to be “evil” and try to sabotage the scene, while The Bones ‘stage directions’ scene was one of the highlights of the first half, with Morrison and Lam’s sense of play and willingness to mess with each other proving pure delight for the crowd, as they found themselves getting up a sweat, slaloming between the red stage boxes for an entire scene. "
"All-in-all The Big HOO-HAA! Pōneke was a fabulous night out to kick off my fringe festival. It’s a big, bold offering which guarantees laughs with some of the best brains and most charismatic performers in Pōneke strutting their stuff. They have two more shows in fringe on March 10 and 11 at BATS theatre. "