The Wee Coo
August 1-27 (21.20)

Material: Delivery:    Laughs:

Eli Matthewson is an edgy Kiwi comic, clearly popular down that way on account of the New Zealand news crew filming the set & the Antipodean laughter which filled the room. This was the Underbelly’s intimate Wee Coo, which has an especial acoustic quality of being able to distinctify every person’s individual chortles, giggles & guffaws, I loved that. These laughs, by the way, were as regular as a heart scanner. As Eli rips thro’ his set; come every pause, without fail, a beep of laughter shot up into the room from all quarters.

Eli is gay, & beams his out pride, not constantly & only a tad gratuitous, but as a simple part of his life alongside his mum, dad, Auntie Kath & boyfriend, who all get wee cameos as we go. His comedy is of the ticklish type, reaching out like an octopus & making us all squiggle in our seats as we laugh. The section on Grinder-driving was especially & intensely peerless. As we ride his comedy rodeo, we learn some fun facts; like Auckland being built on fifty cute volcanoes, & also the absolute adorability of pubic crabs. This is the perfect stand-up show for those who want a bit of cheekiness as well as genuine laughs, & with Eli’s strands deftly collected together into a bubbling denoument, I left the Wee Coo in a state of complete fulfillment.

Damo