Beer-y Christmas and comedy
The end of year is fast approaching and ‘tis the season of events. One of which is A Very Beer-y Christmas: Comedy Night at Searchlight Brewery at the end of the month. Santa’s in the mood for some belly laughs and craft beer.
Dunedin-based comedian Harriet Moir will be the ho ho host of the night, providing banter and some brilliant comedy. The festive lineup includes some great comics from around the South Island including local talent Maggie Rogers and Jadwiga, along with Tama Alexander, Tim Kelly and award-winning comedian Jonathan Falconer in the headlining spot. Moir explains that despite the name, the show isn’t too heavily focused on Christmas, however they do encourage people to come dressed in their eccentric gear (or not so eccentric will also suffice).
“It’ll be a really fun comedy lineup,” Moir says. “It’s that time of year where people are starting to feel a bit festive and more relaxed – we just plan to have a really good night of comedy. There’ll be general jokes with the odd bit of Christmas sprinkled in.”
Maggie Rogers has been living in Queenstown for the past six years and is looking forward to getting back up on stage as part of a lineup show. She is originally from LA and started doing most of her stand-up here. In 2020 she competed in the Raw Comedy Quest – a competition to find some of the best newcomers in New Zealand comedy – and came second.
“It was a really good experience and I’ve just been doing stand-up mostly around Otago, but all the way to Dunedin and up into Christchurch – pretty much all across the country – for the past five years,” Rogers says. “I tend to just do Queenstown stuff or Wānaka, but I really enjoy it. I try to do as much as I can, but there’s not a lot of stand-up comedy around Queenstown at the moment.
“We’ve got some really, genuinely, good comedians coming out from Dunedin and Christchurch and it’s going to be a really great lineup. I don’t think that people get the opportunity to see stand-up here that often, so it’s going to be a really good show.”
Moir and Rogers both explain that part of being a comedian is having the ability to be on stage often and craft your set. While Queenstown’s scene currently is a little quieter than it has been in the past, they’re hoping it will pick up – particularly Rogers who hopes to help with the organisation of more local events. In the meantime, if anyone is missing having their funny bone tickled, this show will get you through.
“The comics that are coming out really vary in their styles, which is fun. I’m more of a narrative comedian, where I tell stories and the funny comes from more of the situational and narrative aspect, whereas there’s a few comedians that will present more one-liners – like a joke and a punchline. That’s something that’s going to be really fun about this show – how different the variety of comedians coming up is, and also all of the comedians in this show are really seasoned,” Rogers says.
The night promises to be a cracker filled with plenty of laughs. The brewery environment lends to a laid-back atmosphere, so if you’ve wondered about comedy in the past – here’s your chance to give it a go.
A Very Beer-y Christmas will have two shows at 6.30pm and 8.30pm on Saturday, 30 November, at Searchlight Brewery in Queenstown, and on Friday, 29 November, at Rhyme X Reason Brewery in Wānaka. There’s a prize for the best worst Christmas jumper, so dress to impress.
www.trybooking.com/nz/events/landing/13889
