Have a laugh with the ladies
If you’re looking for a laugh, be sure to head over to Sherwood next Saturday. Award-winning comedian Harriet Moir is bringing the all-female comedy extravaganza, Central Otago Whine Tour – Ladies Night Comedy back to Queenstown. While the lineup is full of ladies, all are welcome to enjoy.
Moir, who is based in Dunedin, was recently in town with Ed Byrne and is excited to be heading back over – this time alongside some of New Zealand’s funniest ladies. She has performed across the arts, including musicals and theatre, but got into comedy around five years ago. She says comedy is still the most terrifying, but that it is all about storytelling at the end of the day. Since dipping her toe in, she’s started to produce her own solo show as well as gigs with other comedians. She has become a driving force in comedy for the lower South Island – it’s something she loves and is passionate about.
“I do a gig called Live at the Dish here in Dunedin and a couple of years ago we ran a breast cancer fundraiser show,” Moir says. “I made it an all-female and non-binary lineup and it sold out almost instantly. I was like ‘oh, that’s interesting. People are keen to see all-female lineups.’ Since then I’ve produced quite a few all-female lineup shows and they just sell so well.”
One such show was the Otago Whine Tour last year where the Queenstown show sold out with a month until the gig. Moir believes part of the reason these shows are so popular and successful is because comedy traditionally is a very male-dominated scene and often told from the male perspective and voice.
“I think it’s really exciting that there’s comedy now that’s available for women – that’s relatable and comedy for women, by women – which doesn’t mean to say that it’s not for men as well, because it is.”
This sentiment seems to be shared as female comics have started picking up more awards here and in Australia, and we’re also seeing more female comics on our screens. Time Magazine reported back in 2022 that “it’s indisputable that there has never been more – or, arguably, better – comedy by women.”
If you did find yourself at last year’s gig, never fear, as the show will be different this time around. There are familiar faces and some new, but by and large it will all be new comedy. The show will be hosted by Nicola Brown, who has been described as having a “whimsical sense of depressive irony,” and took home Dunedin Comedy’s Best Storyteller award in 2021. Harriet Moir will headline and will be joined by Monty Montgomery, Demelza Daisy Ray, Molly Force and Central Otago locals Jadwiga and Maggie Rogers.
“It’s a pretty great lineup. One of the things I love about the female lineup shows are that there’s this authenticity that’s really amazing and subsequently all the acts are really unique. It’s really great to have all these really different voices,” Moir says.
The Central Otago Whine Tour will be on Saturday, 21 September, at Sherwood. Due to quickly selling out the last tour, there will be two shows – 6pm and 8pm. There are also two shows at 6.30pm and 8.30pm on Friday, 20 September, at Rhyme X Reason in Wānaka. Tickets are available for both nights at trybooking.com/nz/events, or scan the QR code. The shows are expected to sell out as they did last time, so be sure to get in early.
