Laser Kiwi, a comedy trio from New Zealand, start the show by passing round sheets with their plan for the next hour scrawled on them. It’s a nice keepsake, and it also highlights the theme of the show: exploring ideas, no matter how bizarre or obscure. And Laser Kiwi certainly has a lot of bizarre ideas.
What makes the show so enjoyable is how committed the group is to all of their sketches – their energy is infectious from the get-go, and they throw themselves into each skit with vigour. There’s seemingly nothing the trio won’t do to make us laugh, from explaining the New Zealand flag referendum to including a little dot-to-dot of a kiwi on the list of sketches passed around at the start of the show (although the dot-to-dot was wholly unnecessary – it’s impossible to be bored during Laser Kiwi).
During an enthralling section where Imogen Stone lights a match using her toes, you can’t help but feel that she’s carrying the show on her back (or rather, her feet). But really, it’s a team effort – the other two-thirds of the act, Zane and Degge Jarvie, keep the comedy coming while we marvel at Stone’s aerial work, and each member gets their own time to shine individually. Arguably, the best bits are when the trio is all together, bouncing off each others’ ridiculousness and ad-libbing.
Perhaps the most admirable aspect of this show is the trio’s ability to stay calm when things go slightly sideways. With so many ambitious stunts, it’s not surprising that some don’t pan out as planned, but Laser Kiwi know how to strike the balance between persevering with a trick and moving on. What’s more, they’re so good-natured about the entire thing that you can’t help but laugh along as they get increasingly exasperated with each other.
Laser Kiwi is an exploration of ideas – it’s so off-the-wall that you’re never sure what’s coming next. Balloon animals, zebra costumes, aerial routines; this show has it all.