The ticker tape has settled on the stages of this years New Zealand International Comedy Festival with the climax of the announcements of the Billy T and Fred Comedy Awards at Last Laughs.

After watching 26 shows I enjoyed the festival so much I wanted to find a way to celebrate my favourite shows.

From the middle of the Festival I began selecting my favourtie shows to put together a shortlist for ‘The Griddy’s’which you can see in full here.

I have now made my decisions so here are the very first Griddy award winners!

And the winners are …………………………………………………………………………..

‘I am certain in the hands of this muted mastermind that every show will end as this one did, with a standing ovation!’

Read my full review here.

Also thanks to ‘the Boy’ who helped with the naming of these awards!

Marcel Lucont - Gallic Symbol

‘He really is a pleasure to watch as he cleverly plays his quirky observations in his refreshing style of such obvious disdain that he will have you in fits of giggles.’

Read my full review here.

It was incredibly difficult to choose winners out of so many fantastic shows but the acts I have picked are both truly original. Their shows reflect their part in what makes live comedy the exciting and evolving art form it is!

The Griddy’s are based purely on my own opinions and do not represent the views of the NZ International Comedy Festival.

If you want to have your event featured on my site or simply want to know more about me please get in touch!

All quotes are from Keeping Up With The Grid! reviews.

Writing © Keeping Up With The Grid!/Creative Sidekick 2011 - 2012

What a great show to finish on! Last Laughs did not disappoint with both the Billy T and Fred Award finalist doing their thing on stage which produced a range of fantastic performances.

Hosted by Te Radar, a full house at SKYCITY Theatre must have all had their favourites but there was no question that all the comedians were deserving winners.

Starting with the Billy T’s, first on stage was my favourite Guy Williams, whose understated and low energy style was a hit. Second on was Tevita Manukia who summed up the similarities between threesomes and weddings!

The finalists of the 2012 Billy T Award.

He was followed by the quirky Rose Matafeo who gave the audience an insight in to her mind through her lists and love of cat stickers. Next on was Tom Furness, he was a surreal comedian who wants us to bring back ‘crisp packet’ humour! Then the final Billy T nominee, TJ McDonald, gave us clever observations with some gentle ribbing of New Zealand politics.

A definite highlight of the night was the 2012 RAW Comedy Quest Winner, Jermaine Ross, who was brilliantly funny and performed some fantastically confident and smart material that proved him to be a star of the future.

Next up were the ‘big boys’, the Fred finalist Rhys Darby, Brendhan Lovegrove and The Boy With Tape On His Face.

The Fred Award Finalist 2012

These guys could not fail to fulfil their status as consummate performers and crowd pleasers as they all received warmth, rapturous applause and laughter from the audience.  Whether you had seen, or missed out on these sold out shows it was a great final chance to catch a glimpse of their genius or to relive some of the best bits!

Following the second interval we were treated to some special International guests, Gordon Southern and Marcel Lucont!

I absolutely loved both of their shows so I was delighted to see them again. Gordon brought his usual brand of silliness and one liners, along with his trusty sound effects box. He busted out some short sharp raps, including a soon to be hip hop classic about the middle ages.

Gordon Southern and Marcel Lucont

However is was Marcel Lucont who stole the show, this understated comedian had the audience in the palm of his hand, so much so that he managed to crowd surf all the way up the vertical seating of the SKYCITY Theatre! Absolute genius and one of my favourite NZICF moments of 2012.

The time had arrived for the big announcements! Guy Williams won the Billy T Towel, handed over by previous winner Nick Gibb, and Rhys Darby took the Golden Gum Boot Fred Award.

I was so chuffed for Guy Williams as I had championed him since seeing him at Ben Hurleys New Faces show in Week One. I think he will go far in his career and I can’t wait to see what he does next. The Billy T Award not only includes the iconic yellow towel but also $2500 prize money plus a guest appearance on TV3 hit show 7 Days! These awards honour one of New Zealand’s greatest comedians, the late Billy T James.

Rhys seemed genuinely humbled and proud when accepting his award from Jan Maree, a comedian he had been a Billy T finalist with in 2001!  The Fred Award recognises and celebrates Rhys’s outstanding achievements in comedy in New Zealand which had taken him all the way to Hollywood. He finished his acceptance by promising to bring This Way To Spaceship back home following his UK tour and season at the Edinburgh Festival.

It was a fantastic end to a fantastic festival where New Zealand can be proud that live comedy is alive and well and thriving. 

My loyalty for the ladies has finally kicked in as I made it to another female comedians show last night.

Janey Godley ‘The Godley Hour’ has been at The Classic all this week so I was so pleased to get a chance to see the show before the end of her fantastic run.

I had been keeping up with Janey during her time in New Zealand through her blog and podcasts. This year’s visit to New Zealand has been an eventful one where she got to meet her idol Billy Connolly!

Glaswegian Janey Godley is comfortable in her own skin and this confidence means she is a comic who is fearless and provocative on stage. I believe that’s how great comedy is made and how she has been able to produce such consistently funny stand-up year after year.

She comes across open and honest in front of an audience who admire her as she performs her hour show at The Classic in Auckland.

No stone is left unturned as she takes us through her views on men, women and sex as well as other personal stories which often make her husband or daughter part of her act.

Her hilarious escapades are garnished with the odd swear word or four but she is by no means an offensive comic. I found her to be quite the opposite as she comes across honest and smart with an eccentric storytelling style which you just get lost in.

Janey is who she is and I think that’s why people warm to her. This was so evident when watching the reaction of those who met her after the show.

So pleased to have met Janey after the show

I am glad that there are strong female comics like Janey, proving the doubters wrong one night at a time!

This hour of stand-up is just that, traditional no frills joke and story telling which had a captivated audience roaring with laughter throughout.

You have just two chances left to see Janey in Auckland so get down to The Classic 18 & 19 May 8.30pm.