When professional comedians venture into the vastly unprofessional abyss of Dunedin’s student flats, comedy naturally ensues.
Thanks to a hilarious new comedic venture called Flat Gigs Dunedin, which is brought to you by entrepreneur and comedian ‘Skivvy Jon’ alongside comedians Tarun Mohanbhai and 7 Days regular Nick Rado, this previously untapped dynamic is being played out in a two-part pilot, with a webseries in the pipeline, funding permitted.
The show is already pricking up the ears of top comedians and comediennes both in New Zealand and abroad. The idea is an evolution of a previously unfilmed venture set up by Skivvy Jon to bring local, and occasionally national, comedy to the grimy, unkempt flats we call home as well as making a few dollars in the process, usually little more than $80 on any given night.
Two pilot episodes have been made, the first released last Wednesday, which follows Skivvy Jon as he motors through North Dunedin’s streets on his scooter as he makes his way to the night’s comedy venue and the audience witnesses all of what makes Dunedin’s student culture what it is.
In the somewhat fictional plot line, Nick Rado, along with fellow professional comedian Tarun Mohanbhai, arrive at the flat proclaiming that they are trying to “earn back their losses… after finishing a disastrous tour of the South Island.”
By the time they realise they are stuck with as poorly prepared a comedy gig as one could imagine, they panic, having invested serious money in booking 7 Days star Ben Hurley for the show that is set to begin in just a few hours.
With the budget for a full series of Flat Gigs Dunedin being set at $100,000, the group are currently waiting to hear from NZ On Air, but are also looking out for any local businesses to get on board. Having 2,000 Facebook likes in the week following the release of the pilot, momentum is huge.
In terms of who they would most want to see do a set, Skivvy Jon admitted that “Getting Rhys Darby to perform in a filthy living room in Dunedin would be a dream come true. But maybe we are setting our sights too high” before adding: “(p.s. Rhys is keen to be involved so this is a sneaky cliff hanger).” Watch this space readers…
Jump onto facebook.com/flatgigsdunedin to support this exciting local comedy venture