Lol, it’s a Comedy Club
There’s a discourse that starts when something new opens up in this town. It goes something like, is Hamilton ready for a comedy club? Well, we dropped into Last Laugh, the new intimate comedy venue which just opened next to the Bank on Victoria street, on a Friday just as the Chiefs were kicking off against the Hurricanes. And it was full. You can see coverage of here (The Waikato Times) and here (RNZ’s Culture 101).
If you haven’t been to one, either in Auckland, or overseas, the beauty of a small-sized comedy bar is the variety. You might see the next big thing starting to really hit their stride (we were really impressed with Callum Wagstaff from Hawera on the night we went). You might see a good local comedian testing out some new material. You might see someone who’s isn’t your vibe and sit through a set of uncomfortable Dad jokes. But that’s the beauty of it and no matter what’s going on on stage, there’s usually a refresh before long. More clubs like this around the motu are good for industry, says owner Tom Lucus. He’s also a former bar tender from Manchester, we should also mention the drinks service is excellent, and he’s also brought with him a good porn star martini recipe (funnily enough, this has been embraced by the people of Hamilton.)
Tell us a little about yourself... are you a life-long Hamiltonian? Or moved here form elsewhere? Or grew up here, moved away then relapsed? Auckland property escapee?
I'm originally from Manchester in the UK, I've been in New Zealand since March 2020 (just before first lockdown), I lived on Mt Ruapehu for about 2 years working on the ski field and then moved up to Hamilton. I didn't fancy Auckland as I'm not a big city person, I liked Hamilton because it was close enough to the countryside that I could live out and travel in and it's close enough to Auckland if I needed a trip up, Tauranga if I needed a beach and Mt Ruapehu if I wanted to go skiing and visit friends.
And a sentence or two about your career so far? Tragic. Nah, it's going good, comedy is the best job in the world and Hamilton is a great place for it.
What inspired you to open Last Laugh, and what gave you the feeling the time was right? Honestly, I just don't want to do my day job... there are way too few comedy clubs in the country and limited opportunity for those outside of Auckland. I'm calling on Wellington, Taranaki, Napier & Dunedin to step up and join the pack. We lose our talent to Australia and other places because there aren't enough clubs/options for performers.
Last Laugh hopes to grow the network of comedy clubs are the Motu - in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. How would you describe the Waikato sense of humour? Any major points of difference? Wellington's Fringe Bar is technically not a fully fledged comedy club, I've gigged at both The Classic (Auckland) & Good Times (Christchurch), both of which are great and run by amazing people, carrying the weight of NZ comedy on their backs.
Waikato has a great sense of humour. I said in the WT interview that politically it's a good blend of left, right and centrist which are the best audiences, opposed to Auckland which in my opinion is bordering on far left at the minute.
Favourite thing about Hamilton? The blend of people and how everybody gets along. Reminds me a lot of Manchester.
One thing you'd change if you could? Get the racist people out.
What are you excited about that's coming up on your programme? Anything new on the menu that you think Hamilton's should be adventurous and try? We've allocated time on Saturdays 6.30-7.30 to get some of the most popular shows during this years NZICF and also pro acts to come and do their hours, we're hoping to get some big names.
The pornstar martini has been our best seller and something that I brought over from the UK with me after being a bartender there for a few years.
Anything else?
We also have a quiz on Wednesdays 7-8 and karaoke on Saturday from 10pm till 11.30pm
