Talent scout — who to watch out for at the Comedy Festival

An injury early on in a promising rugby career diverted Li’i Alaimoana from sport to stand-up comedy. He tried it for a few months in 2011 before moving to Canada. A promising reception at an amateur comedy contest convinced him to keep going. In 2015 he was back in Wellington and building a reputation as a comic. Now with a Billy T nomination behind him, he presents his latest show. ‘Rare View: The Weight….is Over!’ shows a lighter and leaner Li’i. He’s left the old version of Li’i in the rear-view mirror and is looking ahead with a clearer windscreen, navigating the new speed limits.

Having established a comedy career in Melbourne, Joana Joy is back to ramp up her rep in her homeland. She has an extensive background as a comedian, MC, and cabaret performer. Her character Banana Jolie has performed across the antipodes. A busy 2023 included touring, her solo show ‘Standing Still’, MCing shows across both sides of the Tasman, and winning ‘Australia’s Funniest State’ standup comedy competition at the Adelaide Fringe Festival. Her comedy show ‘Standing Still Still’ includes moments of electrifying dance and a Muay Thai demonstration. To make things challenging the audience controls the music playlist.

There is a growing list of accomplishments in theatre for newcomer Viki Moananu. He was the 2023 Emerging Pasifika Writer in Residence at Victoria University and recipient of Creative New Zealand funding to write two plays. He won the Adam New Zealand Play Award in 2023 for Best Pasifika Play and a raft of other awards for writing and live performance. He has also hosted ‘Minority Alert’, a weekly podcast hosted on Wellington Access Radio. His debut comedy solo at the Comedy Festival is ‘Puka’. It’s about queerness, destiny, and arguing with your siblings. His comedy is bold, brazen and belligerent, just don’t show it to his parents.

In 2012, Dan Boerman booked his first open mic in Wellington, but it took him nine years to follow through and show up. He got over that blip and is now a friendly and familiar face on the Wellington comedy circuit. In 2022 he was a Wellington Raw Finalist and in 2023 had a sold-out show at the Fringe Festival. Making his Comedy Festival debut with ‘Thank You Driver’, Dan talks about his visits to a therapist. He is not there to find a solution — he just wants to tell a stranger that he doesn’t plan on changing. Join the bright-eyed millennial as he takes you on a hilarious and unhinged evening.

According to the show review website Art Murmurs, Advait Kirtikar’s brand of humour is “uniquely beautiful comedy”. This sort of endorsement has followed Advait through a profusion of awards, nominations, and sellout shows. The National Raw Comedy Awards and local Wellington Comedy Awards have paved the way for a 2024 Billy T nomination. Every year he writes a new show and 2024 is no different. ‘New Show, Who Dis?’ answers the question everyone asks him: “Who are you?” He doesn’t actually know the answer, but hopes people will join him regardless because he doesn’t want to be alone for an hour.