In his show A Maori Ate My Great Grandad TJ McDonald had devised a show to detail his colourful family history in spite of his own apparently uneventful life. It appeared as though he was attempting some personal stand up by proxy.
In telling us about the various members of his family TJ often went off on tangents which, while not being particularly relevant to the theme of the show, were observations on life that kept the audience in stitches. It was through these detours that we were able to learn about some of his experiences that revealed some minor achievements of his own. These wonderfully unique points of view provided us with plenty of surprising laughs and his witty wordplay, while a little hit and miss, was lots of fun.
TJ’s stories about this ancestors were generally hilarious tales but there were some inclusions which weren’t particularly humourous; seemingly only there because they adhered to the topic. A segment describing an experience by his Grandad during World War Two was extremely heavy on dramatics and didn’t have a very satisfying comedic payoff, although it did have the effect of introducing some contrast to the show. Another routine that was light on laughs was one about genealogy which acted merely as a vehicle for several limp call backs which was a wasted comedic opportunity.
His stage persona was friendly but also rather reserved. This was not a high energy performance, rather a laid back delivery which gave off just enough enthusiasm to keep the audience enthralled. Some dodgy accent work added much needed colour to the telling of his tales.
It was fascinating to observe how TJ began the show with extreme self deprecation, which was obviously a ploy to get plenty of empathy from the audience. He later did an about face later in the show to reveal a wickedly dark side by hitting us with some of the most questionable material imaginable to garner simultaneous recoiling and hysterics. His decision to wrap up the show with a twist in the story and a slightly moralistic message was puzzling. It may have wrapped up the stories neatly but it was a wasted chance to squeeze out one last big laugh.
Despite the unexpected construction and execution of this show, this was a wonderful hour in the company of a confident stand up whose storytelling skills were not too shabby either.
Visit the NZ Comedy Festival Website for booking details.