Comedy hosts Remarkably Funny are thrilled to be back to “funny business”, with a special post-apocalyptic season of comedy shows bringing much needed comic relief to the Southern Lakes region. 

The season is headlined by a visit from 7 Days regular Ben Hurley, who Remarkably Funny is bringing to Wanaka on August 14 as part of his ‘Straight Outta Lockdown’ tour. 

Along the way, there is a lineup show of local and visiting acts at Winnie’s in Queenstown, solo shows from this year’s cancelled festivals from local comedian Tim Müller and Christchurch performer Jo Prendergast (aka Jo Ghastly) in both Wanaka and Queenstown, and the COVID-delayed final of the inaugural Otago Raw Comedy Quest. 

“And of course, there are our regular open mic nights in Queenstown and Wanaka, keeping the beat amongst all the extra activity,” comedian and Remarkably Funny representative Tim Müller said. 

Christchurch comedian Joanna Prendergast (a.k.a. Jo Ghastly) and Tim have teamed up to present their solo, one hour stand up shows to Southern Lakes audiences next week (Monday July 13) at Edgewater Hotel.

There are a host of shows and events coming up this winter.

Jo’s show, ‘The Cool Mum’ is a parody of a celebrity parenting seminar. Jo’s persona, Jo Ghastly, developed from how she thinks her teenage children see her: embarrassing, trying to be cool and failing miserably. 

Meanwhile Tim’s show, ‘100% Happy’, came about after buying a bag of flour which promised a full refund to customers who weren’t “100 per cent happy” with their purchase.

While the show started with something trivial, it led down a strange rabbit hole of reflections on everything from parenting and pet ownership to artificial intelligence and the Apocalypse, Tim said. Above all though, the show asks what really brings us happiness and fulfilment: love, family, a sense of purpose. “Baking ingredients came surprisingly far down the list,” Tim said. 

Remarkably Funny also plans to give back in 2020.

“It's been a pretty tough start to the year for many, though we're all thrilled that NZ has got off relatively lightly. We wanted to give something back, and have made the relaunch of our flagship Queenstown open mic show at Yonder (June 30) a fundraiser for the Wakatipu Greatest Needs Fund, supporting those most affected by COVID-19 and its economic aftermath,” Tim said.

“We've also made tickets to our regular open mic shows in Queenstown and Wanaka free for essential workers for the rest of the year, to thank all the amazing people who got us through the lockdown in one piece.”

Find details and booking links via the Remarkably Funny Facebook page here.

PHOTOS: Supplied