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Cover image credit: Promotional image via Comedy Dynamics

On-Trend

Nick Rado

Comedy Dynamics · 2021 · 58 min

A sports-watching Kiwi comic adjusts to toddlers and modern wellness trends.

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Released , on Comedy Dynamics.

Nick Rado builds his set around a simple domestic friction: he is a beer-and-sports Kiwi bloke married to a yoga instructor. That dynamic supplies his best material, zeroing in on the invasion of his home by scented candles, towel upgrades, vegan leather, and furniture sold as an ‘occasional chair’. Recorded over two nights in January 2021 at the Mapua Playhouse in Tasman, the hour was produced by Comedy Dynamics while Rado was serving as head writer for New Zealand’s topical panel show 7 Days. The material stays clean as he shifts into parenting two toddlers, detailing delivery room panic, supermarket outings, and the quiet indignity of trying to sound authoritative during a preschool meltdown.

Notable bits & set list

3 bits

  1. Buying a vegan leather sofa and an occasional chair

    Jokes about the absurdity of high prices to skin the hide off a carrot for an ethical couch and buying an occasional chair that he is not actually permitted to sit on.

  2. Living in an on-trend, Pinterest house and misusing decorative items

    Describes repeatedly getting in trouble for putting milk in vases, cutting potatoes on artisan cheese boards, and placing the entire microwave onto the dinner table to serve spaghetti bolognese to stay on trend.

  3. Display towels and scented candles during a blackout

    Ruminates on having high-end scented candles that smell like burning $70, only to sit in pitch darkness during a power outage because the candles and towels are strictly reserved for guests.

How it plays

Tone
Sarcastic, observational, clean, self-deprecating.
On stage
Billed as New Zealand's premier clean stand-up comedian; portrays a sarcastic, traditional Kiwi bloke bewildered by modern lifestyle trends and domestic design rules.
About
Marriage to a yoga instructor, Transition from a beer-drinking Kiwi bloke to domestic trendiness, Home decor and Pinterest aesthetic, Modern lifestyle quirks and essential oils, Display household items and guest rules

What the critics said

Praised by Theatreview as 'Had me nearly rolling on the floor with laughter' and endorsed by Russell Howard ('Crisp jokes, great observations, absolutely brilliant'), Rob Brydon ('A wonderful, hilarious comedian'), and Brian Bates ('Like a Kiwi Nate Bargatze').

In the room: Full, unmasked room enjoying live comedy without social distancing due to New Zealand's COVID-free status at the time of recording.

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: comedydynamics.com, nickrado.com, shorefire.com, music.apple.com.

Backstory

Filmed in New Zealand during the COVID-19 pandemic, one of the few COVID-free regions at the time, allowing a full audience without masks or social distancing restrictions. Thematically draws upon Rado's personal life as a Kiwi sports-and-beer fan adjusting to marriage to a yoga instructor.

Details

Released
Taped
Mapua Playhouse
Runtime
58 min
Where
Comedy Dynamics
Honors
Reached #4 on the iTunes album charts
Topics
After
Live From Jeff's Garage (2023)

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