During the comedy festival season where stand up shows are in abundance, it’s nice to try something new to cleanse the comedic palate. Enter Space Couch: A Live Comedy Chat Show – a refreshing blend of comedy and conversation which takes inspiration from iconic talk shows like David Letterman and Jon Stewart.
This late night soiree is the brainchild of two-time Billy T nominee Tim Batt and electronic/ synthpop musician Luke Rowell (aka Disasteradio). Together they have created an entertaining and eccentric hour of comical banter, facetious commentary and riotous antics with some sketch comedy thrown in and even a commercial break.
Batt’s charisma and amiable persona make him the ideal host while Disasteradio provides well-timed musical cues as the show’s one-man house band. At centre stage is the titular Space Couch who we learn was named so after traversing space in 1958 and along the way found his voice, albeit a communist one. A talking couch may sound ludicrous but somehow doesn’t seem totally out of the ordinary within the context of this show.
Each night, in keeping with the talk show format, the audience is treated to a panel of different guests. For this show we had local comic Hamish Parkinson and his mum Lynette who took part in a guessing game with a shock factor that sent audible responses both onstage and in the crowd.
Actress Claire Chitham of Shortland Street/ Outrageous Fortune fame was the celebrity guest and who was just an absolute delight to have onstage. When she closed the show with an impromptu pilates class, we don’t even blink an eye – we’d seen far more outrageous things at this point.
With a bit of refining, Space Couch: A Live Comedy Chat Show certainly has the potential to be a permanent offering in the comedy festival programme. If you’re getting a bit of show fatigue and keen for something a bit different and unpredictable, this is a great late night treat.
Just one more opportunity to see Tim Batt fulfill his chat show dreams! The last show is at 10pm tonight at the Basement Theatre. For more info and to book tickets, click here.
comedy | theatre | live entertainment | performing arts 