Callum and Hoani Open a Can of Whoop-Laughs

Kick your chuckle bucket with two of Aotearoa's favourite new comedic black belts.

NZ Raw Comedy Quest 2022 champion Hoani Hotene, and the guy who came second, Callum Wagstaff, team up to take Whangārei all. The way. Down. Town.

The breakdown:
Over the course of an hour, Callum and Hoani will combine forces in a tag-team format, mainly working the body and face.

Hoani is known for his endearing, quirky energy and fast-paced combination right hook of observation and left jab of absurdity. He draws from his upbringing in a Māori language school, and in the past has covered pillow talk, playing his favourite song and Māori Spongebob Squarepants. As well as his championship belt in the 2022 NZ Raw Comedy Quest competition, he also brings to the ring the NZ Comedy Guild Breakthrough Comedian Award two years in a row (2022, 2023) and Best Joke in the Wellington Comedy Awards (2022).

Callum likes to move and he likes to keep low to the ground. He'll no doubt be employing the ""gremlin style"" he's made his own, grappling with surreal visuals and a touch of spookiness. His background is growing up in Starship Children's Hospital and he's been known to cover that, as well as bugs and ghosts.
His past fights have been close calls, coming second to Hoani in that Raw Quest competition, as well as every comedy guild award he's ever been nominated for. But he has twice picked up a Best Comedian award from Comedy Hub (2022, 2023), as well as a Best Comedian nomination from Nelson Fringe Festival (2024).

There's no doubt about it, these guys are going to take to the ring armed with nothing but their mics, their wits, and the occasional prop – but they are going to leave it all out on the stage for you, the bloodthirsty chuckle-seeker.

Prepare your ribs for a night of ludicrous entertainment and gut-punching silliness with two of NZ comedy's future grand masters.