Two decades on from bro'Town, what's changed in comedy?

Legendary Kiwi comedian, presenter and actor Oscar Kightley says it's an act of "defiance against the times" for a comedy festival to be held when budgets are tight.

Kightley is from the legendary group Naked Samoans, which brought us hit animated TV series bro'Town from 2004 to 2009 on primetime.

The members, who also starred in one of New Zealand's highest grossing films Sione's Wedding (2006), will perform together for the first time in seven years at the NZ International Comedy Festival in May.

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He remembers how they freaked out over 70 people attending their first show at the Comedy Festival in 1998, about five years after the launch of the internet. Now they're seeing people from different backgrounds flock to their shows and laugh at their material.

"As a comedian, that's quite a profound moment, it’s when you start realising 'oh actually, we are kind of all the same', whether you come from South Auckland, West Auckland, the Shore, whichever part of Aotearoa," Kightley tells Culture 101.

"But it kind of speaks to the country that we're becoming … it's a real nice, lovely representation of the people of this [country], as opposed to if you look on social media or if you look necessarily on TV at what's getting made, go to the live stuff, go to where people are still seeing live entertainment and arts."

Whilst performing at a festival in Scotland in 2002, a group of women, who apparently were on a hens' do, were disappointed to learn the Naked Samoans were not strippers, Kightley says, so they suggested member Robbie perform a lap dance to appease them.

Groups like Naked Samoans and Laughing Samoans are the "North Star" for comedian Joe Daymond, who is from Wainuiomata and of Fijian and Māori descent.

When he performs in front of big crowds, like at the Sydney Opera House and Hollywood Comedy Store, he's reminded of his rolemodels and mentor Kightley.

He agrees that it's become a big ask for Kiwis to come to live shows, which is why it means so much when they get a good turn out.

"The audiences do tend to be younger [in Australia], but they tend to be a lot looser as well," Daymond says.

"I find in New Zealand, it's very theatre-y, people are ready to come for a show, 'cause it's $40, people have a lot less disposable income here, so that's a big night out. Whereas over there, because they have more to sort of fork out, that's a loose night just out with their mates for them so they can kind of treat it as such."

The creation of bro'Town with Elizabeth Mitchell was inspired by the members of Naked Samoans, their lives as youngsters and what made them laugh, Kightley says.

The adult animation was a staple in comedian Sieni Leo'o Olo's childhood. Even though she wasn't allowed to watch it because of the swearing, she would sneak in an episode when her grandparents were distracted.

"I loved bro'Town," she says. "That's why I say I blame you [Kightley] for my existential crisis. I feel - and no word of a lie - like bro'Town made me think the way that I think sometimes.

"You changed my thinking at that age and it's still affecting me now. I'm only one [of those people]. There's probably two more," she jokes.

Best known as Bubbah, the Samoan started in theatre with Massive Company and, by the Covid years was performing her own show 'My Ode to South Auckland' for gold-coin entry in her backyard (it went on to the Basement Theatre).

She's become more widely familiar on screens from Comedy Central's Sis, Taskmaster, the TikTok friendly I Got You and as the delightful Tina from Turners in the car auction ads.

Bubbah tells Culture 101 she's excited to be breaking free from social media contract clauses.

"I’ve behaved for about five years. I think it's time I get to get a little silly."

Navigating what you can and can't say, in particular on the stage and social media, has been one of the challenges the trio have faced in their careers.

The Naked Samoans recently faced some backlash online for a promotional image of their new show, 'The Last Temptation of the Naked Samoans', which depicted the members around Jesus at the Last Supper.

Earlier this month, Kightley told RNZ's Pacific Waves it was not their intention to mock Jesus but to represent what they saw as "the coolest boys' group ever", the Apostles.

"That was a real lesson for us... The landscape has changed heaps, people’s sensibilities have changed heaps. One of the interesting things was how much of the lash, the kind of fallout, came from young people."

Daymond sees comedy as a vehicle to push the boundaries of conversations that can be harder to have directly.

"We push our experiences through comedy and then in turn hope that that creates a conversation beyond comedy, and Naked Samoans have done that for as long as I've been alive."

Bubbah loves to find a way to reach a point where she can joke about anything with her audiences.

"The craft for me is - I hate saying craft - but like, I guess the craft is how to like get everyone there and so sometimes you go too far and the room’s like 'gosh, I shouldn't laugh', but they are laughing, and then I'm like, shame! "

Seeing the rise of the new generation of comedians has been heartening for Kightley.

"It's been so awesome to see the new generation people like Joe and Bubbah, still carrying the flag and still showing the storytellers and the quality of storytellers that can make people laugh from the Pacific community. It's just awesome. They're taking it to new heights."

After Joe Daymond's Comedy Mixtape at the NZ International Comedy Festival on 7 May, he will be on a five-state tour of Australia. Bubbah stars in the upcoming docudrama Don’t (Greenstone TV and TVNZ). Her Pure Mature show at the Comedy Festival will be on 16 May.