'Ben & Steve: World Famous In...’ Comedy Tour

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Friday 8th Feb 2013
TV3 proudly presents:
‘Ben & Steve: World Famous In...’ Comedy Tour

Stars of award-winning TV3 show 7 Days, Ben Hurley and Steve Wrigley are once again joining forces to deliver their one-of-a-kind comedy combo across New Zealand – with a local twist.

Visiting New Plymouth, Palmerston North, Hamilton and Dunedin during March and April, the boys will perform a stellar one night show in each spot, packed full of personalities, local darlings and guest comedians as they film a brand new series for TV3.

Beginning March 2, the tour will be an opportunity for Kiwis to see two comedy giants take the stage and see behind the scenes at the taping of a live comedy show. For Ben and Steve, it’s a golden opportunity to bring premier live entertainment to heartland New Zealand – before taking those laughs to a nationwide audience.

“I am sick of everything being about Auckland all the time,” says Ben, “this is taking comedy to the rest of New Zealand. Just think of it like 'It's in the Bag' but with less sexual innuendo and swearing.”

Similarly, Steve has nothing but enthusiasm for any non-Jaffa crowd, "I’ve spent over a decade performing stand-up comedy, and most of it in the provinces. The crowds outside of Auckland are so much more involved and have a whole different energy. I'm really excited about showing each town’s unique personality to the rest of New Zealand."

The tour will form the basis of BEN & STEVE: WORLD FAMOUS IN... a four part series of one hour TV shows due on air later in 2013. Their unique format of unscripted banter as they dual host and invite local celebrity guests to join them has won over audiences – and promises to be something that will keep them laughing long after the live performance and on-air screening.

Two of New Zealand’s favourite comedians, Ben and Steve’s performances always deliver great chemistry that goes back to their formative years in Wellington. Since then they have both won the Billy T Award and between them a Fred Award, NZCG Best Male Comedian and NZCG Best MC.

It was in fact the sell-out success of their joint show at the NZ International Comedy Festival in Auckland last year that led to the commissioning of BEN & STEVE: WORLD FAMOUS IN... as a TV show.

To watch Ben and Steve before the tour, be sure to tune in to 7 Days, returning Friday 8th Feb at 9:30pm on TV3.

BEN & STEVE: WORLD FAMOUS IN... will be taking place on:

• World Famous In…New Plymouth: 2nd March 2013
• World Famous In…Palmerston North: 9th March 2013
• World Famous In…Hamilton: 23rd March 2013
• World Famous In…Dunedin: 6th April 2013

For more information, visit www.TV3.co.nz/benandsteve

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Ben Hurley

Head writer and leading panellist on TV3's 7 Days show and star on recent TV3 series on Funny Roots.

Star of hit new TV3 Show 7 Days Ben Hurley is one of the success stories of New Zealand stand-up comedy. Winner of the two biggest comedy awards in New Zealand (The 2004 Billy T Award and the 2008 Fred Award), Hurley is a headline act in his native NZ but also on the highly competitive UK circuit. In 2008 he support Irish superstar Ed Byrne on a 70 date sell out tour of the UK and Ireland.

With a massive but hugely likeable stage presence, Hurley can win over even the toughest room. A sharp improvisational mind and well-honed original material make Hurley a popular act with audiences and critics alike.

He is one of the few Kiwi acts to be invited to perform on the prestigious Comedy Store TV show shown on the Paramount Comedy channel, and one of the stars of the UK Festival Circuit playing to thousands in the Comedy tents at Reading and Leeds Festival, Bestival and Latitude. In 2008, Hurley starred alongside British comic, Andy Parsons, in a new BBC Radio 4 sitcom The Lost Blog of Scrooby Trevithick.

One of New Zealands best travelled comedians, Ben has wowed audiences in 10 countries including Switzerland, Dubai, Spain, Australia, Singapore and Bahrain.

"A Kiwi Comedic Legend" The New Zealand Herald (NZ) 2006
"He can be easily consumed as pure entertainment" Metro (UK) 2005
"Excellent timing, belly laughs and an easy charm make him a likeable and extremely funny presence. Like all good standup comedians, he has a unique world view and happily invites you to take a look around." Christchurch Press - January 09

Steve Wrigley

Another one of the stars of TV3’s 7 Days, Steve Wrigley can always be relied upon for the most leftfield answers and ideas that often send other cast members searching for some kind of sanity. His 2008 Comedy Festival show The First Time won Steve the Billy T Award and he was the first ever comic to follow that up with back to back nominations in 2009/2010 for the Festival’s most prestigious award, the Fred Award.

Since Steve made the move from his beloved Wellington to Auckland he has become a mainstay of the local comedy industry, mentoring for the Class Comedians programme and in 2011 becoming one of the first recipients of the NZ Comedy Trust’s Creative Comedy Initiative. His regular appearances on TV have seen him become recognised for his trademark high energy storytelling, always with hilarious results

Honest, wicked and imaginative, Steve's genuine love for making people laugh will win over even the toughest crowd. Performing from one end of New Zealand to the other over the last decade has shaped his material to a sharp edge that is ‘Kiwi As’ to its core.
Every show has its hecklers, and Steve handles them in an expert yet surprising way, drawing them into the act and making them feel part of the fun without putting anyone on the back foot. He has been known to abandon a plan and craft an entire show out of one person’s contribution and will always leave the audience thoroughly entertained, positive and with plenty to talk about through the weeks that follow.

ENDS

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