Don’t be confused by the show’s title. Rock Plus Roll, by one of New Zealand’s foremost male comedians, Jeremy Elwood, is not some comedic homage to Rock ‘n’ Roll. It actually comes from an old t-shirt of Elwood’s which he stumbled across when trying to think of a name for his routine!

It is fairly apt, however, as peppered amongst the routine are his versions of popular tunes plus several of his own compositions. These are without doubt the show’s strength. The improvised, genre shifting love song in particular was hilarious, and without doubt the highlight of his performance, showcasing Elwood’s quick-witted improv skills.

The material and Elwood’s style aren’t the kind that will cause your sides to split with laughter. Rather, his audience was offered a night of constant chuckles, with rarely a silent moment in the house as the breadth of his repertoire always found some appeal. His commentary included the political, the sociological, the philosophical, to the everyday, and often underlying his jokes is a sense of prodding people to take a serious look at real and current issues.

Summing up the routine perfectly is one of Elwood’s own gags. He pointed out that New Zealand’s version of the ’80s show That’s Incredible was retitled That’s Fairly Interesting. And indeed, while his show wasn’t incredible, it was definitely more than fairly interesting. And for the most part, fairly funny.