Liv McKenzie’s latest stand up show is called ‘Literal Angel’ and in it she sets out to prove that while she has some less than likeable attributes she’s not as bad as other people out in the real world.
How could she be? She rinses out cans before she puts them in the recycle bin and she’s a devoted aunt. Mind you, she is in an ongoing feud with her nephew and her niece doesn’t think she’s funny.
She admits to being a slut as she’s had sex with a lot of people including the brother of one of her friends on the day of the latter’s wedding. She’s been hit on by homeless men and confessed to interfering with another woman’s birth control. She also says people have told her she has a ‘desperate vibe.’
Do I therefore believe her when she claims to be a good person? Hell Yes! Her banter is funny and she is extremely engaging as she meanders through a series of anecdotes and witty observations on life.
Whether she’s doing an off the wall demonstration of how to get a butt hole wax or describing her love/hate relationship with the clothing chain Glassons and its very unflattering changing rooms she knows how to get the most out of a story.
McKenzie is not afraid to go controversial and a riff about Charlie Kirk was on point and astute, as was an amusing takedown of reality TV which despite claiming to love she fairly excoriated. She drops other topics, such as abortion, into the mix, yet each time, she has such nonchalance and charm it would be hard to take offence.
I think my favourite moment was sharing a story about her sister being cheated on. It was clever, and the punchline about her own desire for karma on her sister’s behalf was on the nicer side of revenge but no less amusing.
McKenzie is a disarmingly clever comedian who can deliver absurdities as well as sharp observations about society and clearly believes that good and bad are relative terms.
LIV MCKENZIE (2026 NZ International Comedy Festival)
6-9 May 2026
