"Please Adjust Your G-String" by Margaret Austin & "The Man From Gonville" by Lisa Gooch

For one night only, two one-woman shows weave hilarity into their life stories. Buy tickets to both shows and stay for soup and bun at half-time.

Margaret Austin is the girl who was born in Palmerston North and despite, or perhaps because of, a conventional upbringing in the fifties went on to enjoy a

life of novelty and adventure. Her talk is titled “Please Adjust Your G-string”. It’s a mostly hilarious romp through an OE with a difference. Leaving New Zealand in 1975 with no idea of what lay ahead on the other side of the world, she turned up her nose at London, and went for Amsterdam, Athens and Paris, diving into experiences and situations not for the faint hearted. Some of them involved G-strings, one or two were downright dangerous, and all of them added up to a life of unique discovery.

When Lisa dipped her toe into the murky waters of the online dating pool after a long marriage, she learned a lot, including that Tinder for over-50s is not for

pussies. Created by musician/comedian Lisa Gooch, the effervescent one-woman show "The Man from Gonville" froths with confessional stories, music, visual gags, audience polls, even a puppet cameo. There’s something for everyone in the show who’s either found themselves at the pointy end of online dating, or has shaken their head at why people put themselves through it, Lisa says.

Lisa credits her time in the lively Gisborne theatre and music scene for honing her performance, songwriting and comic timing skills, and says that well-known creative locals such as Keren Rickard, Scott Casely and Steve Carlyle have been inspirational.  “They are all true stories, I’ve been told it’s very relatable. A lot of people have been through a similar experience and thought they were the only one. Or people are curious about what it’s like when you’ve been through a bit of life, to be starting again as a novice in the whole new world of online dating, and trying to stay true to yourself. It’s a tightrope, for sure." And yes, there really is a Man from Gonville.

Reviews here and here.

Tickets are required for both shows. Purchase for $15 online here (Please Adjust..) and here (Man from...) or $20 at the door.