I’m always drawn to comedians with a good story and it really sounds to me as though Eli Matthewson has a gripping tale to tell. And while it’s one based on not-pleasant personal experiences, and I’m sorry that he went through that, I am also glad he’s able to use that experience for good in what I am sure is a fabulous set.

Anyway, the moment I read about this show, I wanted to talk to its creator, not least because I am never disappointed by acts who join us from New Zealand.

I spoke to Eli to discuss the show, the real events that inspired it and more.

CM: Can you start by telling us about the content of the show?
EM: The story of this show is about one of the most terrifying experiences of my life that fortunately, in hindsight, was pretty funny.

For about four seconds I truly thought I was going to be murdered by my boyfriend. He had a huge night terror, at about 2am, and I woke up to him trying to strangle me.

It was a truly shocking moment that, fortunately, I was able to turn into a show that I have now been touring for over a year.

CM: That sounds quite scary. What preceded the night terror?
EM: It was the result of building anxiety due to our home being robbed several times in just a few weeks and it was an extremely stressful time.

We bought security cameras to make us feel more secure, but ultimately they just ended up showing us that people were lurking around the outside of the house without us knowing, sometimes multiple times a week.

It’s such a creepy feeling when someone has been through your stuff.

CM: What made you decide to use these experiences as a topic for a comedy show? How easy is it to make experiences like this into something funny? 
EM: Obviously when your partner does something crazy we all do the same thing: tell everyone we know. I told the story of the night terror to any friend I ran into and the more I told it the more it started to get laughs.

I’m very fortunate that my boyfriend Sam also finds it funny enough that I am now allowed to share it onstage to complete strangers, many of whom take it upon themselves to find him in the foyer after the show and ask him more about it.

CM: As someone who has experienced a couple of break-ins, I found that it made me feel extremely vulnerable. Does talking about it give you a sense of taking back control? 
EM: My tendency to always look for the laugh does ease the feeling a bit. For instance, once someone broke right into our house and you could see how they had opened both bed side drawers looking for the wife’s jewellery… and were struck that two men slept in this bed. Sorry mate! The gays don’t have any diamonds!

CM: On the other hand I’ve not been accidentally attacked in my sleep by someone I trusted. Is it not difficult to talk about that to a whole load of strangers? 
EM: Not sure what it says about me, but I love it!

Everytime I do this show I can see the couples in the room casting themselves in the roles me and my boyfriend played in this saga. I’ve probably caused some intense fights on the car rides home and I can only be proud of that.

CM: How would you describe your type of performance? What style of comedy can audiences expect from you?  
EM: Fast, funny yarns packed with gags. It’s a high energy performance and I recently found out the word count in my shows is almost twice what it is for many of my friends.

I don’t really pick on people so please sit in the front – I know you won’t trust me even if I say this but it is worth a try!

CM: You’ve been to the Fringe before, of course – what made you want to come back? 
EM: My unrelenting kink for public humiliation and financial ruin. But also because it is fun! So many of my most treasured memories are from the Fringe, and there really is nothing like performing an hour every night for a month to make you fall back in love, then out of love, then in love more than ever with stand-up.

CM: What do you like about Edinburgh? What do you like to do here when you are not performing? 
EM: Truly the thing I love most is just walking around and looking at the most beautiful city on the planet. Coming from New Zealand, where most of our heritage buildings are just McDonald’s from the 1980s, and getting to see actual castles and an old town that truly is old is pretty exciting.

I’ll also bring my running shoes, so I can go on at least one but probably at most three runs, and a book that I’ll read about six pages of in the Meadows, promising to do that every day and then completely forgetting about it.

CM: Will you see other shows when you are at edfringe? Do you have a list of stuff you are aiming to see? 
EM: Zainab Johnson is one of my favourite comics at the moment, I can’t wait to see her show! Helen Bauer’s new hour, Cat Cohen’s new show, Jacqueline Novak, Two Hearts, Becky Umbers. And obviously everyone gay and everyone from New Zealand.

CM: How does Edinburgh compare to other Fringes you have performed at? 
EM: Not sure if you have noticed but it’s huge. There’s just stuff on at all hours. Back home we do not do shows that start after 10pm… pretty much ever. You also can’t put a show on at 2pm on a Tuesday and have people come. It’s wild just how big the Fringe is and just how busy it gets, and I love it.

CM: I don’t think I’ve ever seen an act from New Zealand in Edinburgh that I didn’t like. What is it with you guys? Are you all great or have I just been really lucky? 
EM: You haven’t just been lucky, we are all perfect, flawless and brilliant comedians. All five million people who live in our country could kill an Edinburgh hour.

Truly I think the incredibly small size of our industry means assholes don’t really get a chance to thrive. Kiwi comedy really is just a bunch of sweethearts.

I am lucky enough to have come up as a member of the improv show Snort, and we all collaborate all the time and help each other make our shows the best they can be. Plus there isn’t much to do in New Zealand so we have lots of time to work on our stand-up.

CM: Can you tell us a bit about your past, now? How did you get into comedy? Was it something you always wanted to do?
EM: I did a school speech about the Spice Girls when I was eight. There was a list of topics we were meant to choose from, but I hated them all and didn’t do any work till the morning of the speech competition.

What I performed was pretty much a roast, as hard as an eight year old is capable of roasting, and I killed. Victoria got it the hardest, and I have to apologise if she’s reading this but honestly it was all love. I reckon that’s what ignited my love for being onstage, by myself, getting all the attention and getting laughs. 

CM: What have been the highlights of your career thus far? 
EM: I was in the first ever same-sex couple on ‘Dancing With The Stars New Zealand’, proving to the world for the first time that gay men are capable of dancing. I was also very blessed to support Joe Lycett on his New Zealand tour.

I was one of the founders of the aforementioned improv show Snort which did two sold out seasons at the Edinburgh Fringe. I won the Fred Award for best show at the NZ Comedy Festival in 2021.

But the main highlight will always be when I did an improv gig for a nudist colony’s New Years function when I was nineteen and got heckled for wearing clothes.

CM: What aims and ambitions do you have for the future? 
EM: I actually just moved to London, arriving the very day that I answer your questions. My main hope is to earn enough pounds that I don’t have to head home immediately.

But I guess if I was to set a loftier ambition it would be to be on every single British television show from ‘The Chase’ to ‘Countdown’ to ‘Wife Swap’ and then marry a royal – with apologies to my boyfriend!

CM: What’s coming up next for you after this? 
EM: I’m actually writing a novel! I have ghost written a couple of memoirs but this is my first attempt at writing a full fiction novel, and I hope that it will actually one day be out and published, otherwise I’m really embarrassing myself by saying it is on its way.

Eli Matthewson performed ‘Night Terror’ at Underbelly George Square at Edinburgh Festival 2025.

Photo: Michelle Hyslop