Ben Hurley, winner of the 2004 Billy T Comedy Award and more recently the Fred Award (named after the immortal Fred Dagg character) for best solo show at the 2008 New Zealand Comedy Festival, performs at Th’ Don with fellow comedians Jamie Bowen and Simon McKinney

MM: Have you ever been in a car crash?
BH: Only the metaphorical kind. You know, like when people say “Oh man, that date was a car crash!” I’ve been on plenty of those.

What do Billy T winners do with their towels 4 years later?
Mine is packed away with my stuff at my parents house as I have been on the road for the last three years and haven’t really had a home. That’s right! Weep for me.

Who in your opinion does the best interpretation of the Aristocrats joke?
I like the George Carlin one. R.I P. George, we will miss you greatly!

What’s the best heckle you’ve ever had fired at you and what’s your standard comeback (just so the readers can prepare a rebuttal)?
I try not to have standard comebacks. If you treat ever heckle on its individual merits it’s much funnier. The hardest one I ever had was when I first started and was from the whole audience. I asked them “Should I just leave?” and about 40 people in unison said “Yes!” No comeback for that.

How much can you benchpress?
I’ve never been to a Gym. I had to google exactly what “bench pressing” was. Apparently it’s a form of weightlifting.

Which cliche comedy topic grates at you the most?
Weightlifting. So overdone.

Why is stand-up constantly referred in terms of a comedy circuit, the way that music is referred to by ‘scenes’? Is it really that tedious and cyclical?
There is no real “circuit”. So I don’t know why. I have no answer to this. It’s not boring, it’s the best job in the world.

Do you think you could benchpress more than Dai Henwood?
One night I got drunk and bench pressed Dai. He’s surprisingly heavy for a little guy but beer gives me super human powers.

Mammoth has a double pass to give away to the Comedy Night. Just e-mail win(a)mammothmedia.co.nz with your name and contact details and tell us your best use for Dai Henwood.