South African comedy is alive and well and living in Cape Town.
This year, the Jive Funny Championships attracted more than 150 entries, while tickets for the Jive Cape Town Funny Festival are selling fast - a testament to the fact that Cape Town is the home of South African comedy. Many of the city’s leading comedians run regular comedy rooms in bars and restaurants throughout the week, ensuring there is consistent work for local comedians, as well as open mic spots for up-and-coming performers.
Many of the city’s top funnymen like Stuart Taylor, Dalin Oliver, Yaaseen Barnes, and Kagiso Mokgadi organise frequent comedy evenings, either as their solo shows or on line-ups in the shows.
“There is only one way at improving your skill of performing, and that is by doing it, over and over again”, says Yaaseen Barnes, who runs regular comedy rooms throughout the city.
"Stage time is what all comics yearn for."
The audience factor is critical to comics’ development. The stage is the industry’s best teacher. Diversity breeds comedy as does struggle and hardship.
South Africa’s diverse cultures provide a wealth of material from which to draw and craft humorous stories. The country also has a rich storytelling heritage, which forms the foundation of a vibrant comedy tradition.
Humour has a great healing capacity. Laughing at serious situations lightens the intensity of the situation and lessens the seriousness of the issue.
The late Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, who “performed” at the Jive Cape Town Funny Festival from 2012 to 2014, was quick to state that “humour assisted the masses to cope with our hurtful past.”
He performed to great acclaim with hilarious stories followed by his loud-pitched laugh, which drew more applause than the joke.
Local comics Jason Goliath and Robby Collins are masters of making fun of daily life. Goliath says, “I’m inspired by my observations of everyday life, mindset, mental wellness, being South African, and loving South Africa”.
The Funny Festival audience can expect foolishness, vulnerability, perspective, profound messaging, and hilarity, all packaged with Goliath energy, not necessarily in that order.
Collins draws inspiration from what’s going on around him, either on the news or on something personal he is presently experiencing. Most importantly, it’s got to be interesting enough to share with the audience.
The Jive Cape Town Funny Festival runs at the Baxter Theatre from Thursday, May 28, till Sunday, June 21. Book via Webtickets.