SA Rocks

This is probably one of the most random and seriously exciting things I’ve been fortunate enough to be involved in this year. Last week Saturday I was sitting having coffee in Parkhurst when these two guys sitting close by whip open a laptop and start playing this TV series. I think nothing of it and carry on sipping my espresso.

Yet there is only so much you can laugh under your breath at hilarious comedy an arms length away from you at a coffee shop. So I interject and ask if I have it right and what I am listening to is actually a South African version of ‘The Office’.

Fast forward about a week and notonTV is live.

This is a homage to the original The Office series by the guys at notonTV. NotonTV is a new youtube channel providing local comedy content that you largely won’t find on SA TV because it would be deemed ‘unPC’ or too ‘sensitive’ for SA TV viewers.

I spoke with the guys at notonTV and 100% back their concept of saying what people want to hear said and doing what people want to have done.

Here’s their homage to ‘The Office’, it is incredibly hilarious and has great production values. Gone are the days of slapstick comedy and badly lit film sets.

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This man makes me laugh. And yes, sure, he’s a friend so I sort of have to say that, but I really, really mean it. Honest!

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A friend of mine down in Cape Town is doing something admirable and laughable (in a good way). He’s trying to kick-start the comedy scene down there. It seems as though as funny (read “odd”) as Cape Town folk are they don’t have a rocking and happening comedy circuit.

Enter Mumz.

Here’s a bit about the man himself:

Mum-z has performed all over the country including comedy festivals such as “Blacks Only”, “The 94.7 Heavyweight Comedy Jam”, “KFM Heavyweight Comedy”, “Arts Alive”, “Rocking The Daisies”, “Durban Matric Rage Festival” and the “Soweto Comedy Festival”. He has relocated to Cape Town to spread his comedy influence and broaden his fan base. He also has a comedy blog www.mumz-the-word.com which he treats as his comedy playground.

And info on the event:

Funny Bones @ Purple Turtle

“Ladies Night”

Date: 23rd February 2010

Time: 20h00 (doors open), comedy starts at 21h15

Entrance: R30 (men), free (ladies)

Venue: Purple Turtle

Address: Cnr. Shortmarket and Long Street, Cape Town, South Africa

The Purple Turtle presents Funny Bones – regular Tuesday night comedy. Every Tuesday will feature some of SA’s best comedians both established and up-n-coming. On Tuesday 23rd February 2010 Funny Bones would like to showcase some of South Africa’s up and coming comediennes. It’s ladies night.

This means that not only is the host of the evening Cape Town’s very own Tracy Klass, but entrance is free for ladies. Oh yeah. Tracy Klass will be hosting Anne Hirsch (who recently performed in David Kau’s ‘Blacks Only’ comedy tour) and Melanie Jones (who is one of Cape Town’s funniest and most established comediennes).

The first half headliner for the show will be Brendan Murray and the headliner for the evening will be Martin Davis (UK).

The event was conceived by Mum-z, who is a young, talented up and coming comedian who’s dedication to increasing the Cape Town comedy circuit has inspired him to launch new comedy nights in Cape Town including “The Show” at The Albert Hall (Woodstock) and “Funny Bones” at The Purple Turtle, with the assistance of Marius van der Westhuizen (manager of The Purple Turtle) and Batya Blankers (Manager of the Albert Hall).

Entrance for the evening is R30, which is extremely affordable for anyone who loves comedy or has never seen local comedy live. (Ladies get in for free on the 23rd February 2010) All bookings should be made through Mamello Mokoena on talk2me@mumz-the-word.com or 076 801 2113

Distributed by: Mamello Mokoena on behalf of Mumz The Word

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It’s really simple: People love to laugh, they also love free stuff and deep down inside everyone loves crude jokes, really.

This competition is therefore the perfect combination of things.

You stand the chance to win 2 tickets to the Comedy Heavies session on either Friday July 3rd or Saturday July 4th. You pick the day and you pick the partner.

All you need to do is tell me who is hosting the Comedy Heavies this year. I’ll give you a hint… he’s on the poster below and is threatening to pull no punches in this years Comedy Heavies show.

So have a look at the Press release below and the poster and post your answer + Your email + Your name in the comment section below. I’ll then get in touch with you and you can pick your tickets up at the door.

South Africa’s Heaviest Comics on One Bill

at Carnival City

Fans of stand-up comedy are in for a night to remember when Barry Hilton, Mark Banks, Loyiso Gola, Joey Rasdien and Krijay Govender join forces with John Vlismas to present one of the heaviest comedy line-ups of the year, The Comedy Heavies, taking place at Carnival City on 3rd and 4th July. The ‘adults only’ show will deliver more laughs per minute than an election campaign.

The irreverent Vlismas promises that no punches will be pulled as his hilarious friends shower blows on sacred cows from every angle, “We are a limping democracy, wrestling with a credit crunch and facing a world cup with intermittent electricity – if you don’t laugh, you die…”

The Comedy Heavies isn’t just going to be a stand up feast from the cream of comedy, but the comics have been chosen to represent the wide spectrum of comedy styles, from the legendary deadpan of Barry Hilton, to the barking mad characters of Mark Banks and the righteous anger of recently-circumcised Loyiso Gola and the ever popular Joey Rasdien. Even Krijay Govender has taken time for her crazy television schedule to appear in this remarkable production.

The Comedy Heavies is unique – no punches will be pulled, no sacred cows will be left off the braai and there will definitely be no fussing over cussing. The Comedy Heavies is for people who don’t flinch when the “f” word flies faster than airline crews taking narcotics abroad.

The first four correct answers will won the tickets. Easy. As. That.

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It’s true. John Vlismas has accepted a challenge to perform a show without swearing. At all. None. Nothing. Nada. Shit.

John Vlismas’ new one-man show promises a twist like never before.
Vlismas says that the show will be 70 mins of dark observation,
outrageous opinion and thought-provoking belly laughter – all without
the use of his signature foul language.

“I was challenged by someone that I couldn’t be funny without
swearing. Obviously, I told him to *&(^& himself while his mother &*^%
$&% the *^&^ of a sailor with her &^%%^ while the dockyard dog (*&^
his )(*&). But then I thought about it. How hard could it be to make
a show just as challenging, just as dangerous and just as funny as I
always want them to be without using all my favourite words? If Julius
Malema can get where he is, and George Bush can score two terms, and
Steve Hofmeyer can survive a suicide bombing by his own colon, why
can’t I be “black and clean?”

For fans of the filth, Vlismas vows that they won’t even realise that
it’s missing – kind of like the sugar in Coke Zero, but without the
weird after taste and anal leakage afterwards, well, not the
aftertaste anyway.

Be sure to book for this award-winning maniac’s new show, as Vlismas
has asked management to keep the venues small and intimate, like his
beloved Comedy Underground, the spiritual home of dark comedy in SA.

This is most definitely a show not to be missed.

TICKETS

JHB RUN – The Fringe Theatre (Formerly the Tesson Theatre) at the JHB Civic Theatre from the 2nd June – 13th June 2009

JHB – tickets available through Computicket or book through the Theatre Box Office directly for group discounts.
Ticket prices are R 130 including Computicket charges, but the Box Office at The theatre is offering group discounts, as mentioned.

DBN RUN – The Heritage Theatre, Hillcrest, KZN from the 16th June – 21st June 2009.

Dbn – Tickets available through Strictly Tickets or through the Theatre directly.

Tickets for BOTH JHB & DBN SHOWS ARE NOW AVAILABLE!

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It’s the truth. He is a white, jewish, Xhosa speaking comedian in South African and the man is brilliant. The comedy scene in SA is huge and only getting bigger. I’ve been fortunate enough to meet many of the top comedians in SA and my respect goes out to them. It’s not something that one does without considering. There’s a lot of room for severe burning. Nik, however, does not get burned.

And…

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I’ve heard the hype, the radio and TV adverts, I’ve heard alot about this show (The Coconuts) in fact. But then I missed the first episode. Luckily I was able to watch it after the pilot was broadcast.

Let’s get right into it. I like the show. I like the idea and I am happy that the black actors don’t remain white for too long (early into the first episode). The makeup wasn’t phenomenal in spite of the 7 hour marathon to put it on, apparently.

What I do like about this show is that it is very politically incorrect. Yes there have been other shows with similar ideas, think Madame and Eve and Going up to a certain extent I suppose. But this show is different, direct and more in your face.

The Coconuts also features something a bit new, black people getting stuck in to other black people. It’s not just about race, it’s about class too! Fantastic.

However it’s not all good. Some of the jokes are old and outdated (however funny). A new approach to a relatively old experience would’ve been grand. Alas I feel as if South African writers stick to what is safe.

A Little britten has opinions about the show too, so pop over there and have a read for yourself.

Jason Von Berg from The Times managed to put together a great video on The Coconuts. Check it out:


Brought to you by: The Times Multimedia

So to end of the post let me answer the title: No, I don’t think this is a new generation of humour or Television in SA. I think this is the old generation in a new hat. Something good needs to happen, something great needs to take place in SA T.V. to make me sit back and go “wow”.

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I really get the feeling that some stand-up comedians simply use race as a fallback incase they are sinking.

Tuesday night at The Blues Room in Sandton, a couple of the comedians started to sink and I wish they had. Comedy nights at The Blues Room are a gas. They generally get in top class acts to rip through some fantastic jokes and observations.

Four guys performed last night. Three of the four were black and one guy was a man of colour, but not coloured as he noted, but not white either. Anyways that is besides the point. The point is, comedy is great, laughing is awesome, the occasional well placed insult at an audience member is fantastic but at somepoint if you keep insulting me for being white I’m going to be pissed off.

Out of the four guys the MC – Loyiso Gadwa (please correct me on his name if you know better) was by far the best and most together act of the night. Strangely so in fact as he had the toughest job and longest set. He dragged us out of the depths of suicide and made us laugh everytime he stepped on to the stage.

But then came Ronald or something. A young black guy from Pretoria. Ronald had it for a minute or two but then he threw it away. Racial jokes are great when they are well placed but there is MUCH more to life in SA than race in every situation! Put it this way; I know what my faults are and it is amusing to have them pointed out but don’t tell me what “white people don’t do” or “can’t understand” when I do and understand. Then I get pissed off. The key to a great comedian is phenomenal observation skills. This Ronald character may as well have worked at Mc D’s cause he has obviously never seen a white person other than the Pretoria locals he encounters occasionally. The dude lost it and almost ruined the nite with his crass swearing and over-the-top language in every joke.

The next dude I can’t even tell you what his name is. He was that forgettable so I wont delay.

Loyiso came back on, blew us away and then it was time for Trevor Noah. Trevor is the not so white, not so coloured guy. He was brilliant. After 2.5 hours of racial innuendo’s and blatant awkward insults Trevor was a breath of fresh air. Not a single racial joke in a half an hour-ish set.

The crown jewel in all of the jokes was one related to Dtv (Deaf TV) and muting the sound to answer a phone. The guy was brilliant, effective, equal, honest and open. His skits included stuff about airport announcements around SA, accents, Television, sports and much more. The most refreshing thing was that he insulted, berated and applauded every race as human beings and equals.

I hope I got the two comedians names right, if I haven’t please let me know. If you get a chance to see them sometime, treat yourself.

But I leave you with this note; race is old, outdated material, the man who ventures beyond the obvious will win the laughs of the masses.

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This issue has been blogged about numerous times by bloggers in SA. I haven’t blogged about it because the poor (albeit dumb) girl has had more than enough bad exposure.

Yet there is now a reason for me to post. Khaya, an SA comedian has put Miss South Carolina’s statements in to a short parody of some sorts. Very funny to hear a smart South Africans take on the situation. Watch the two videos and make up your own mind about the whole thing.

Here’s the original video off YouTube:

And here is Khaya’s parody:

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Believe it or not one South African is raking in the views on his stand-up comedy video on YouTube.

Khaya Dlanga is making a seriously funny name for himself online. His comedic approach is intelligent and funny with a local twang to it that strikes home. He has a massively animated face that tells his story for him while he tells the jokes.

Please take some time, do yourself a favour and watch this video:

His incredible videos have been viewed over 1.2million times since the end of 2006.

Brilliant!

Thanks to Dave for this cool post.

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