Mario Joyner, who also featured as the opening act for Chris Rock's No Apologies tour, played host for the evening, so this man has got some major street cred going for him. I was at the Chris Rock, No Apologies show held at the Grand West Arena in Cape Town, so I'd pretty much heard all his latest material; still, quite the funny guy. Making his big entrance was little man, Daliso Chaponda, the born and bred Malawian who got his big break in the UK. Daliso was quite the entertainer as he pointed out the predicament short men face while trying positions certainly found in the Kama Sutra. It also seems like he's quite the player with ex-girlfriends consisting of Julia, Mary and Patricia. He's single at the moment so watch out for this one ladies.
Out next, rolled UK funny man, Rob Rouse, whose Snoop Dogg impression of “Drop it like its hot,” had Ruth in stiches. He took a while to get going, ambling around the stage in search of material…fondling the mural's boobs, but eventually found his feet and revealed the woes of his wife having a home birth. Sounds a bit messy at this point but with a scoop of comedy it all went up well.
One of South Africa's top acts made his way to centre stage next and he for me was one of the funnier acts of the night. Trevor Noah found the funny in all the ridiculous politics of South Africa, and you better believe good old JZ, who's managed to work up quite the reputation in the media, was on his hit list. Every ethnic group across the rainbow nation was mechanically ripped off and laughed at, as it very well should be. His set concluded the first half of the show and everyone made the mad dash off to the loo. The line to the women's bathroom was about 20 metres long so it's a good thing Ruth and I got there quick.
Mario introduced another homegrown talent to launch us into the second half of cracking-me-up humour. Nik Rabinowitz's set runs on pretty much the same lines as Trevor's and us South African love our politically incorrect humour. His performance was followed by the only female comedian of the night, Australia's Kitty Flanagan. she was a little dull to be honest, but apparently has quite the international rep, performing in festivals and comedy clubs worldwide. Apparently Kitty's even done a a show in a men's prison; was a tough crowd to say the least.
The show concluded with Canadian show-stopper, Sugar Sammy, who was one of the better acts of the night, making front row seaters squirm in their seats. Watch out for his impression of his dad's thick Indian accent; it will have you rolling in your seat. Sammy's great as he swaggers around the stage messing with the audience. All in all, a good night out for those with a sense of humour; great stuff for keeping warm this chilly winter that refuses to leave Cape Town. You'll be LOL-ing quite a lot The show runs till 21 September 2008, so make sure you get your bum to a seat quick because comics like these don't come around too often. Also don't forget to check out Puppetry of the Pen!s. It's bound to get a bit cheeky!
