Thebe Mabanga Comedy lovers can brace themselves for a dose of good fun, rasping wit and downright silliness when two events bring a total of nine comedians to stages in Gauteng. The first event is the 5fm/Savannah Dry Jay Thang Heavyweight Comedy Jam, which brings together some of the circuit’s finest comics.
Heavyweight Barry Hilton is in the line-up, while his wife, who spends five hours on the phone responding to a wrong number, will be cheering him on. David Kau will showcase the wit that conquered the Cape circuit. Livewire former presenter of M-Net’s Live @ Five, John Vlismas, could not have been left out. He has appeared alongside Stephen Wright and went on to set the Australian circuit ablaze. Now Mr Ballistic has his own joint in Cresta, Johannesburg, and, like his former partner at the Durban Poison Comedy Roadshow, Alyn Adams, he is now a staff writer at a men’s magazine. The hard-to-ignore Gilda Blacher brings her loveable long face and big eyes. If you think she is there for the sake of political correctness, you had better think again.
A few of these comedians will probably admit to having been influenced by veteran Mel Miller, so his presence in the line-up should inspire them all. If you like comedy unscripted and spontaneous, take five of your funniest, most imaginative friends to Comedy Games, in which Robin Napier leads three brilliant improvisers.
The carrot-topped Ian Fraser reveals the brash, unbridled spunk that bagged him a string of stage accolades throughout the Nineties.
The lanky Nama Orren has a distinct mime technique and actor Jonathan Taylor shows off his guitar skills as the quartet feeds off audience suggestions, no matter how weird.
Napier says the show played a sold-out four-month season in Durban. There is no reason they should not repeat the feat once the Gauteng crowd catches on to their magic.
The Jay Thang’s Comedy Jam is at Gallagher Estate in Midrand on Friday July 21 at 8pm. Tickets range in price from R65 to R125. Comedy Games is at Tates, 4th Avenue, Mellville on Tuesday nights and at the Funny Farm at the Randburg Waterfront on Thursday nights