Laughter Is Culture is on at the Grand Arena, GrandWest, on Saturday.
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Laughter Is Culture, arriving at GrandWest on Saturday, is attempting something that hasn’t really been tried at this scale in the country before: putting fourteen of the country’s best stand-up comedians on one stage, in one room, on one night.
Legendary David Kau is hosting. Kau has been in the room for South African comedy’s most important moments for the better part of three decades. He has watched it grow from community hall circuit nights to Netflix specials.
Performers include Loyiso Gola, who left South Africa, built a career in London and New York, and came back sharper than ever, Mpho Popps, who has the rare ability to make a crowd of thousands feel like he is talking specifically to them and Celeste Ntuli, who has earned a following that borders on devotional.
And alongside them are Chris Forrest, Trevor Gumbi, Skhumba, Kagiso KG Mogadi, Dillan Oliphant, Virgil Prins, Roni Modimola, Ntosh Madlingozi, Yaaseen Barnes and Mbali Gudazi - each of them, on any other night, the name at the top of the bill.
The title Laughter Is Culture speaks to South African stand-up having always functioned as something more than entertainment. It is the space where things that cannot be said any other way get said. Where the absurdity of daily life here, the politicians, the bureaucracy, the complicated pride, the complicated grief gets named out loud in a room full of people who recognise every word of it.
“Comedy has always been a powerful way for South Africans to process life,” said Kau. “This event is about celebrating that on a massive scale.”
In the run-up to Laughter Is Culture at Hotel Sky, Johannesburg, a full-day Comedy Skills Workshop runs today aimed specifically at emerging comedians and people who want to work in the business of comedy, not just perform in it.
Facilitators include Kau, Kagiso Lediga, a writer, director, one of the most formidable creative minds the country has produced and more.
The workshop is developed in alignment with the mandate of the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture.
Laughter Is Culture tickets are available from Webtickets.co.za.