Yvonne-Orji-HBO-comedy-special If you can't remember the last time you laughed until you were teary-eyed, then you're definitely due for some comic relief. Take a break from reality and stream these comedy shows on Showmax.
Yvonne Orji: Momma, I Made It!
In her first HBO comedy special, Yvonne Orji, better known as Molly from Insecure , has the audience rolling with laughter as she brings her razor-sharp wit and confidence to the stage. Both celebrating and poking fun at her strict, formative Nigerian-American upbringing, Yvonne shares her unique journey from pre-med to comedy, talks about parental pressures to get married, and takes us along to Lagos to meet her family and friends.
Entertainment Weekly calls Momma, I Made It! “an hour of joy”, IndieWire hails it as “a rip-roaring standup special,” and Fast Company says it’s “the laugh the black community needs right now.”
If you haven’t watched it yet, her HBO Backstories video is also wonderful:
Schalk Bezuidenhout:
Schalkie
Schalk Bezuidenhout is one of SA’s top acts and, according to Skhumba, “the one white comedian loved by black people”. The Kempton Park-born Afrikaans comic has endeared himself to audiences across cultures and countries with his energetic, conversational comedy, vividly visual humour and humanity. He’s awkward, self-deprecating, sharp as a tack and a master of the throw-away punchline.
Jason Goliath:
Manstruation: Surviving a Wife
and
Live at Parkers
Goliath presence, goliath persona, goliath energy - that’s Jason Goliath. Nominated for Best Newcomer in the 2012 Comics Choice Awards, Jason went on to scoop the Nando’s Best Friend of Comedy Award for three years running, from 2015 to 2017, with his co-owned entertainment company, Goliath & Goliath. The Larger than Life host also co-owns The Goliath Comedy Club in Melrose Arch. In Manstruation, Jason has a go at relationships, making light of both sides in the marital equation, while his live set at Parker's Comedy Club shows the funny side of being a little on the larger side.
Tsitsi Chiumya: So Naive
Named the Comics Choice Best Newcomer in 2018, Tsitsi won the 2019 Next Level Award, and hosted last year’s Savanna Newcomer Showcase. He’s also earned a SAFTA for script-writing as part of the team behind Puppet Nation. A master of observation and relatable, awkward stories, he’s been featured in Trevor Noah’s Nationwild series, and the BBC profile series, The Arts Hour with Nikki Bedi. He’s performed across SA, in Europe and the US, and done a 38-show tour of South-East Asia. Tsitsi also headlined Zambia’s biggest comedy festival, the ZED Comedy Festival, in 2018, performing to an audience of over 3000 people and earning rave reviews.
Comedy Central Presents: David Kau Live at Parker's
2018 Comics Choice Comedy G Award-winner, actor, director and epic funnyman David Kau headlines this killer set at Parker’s Comedy Club with guests Skhumba and Dave Levinsohn, where the three get up-close and er … adults-only.
Dave Levinsohn was a comedy writer on Late Night with Trevor Noah, has performed at the Edinburgh Fringe, headlined at Parker’s, hosted at Comedy Warehouse, and won the Comedy Allstars/Red Bull comedy competition pro section.
Host of Trippin with Skhumba and Good Friday Comedy Hour on Kaya FM, Skhumba Hlophe, was named 2017’s Comics Choice Comic of the Year, won the Flying Solo Award in 2016 and ‘17, and won the 2018 DStv Mzansi Viewers’ Choice Award for Favourite Comedian.
Dillan Oliphant: In a Lonely Place
With his coy grin and wry, understated humour, Eldorado Park’s very own Dillan Oliphant gets you giggling while he quietly cuts to the heart of the matter, blindsiding you with some home-truths on township life, conflict resolution, looting, funerals, uncles, aunties and loneliness. Having won the 2012 Savanna Comics Choice Newcomer Award, Dillan has racked up laughs alongside the best in the biz on stage and screen, including Trevor Noah’s Nationwild, Comedy Central, Late Nite News with Loyiso Gola, Kings & Queens of Comedy and Blacks Only.
Neil Green: Last Boss
Sharp, authentic, instantly likeable and undeniably funny, sought-after Durban comedian and East Coast Radio presenter Neil Green is a prolific writer and off-the-cuff comedian whose keenly-observed personal anecdotes have earned him a reputation as one of KZN’s top comics. In Last Boss, Neil’s friendly vibe and infectious laugh will get you going as he tackles everyday topics from racist friends and white girlfriends to ‘humane’ fishing and ‘unauthorised’ sandwiches.
Khanyisa Bunu: Comedy Special
Another brilliant new addition to Showmax’s buffet of laughs is Khanyisa Bunu’s Comedy Special. One of the ‘first ladies’ of SA comedy, Eastern Cape-born comedian actress, columnist and author Khanyisa tells it like it is with her trademark modesty and good, clean comedy (though she gets a little bit naughty here). From taxis to e-tolls, load-shedding to getting mugged, Khanyisa pokes fun at the things that make South Africans who we are.
Khanyisa got her start on reality show So You Think You’re Funny. Since then, the former high school teacher has conquered the circuit from Kings & Queens of Comedy, Blacks Only and the Comedy Central Roast Battle to the Grahamstown Arts Festival, Botswana, Nigeria and even Greenwich Village Comedy Club in New York. She’s toured with and opened for Trevor Noah, and was the first woman to win the coveted Audience Choice Award at the 2015 Comics Choice Awards.
