Comedy with a big punch. Nik Rabinovitz's new show takes to the stage. Picture: Supplied
He’s not just funny. He’s hilarious.
Nick Rabinowitz has been in Joburg to debut his new show, Rambunctious, at the Theatre on The Square.
It’s not just a new show, but the first time the funnyman has launched a new ensemble of comedy in the City of Gold for quite some time.
The show, which runs from 29 July to 5 August, combines the deeply personal with the socially and politically potent.
Nick said the inspiration and content aim to provide a blend of humour, personal experiences, and keen insights into the prevailing socio-political climate.
“The show is kind of about the fact that I’ve survived various things over the last couple of years.” His knack for finding humour in adversity and uphill, while also unmasking societal truths, his signature.
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Audiences must “expect the unexpected,” in Rambunctious. For example: in the show is his reaction to an alleged ISIS terror threat directed at him a few months ago.
“I devote quite a bit of time to discussing it in the show, which takes place in the same theatre they threatened to blow me up in.”
A keen observer of the socio-political landscape, Rabinowitz has honed his comedy to comment on power dynamics and political turbulence.
The EFF also stars in the show.
“I can’t ignore the fact that the political climate in South Africa has been rather chaotic, and as a comedian, I have to address this chaos and make sense of it in a funny and relatable way.”
This ability to weave social critique with humour has helped cement Rabinowitz’s brand of comedy as a sharp-tongued wit with a pulse on contemporary issues.
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And while loadshedding may be a hackneyed topic, he said when he didn’t have any jokes about the Eskom situation audiences questioned his omission.
“Loadshedding and Eskom are unfortunately an ongoing punchline in the narrative of South Africa. It’s frustrating, yes, but there’s also humour to be found in these struggles.
“The dark humour, if you’ll pardon the pun, of our power situation is part of the shared experience of being South African. We can either get angry about it, or we can laugh and as a comedian, I choose the latter.”
He added loadshedding has, in a strange way, united the country.
“We had Madiba, then we had the World Cup wins, we had Jacob Zuma as a common enemy along with the Guptas. Now, Eskom has assumed that role with the gift that keeps on giving, loadshedding,” he mused.
As the world tries to regain some sense of normalcy following the global pandemic, Rabinowitz has noticed shifts within the comedy scene and audience expectations.
He described the post-pandemic return to theatre as an intimate experience, likening it to ancient human storytelling traditions.
“I get the feeling that it’s more intimate, the feeling of coming back to a theatre after Covid was quite an intimate experience for people. I think we took it for granted before and it felt in a way like we were back at the campfire, like, you know, sort of telling stories around the fire as ancient humans,” he shared.
And those stories are told by people, not computers. While reportage keeps telling the world that creativity will end up with the pen of a robot, Rabinowitz doubts whether it could replace real human humour.
He said that he has experimented with AI for generating jokes, though he expressed reservations about the effectiveness of the approach.
“It comes up with a few things, but you don’t know where it’s grabbed those jokes from, which is a little bit problematic. I haven’t found yet that I can really use some of the stuff.”
In an all-original line up of funny in Rambunctious, Rabinowitz invited audiences to engage with the world’s absurdities with a blend of laughter, insight, and a dose of sharp satire.
After all, laughter is the best medicine, and in today’s uber-stressed world, a healthy dose can douse a good measure of negativity.
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