Stand-up success for African comedy
JOBURG – Check out what went down at The Goliath Comedy Experience.
Goliath and Goliath wrapped up The Goliath Comedy Experience in partnership with Roast Café and Viacom, and they sure did bring the funny to Joburg.
One of the most talked about collaborations of the year is the partnership between Roast Café and Goliath and Goliath comedy producers, which created the third comedy club in Africa and is now producing the inaugural comedy festival to celebrate it.
The Goliath Comedy Experience kicked off on 29 April at Roast Café in Melrose Arch and the comedy industry’s elite was there to celebrate the feat.
Having worked closely with the comedy collective since their days of underground comedy at The Box comedy nights in Maboneng, Evert van der Veer, vice president of Comedy Central at Viacom, commented on the network’s role in the three-day comedy festival.
“When they told me that they were going to open the comedy club, I told them that they had Comedy Central’s full support in opening the club, promoting the club and mainly finding new comedians to film at the club because that’s what we need to put on air.”
Acting as the cogs of the well-oiled machine were co-owners Nicholas, Kate, Jason and Donovan Goliath of Goliath and Goliath.
“We wanted to make sure that we were the first comedy club in Africa where the food, the ambiance, the environment and everything that you’re indulging in is as good as the show,” said Jason.
“The festival is about showing everyone what is going to happen at the club – all the different shows that we have,” said Kate.
“It won’t be the same standard line-up every week. We’re going to teach people about improv, about mixing music and comedy, and about diversity in this industry. We want to give all the people who we think are doing great things in the industry the stage time to do so,” said Jason.
The show kicked off with the likes of Nicholas and Jason Goliath, as well as Trevor Gumbi, among others.
You can catch hilarious comedy at the Roast Café every Wednesday to Saturday to see a diverse range of comedy acts or listen to some great music on BET Sundays.
Details: www.comedycentralafrica.com; www.goliathandgolath.com; www.computicket.com
