The festival of funny finally returns

After being postponed from last year to this year, due to violent protests in Braamfontein, the festival of funny has been confirmed for March.

Johannesburg was filled with the sound of laughter in 2015 when the Johannesburg International Comedy Festival (JICF) was inaugurated, and unfortunately, last year did not see the same joy as the festival was postponed.

Now, set to be held between 31 March to 1 April, the festival which is set to produce a laugh a minute will return to various Johannesburg venues with a line-up of comedians who would excite even the most dedicated grouch in the city.

In its second year, the festival will showcase some of the best local, African and international comedians, with comedic talent coming to the City of Gold from Australia, Nigeria, USA, Russia, France, UK, Zimbabwe, Canada, Congo, Kenya, Uganda and of course, our very own homegrown favourites.

There will be all kinds of comedy on the menu for festivalgoers, so whether you like it dark, alternative, deadpan or lighthearted, there’s a little something for everyone.

You can also expect the exciting shows that blew audiences away in 2015, including Stand Up Africa, Vernac Attack, Late Night @ The Orbit, League of Nations and Live from the Alex Theatre, with firm favorites such as Nina Hastie, Tatz Nkonzo, Basketmouth and Joey Rasdien, in addition to the Goliath and Goliath collective, Celeste Ntuli, Eddie Kadi from the Congo, South Africa’s Robby Collins, Katie Burch from Australia and South Africa’s Mel Jones who declared, “I’m so excited about this, I might just wet my pants.”

The comedic industry of South Africa is one that is still developing and a festival such as this helps local talent to catapult their careers into the local and international spheres.

For too long the local public has been criticised for their willingness to support international talent and not local talent, but this platform allows for local talent to enjoy some stage time.

Since its inception, founder of the festival Takunda Bimha has had high hopes for JICF.

“I have been dreaming about building a world-class international comedy festival in Joburg for some time,” Bimha said.

Read: New local comedy set to hit the big screen