Comedy will be among the main areas of
focus at this year’s 25th Hilton Arts Festival that takes place over this
weekend (September 15 to17).
Making a welcome return to the festival,
top comedian John Vlismas brings along some fresh voices in his three shows.
Vlismas is one of South Africa’s most creative, prolific and well-known comics
who has performed internationally. Oftentimes outspoken, extreme and
controversial, and always very very funny, he is a firm favourite on the SA
comedy scene.
The first, Crazy Funny - Show #1 features
Durban’s Jem Atkins alongside funny-man Vlismas. The mover-and-shaker behind On
Fire Comedy, the proactive Atkins is working hard to ignite the Durban comedy
circuit. Atkins has been hosting and headlining shows all over the city for
several years now, and comes to Hilton fresh off the success of his sold-out
one-man comedy show – Single Dad II, he is instantly likeable and very
entertaining! Joining the two is Glen Biderman-Pam, a well-known face in
Johannesburg and Cape Town, he has been nominated for prestigious Savanna
Comics Choice awards and has performed internationally at the Perth Fringe
Festival. He opened for Barry Hilton for his run of The Way I See It at the
Lyric Theatre. Both Atkins and Biderman-Pam will be performing for the first
time in Hilton. (Saturday 10h00)
The second, Crazy Funny - Show #2 Vlismas
takes to the stage with Annalakshmi and Neil Green. Annalakshmi is an Indian
National and loves to tell stories giving her candid commentary and her
parodies are witty, funny and hit home. Since one of her videos went viral
earlier this year, she has become one of the most recognised entertainers in
the industry. Green is easily one of Durban’s funniest and most respected
comedians. A rising star in the SA comedy industry, he literally has jokes for
days. His sharp wit, commanding stage presence and his hilariously honest take
on life have won him legions of fans throughout the country. (Sunday 12h30)
Vlismas will be joined by a trio of funny
guys in Whose Line?, similar to the popular TV Show. This hilarious comedy
improv sees Vlismas, Atkins, Biderman-Pam and Masood Boomgaard make everything
up on stage. It is 80 minutes of complete off-the-cuff hilarity. (Saturday
15h30)
After a successful tour around South
Africa, the comedy duo of John van de Ruit and Ben Voss return to the Hilton
stage with their latest offering, Mamba Republic. Delighting audiences with
their third production in the Mamba comedy trilogy, Mamba Republic is a
rapid-paced satirical sketch-comedy soon to hit theatres countrywide. Reuniting
the talents of Ben Voss (Beauty Ramapelepele) and John van de Ruit (Spud),
Mamba Republic takes a savagely funny look at all that is wrong and very wrong
in the Rainbow Nation. Directed by Mervyn McMurtry. (Friday 17h45; Saturday
18h00; Sunday 17h45)
The festival would not be possible without
the generous support of Hilton College, Tiso Blackstar Group, Grindrod Bank,
Black Coffee, DWR, PWC, Bidvest Car Rental, Indwe Risk Services, Assitej South
Africa, Loud Crowd, Sappi, Redlands Hotel, Zultrans, KZN Dept of Arts &
Culture, BASA, Castle Lite, Maritzburg Sun, Caxton
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