(Right: Nik
Rabinowitz in “Dry White”)
There is a powerfully funny line up of
comedy at this year’s Hilton Festival now in its 27th year taking place from September
13 to 15, 2019.
Dry White ….having recovered from his
early-onset midlife crisis just in time for Cape Town to almost become the
world’s first city to run out of water, retired Jewish Olympics leg-spinner and
stand-up comedian Nik Rabinowitz decided to explore Cape Town’s water crisis
for his show Dry White - mostly
because everyone thought the drought was going to last forever, which in case
you missed it, it didn’t #SpoilerAlert. After Mother Nature rained on his
parade, Nik was forced to discuss other stuff too, like love, marriage,
infidelity, transphobia, and staying work post 40, which is like staying awake
post 40, but more challenging.
Reviewers have said: "Screamingly
funny" - Weekend Argus; “Ek het myself nat gelag” - Minister Patricia de
Lille.
And if you fancy Dry White, you’d better see Fortyfied
as well! South Africa’s finest Xhosa-speaking Jewish stand-up comedian, Rabinowitz,
recently turned 40, and was on the verge of a midlife crisis. Except that
apparently 40 is the new 30, so he wasn’t sure when to have the crisis, which
was a crisis in itself. Also, his wife had just had their third baby - so really,
he couldn’t have a midlife crisis – there was just no time. In the meantime,
whilst figuring all of this out, he decided that instead of buying a Ferrari
and abandoning his family, he would create a new one man show - Fortyfied. “If forty is the new thirty, there is no
finer confirmation than the exuberance and boundless energy of Rabinowitz” -
Weekend Special.
(Left: Ben
Voss in “Benny Bushwacker’)
Catch the world's funniest conservationist,
Benny Bushwacker (Ben Voss) - conservationist, environmental campaigner, and
the only man to have walked the length of Africa barefoot in his new one-man
show, Human Nature. He is touring the country to reveal what it takes to
survive the African bush ... and for the African bush to survive.
“Whether it’s my opinion on changing the
Springbok emblem, how to spot a bull-shitter in Kruger, or the relative chances
of my estranged wife, Brenda, replacing the buffalo in the Big 5, I hope to
keep you laughing with my 'wild' sense of humour and classic bush logic.
My
stories are brought from bush to page by unofficial biographer, John van de
Ruit of Spud fame and from page to
stage by South Africa's lioness of theatre, Janice Honeyman. Don't miss my
hilarious look at life on the wild side,” Voss says.
Benny
Bushwacker had a great season at the National Arts
Festival this year and opens at the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre in Durban on July
29 running until August 11, before heading to Hilton, as part of a national
tour.
(Right: Daniel
Mpilo Richards in “Quantitative Teasing”)
Or indulge in the sharp political satire of
Quantitative Teasing ….get it?! Written
by Mike van Graan, this is a collection of (mostly) satirical sketches about
contemporary South Africa from the sequels to Pay Back the Curry, performed by the multiple-award winning Daniel
Mpilo Richards with sketches from State
Fracture and Land Act.
Quantitative
Teasing pokes fun, provokes and thoroughly entertains about a range of
themes that tend to cause South Africans anxiety or irritation.
(Below: Rob
van Vuuren in “Again”)
Rob van Vuuren is here Again! He is a household
name in South Africa: he is Twakkie from the Most Amazing Show, the guy who shucksed Shuster in Shucks Tshabalala, the record breaking
winner of Strictly Come Dancing, the
voice of Takeshi’s Castle Thailand on Comedy Central Africa, Van from Netflix
SA’s trending film Van Der Merwe. He
is a multi-award-winning comedian and his career has taken him to stages all
over the world. Again! is van Vuuren’s
brand-new one-man comedy show created specifically to celebrate 2019 as his
25th year as a professional performer Why does he keep doing it again and again
and again? It is a delightful cyclone of hilarity moving from peacocks and
pop-lyrics to public transport.
The Hilton Arts Festival, now in its 27th
year takes place from September 13 to 15, 2019. The full programme will appear
in KZN copies of The Sunday Times on Sunday August 11. Booking opens on August 12,
and the programme will be live on the festival website from the morning of August
12.
For more information visit www.hiltonfestival.co.za
or contact the Festival Office on admin@hiltonfestival.co.za or 033 383 0127.
The Hilton Arts Festival is presented by
Hilton College and tiso blackstar group, in association with Grindrod Bank; Black Coffee; Extreme Events;
DWR; Bidvest Car Rental; Stella Artois; BASA; the KZN Department of Arts and
Culture; Tsogo Sun; Redlands Hotel; FNB; the Caxton Group; Maritzburg Sun; Loud
Crowd, The SA Artist and Sappi.
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