All-women gig for Comedy Night EC
To celebrate Women’s Month, Comedy Night EC will have an all-female line up for the first time at their monthly gigs next week.
The lineup features Shimmy Isaacs, Gilli Apter and Lindy Johnson. The event takes place at the Queens Casino in Komani and Wiseguys Pub and Grill in East London every last Tuesday and Wednesday of the month.
Speaking with the Daily Dispatch, Cape Town comedian, actress and writer Isaacs said she was looking forward to making her debut in the Eastern Cape.
“I haven’t been to the Eastern Cape, even though my family has people in Komani.
“I’m looking forward to hanging out with the locals because those are the people I get the most inspiration from.
“They don’t have to pretend to be anybody else but themselves,” she said.
Isaacs made her stand-up comedy debut in 2011 at the Baxter Theatre’s Vodacom Funny Festival in Cape Town alongside Eugene Koza and Allen Committee.
“I am an artist with an honours degree from AFDA. I write scripts and have done lots of theatre productions. I am a dramatic writer, and comedy wasn’t really something that I thought of. It fell into my lap,” she said, adding she was blessed to know what she wanted to do from an early age.
Isaacs said since she was 17 she had created opportunities for herself, and had worked towards becoming the person she is today.
“With comedy there are moments where I am scared, but I push through. Right now I have an upcoming tour in Chicago [in the US] and I am scared, but because I haven’t failed yet I will make it through.
“The unknown is way more exciting for me.”
Isaacs said in her years of doing stand-up comedy she had realised that gender had nothing to do with comedy.
“As women we are more aggressive and edgier than men.
“When I started stand-up there were some topics that we couldn’t tap into because we lived in a conservative community, but times have changed,” she said.
Isaacs said the industry needed more mentors to help upand-coming comedians find their feet.
“This is something I wish we’d had when I first started. I have taken it upon myself to mentor some comedians.
“The stand-up comedy business can be isolated because you stand on your own on stage and you also work on your own material,” she said.
She said comedians need to watch more theatre shows and exhibitions to expand their knowledge.
“You need to equip yourself with information in order to have a strong set and to grow your audience. Comedians need to do a lot of research and understand what it means to know their audience,” she said.
Tickets for both shows cost R120 and are available at www.quicket.co.za