More gags than talk at the Waldos
● It was a trip to have my funny bone tickled last Saturday evening when that annual comedic pat on the back, the Savanna Comics’ Choice Awards, took place at the Lyric Theatre at Gold Reef City, Johannesburg.
Touted as the largest comedy awards gathering of its kind on the continent, this is the brainchild of funnyman John Vlismas, at which winners deliver a stand-up routine as their acceptance speech.
In the lobby of the theatre I spy entertainment luminary Pieter-Dirk Uys, this year’s Lifetime Achiever recipient.
This is the man who, via his alter ego Evita Bezuidenhout, has taken the indiscriminate mickey out of political leaders from John Vorster to Thabo Mbeki, and who had a field day until late with Zuma’s antics.
Surely there’s nothing funny about politicians these days, I suggest.
“Politicians might be boring, but politics never is,” is the sage reply from Darling’s most famous resident.
While Pieter-Dirk can lay claim to having more than 40 years of practice in making us laugh, someone new to the scene is Mark Johnson, who has gone from modelling to stand-up.
Elsewhere I spot leggy TV presenter Lalla Hirayama, who is having a mini panic attack after learning that she is expected to ad lib in front of a roomful of professional funnies when handing out one of the night’s awards.
After taking my seat, I am joined by someone I haven’t seen in ages: former Selimathunzi presenter Zizo Tshwete, who has come along with her agriculturist sister, Asanda Beda. Zizo tells me hubby Mayihlome, the former spokesperson for home affairs minister Malusi Gigaba, is at home looking after their two-year-old, Vukile.
On to the awards, and this year the ceremony ditched a host for an in-house band, Bombshelter Beast, and a sequence of skits set in the future, directed by Jefferson Tshabalala and co-written with a team of comedians including Lazola Gola and Camilo Saloojee, who also performed on stage. So, who picked up those Waldos, as the awards are called? Among the 12 recipients, Tsitsi Chiumya was named Best Newcomer, Kagiso Lediga picked up the Comic’s Pen award, Loyiso Gola took Game Changer, Basketmouth from Nigeria wore the Pan-African Comic of the Year crown, and David Kau deservedly won the Comedy G award. I was pleased that Bloemfontein funny Phil de Lange was recognised for his growing success — you will understand why when you watch him in Trevor Noah’s coming M-Net stand-up series. It was a thrill when Johnny Clegg did an impromptu performance of Asimbonanga when presenting Pieter-Dirk with his gong, but a thumbs-down that female funnies (like Celeste Ntuli, nominated in three categories) went home empty-handed. The elephant in the room was that the night’s biggest winner, Durbanite Carvin Goldstone, who was named Comic of the Year, didn’t pitch after earlier this year questioning the nomination process for the solo show category, which he also went on to win.