Comedian Gola hopes to follow in Noah’s footsteps

THERE is a comedy recipe and Trevor Noah and Loyiso Gola are the two comedians that have it.

As Noah returns home for what could be regarded as his South African swan song, Gola has announced that he will be following the example set by Noah.

Gola, who was named last year’s Comic of the Year, announced to nearly 600 000 of his Twitter followers that he will be joining the cast of the Australian satirical show The Weekly, hosted by Charlie Pickering. He will be joining the show as a correspondent and will be recording his first episode via satellite today.

As the co-creator and anchor of e.tv’s Late Night News, Gola’s break down under will not impact the show.

During a Cliff Central interview yesterday Gola said he had been trying to break into the international market for years and it was Noah who provided the blueprint.

Earlier this year, it was announced that Noah would be taking over from Jon Stewart as the host of The Daily Show.

“The comedy community in South Africa has always thought internationally . . . we just needed someone to do it the way Trevor has. So his getting the show just affirms what we’ve always wanted.”

While Noah appears to be the au- thor of “how to make it big in America”, Gola has gone for Australian waters.

The strategy is simple: start with tours then get a gig as a contributor. This is the formula that both Gola and Noah have used.

Fellow LNN comedian Chester Missing said: “I don’t know if he [Gola] is leaving. If he is I’ll miss his big fluffy eyebrows. Those things inspired me. South African comedians are blazing. Wait until the world sees what we’ve got.”

Noah’s sold-out Lost in Translation tour was scheduled to start on Friday, but he added a show today due to the demand.

Gola’s will be performing his oneman show, Loyiso Gola Live, for local audiences from next month.