Funnyman Goliath going big
LARGER-THAN-LIFE comedian Jason Goliath will be in the Bay next weekend as part of the Big 5 Comedy Show at the Boardwalk International Convention Centre on June 10.
Performing alongside greats such as Barry Hilton, Nik Rabinowitz, Joey Rasdien and Stuart Taylor, and with the legendary DJ Ready D on the decks, Goliath said the Big 5 Comedy Show would have something for everyone.
He credited “the power of prayer” as the reason he was part of the illustrious line-up.
“The only logical explanation for me was divine intervention and an alignment in the stars which somehow created a bit of luck for me. I’ve worked extremely hard over the last five years and I’ve performed in the biggest festivals in the world, and filmed Comedy Central specials in the biggest festivals in the world, but this is the biggest show of my life in terms of line-up.
“In December, I hosted an international gala with top comedians from across the world and this [Big 5] for me is a bigger deal because I get to go on stage with my icons, my mentors – the guys that, before I even dreamt of comedy, I was a massive fan of.
“I couldn’t imagine this in my wildest dreams. This is the champion’s league of comedy shows.”
Goliath said his jokes came from personal experience, his own life, things that made him laugh and even his body, which was a “big subject” matter, he quipped.
“My material is always changing. I’ve just asked my girlfriend to move in, my material is now weighted by relationships and changes in dynamics that come with that,” he said.
Goliath, who has been making people laugh for almost a decade, recently celebrated the one-year anniversary of his club, the Goliath Comedy Club.
“I never ever imagined being a comedian, never mind being a brand that provides platforms such as the Goliath Comedy Club . . .
“The club turned a year and with that we sold the space we were in at Melrose to move to a bigger space, also in Melrose. We also just wanted to take it back to the original format.
“Our issue was that we felt running a restaurant was taking more of our time than actually developing comedy,” Goliath explained.
“The reason South Africa is the only country with comedy clubs in Africa is that you need a lot of comedians to be able to provide variety from a line-up point of view.
“Once there’s more depth from a talent pool in PE, we will definitely see a Goliath Comedy Club here as well,” Goliath said.
Depending on the set-up and what kind of stage and show he was performing at, Goliath said his jokes could be spontaneous.
However, he added that when performing in a show like the Big 5 Comedy Show, “it’s best to prepare”.
“What I find is that I am spontaneous in changing the delivery of the prepared material to kind of match the crowd’s energy, where you are in the country and where you are in the world,” he said.
Even though he has thousands of fans that look up to him and emulate him, Goliath revealed he himself looked up to fellow comedian and host of The Daily Show, Trevor Noah.
“I’d be lying if said my No 1 guy wasn’t Trevor. What Trevor’s done is that he made things I didn’t believe were possible, possible. He’s moved that goal post out so far that South African artists believe they can achieve anything now.
“I literally made a case study of Trevor and I think any South African comedian who isn’t doing that, is a fool.”
The Big 5 Comedy Show starts at 8pm. Tickets are at Computicket from R150 to R220 per person.