Lekker laughs with these top South African standup comedians

You won’t be able to laugh hysterically in a crowded comedy club anytime soon, but Showmax has stepped into the gap with an ever-growing binge-fest of laughs guaranteed to put a smile on your dial, even in the times of Covid. Here are some of the most popular local comedy specials on Showmax.

Dillan Oliphant: In a Lonely Place

With his coy grin and wry, understated humour, Eldorado Park’s very own Dillan Oliphant gets you giggling while he quietly cuts to the heart of the matter, blindsiding you with some home-truths on township life, conflict resolution, looting, funerals, uncles, aunties and loneliness. 

Since winning the 2012 Savanna Comics Choice Newcomer Award, Dillan has racked up laughs alongside the best in the biz on stage and screen, including Trevor Noah’s Nationwild, the Emmy-nominated Late Nite News with Loyiso Gola, Kings & Queens of Comedy and Blacks Only.  

Jason Goliath: Manstruation: Surviving a Wife and Live at Parkers 

Goliath presence, goliath persona, goliath energy – that’s Jason Goliath. Nominated for Best Newcomer in the 2012 Comics Choice Awards, Jason went on to scoop the Nando’s Best Friend of Comedy Award for three years running, from 2015 to 2017, with his co-owned entertainment company, Goliath & Goliath. 

In Manstruation, the Black Tax star has a go at relationships, making light of both sides in the marital equation, while his live set at Parker’s Comedy Club shows the funny side of being a little on the larger side.

Khanyisa Bunu: Comedy Special

One of the “first ladies” of SA comedy, Eastern Cape-born comedian, actress, columnist and author Khanyisa Bunu tells it like it is with her trademark modesty and good, clean comedy (though she gets a little bit naughty here). 

Khanyisa got her start on reality show So You Think You’re Funny. Since then, the former high school teacher has conquered the circuit, from Kings & Queens of Comedy, Blacks Only and the Comedy Central Roast Battle to the Grahamstown Arts Festival, Botswana, Nigeria and even Greenwich Village Comedy Club in New York. She’s toured with and opened for Trevor Noah and in 2015 became the first woman to win the coveted Comics Choice Audience Choice Award.

Mashabele Galane: Sex After Marriage 2: It’s a Scene

Renowned comedian Mashabela Galane takes us through the ups and downs of marriage in this show that toured the country. He brings the lighter side to the day-to-day challenges that all couples and singles will identify with.

Schalk Bezuidenhout: Snorseun, Schalkie and Volksbesit

Schalk Bezuidenhout won the 2013 Comics Choice Newcomer Award, was nominated as Breakthrough Act of the Year in 2014, and won the Intermediate Award in 2015. The Kempton Park-born Afrikaans comic has endeared himself to audiences across cultures and countries, with Skhumba calling him “the one white comedian loved by black people”. 

In Snorseun and Schalkie, his third Afrikaans and English one-man shows respectively, Schalk once again has a go at himself, Afrikaner identity, and preconceptions in general, bringing us strange encounters in Kempton Park and SA at large.

In Volksbesit, he pokes fun at himself and other South Africans, with no topic or quirk off limits.

The Comedy Central Roast of AKA 

It’s uncut, uncensored and unforgiving. That’s right, it’s Grudgement Day for rapper AKA. Pearl Thusi made history as the first black woman to be Roastmaster, and who better to put in the hot seat than her BFF’s baby daddy, AKA? Watch (and squirm) as SA’s funniest take their very best below-the-belt potshots at the rapper (and each other). The guests include Nina Hastie, Mark Fish, Francois van Coke, Papa Penny, Moonchild Sanelly, Joey Rasdien, Davido and Moshe Ndiki. 

If you still want more, Showmax also has the Pre-Roast Special with Jason Goliath.

Tsitsi Chiumya: So Naive

Since becoming the first black video game designer to graduate from Wits University, Limpopo comedian Tsitsi Chiumya has rocketed onto the stand-up scene since the comedy bug derailed his gaming career plans. 

Named the Comics Choice Best Newcomer in 2018, Tsitsi won the 2019 Next Level Award, and hosted last year’s Savanna Newcomer Showcase. He’s also earned a SAFTA for script-writing as part of  the team behind Puppet Nation.

A master of observation and relatable, awkward stories, Tsitsi has performed across SA, in Zambia, Europe and the US, and did a 38-show tour of South-East Asia, with features in Trevor Noah’s Nationwild series and the BBC profile series, The Arts Hour with Nikki Bedi.

The Napsta: My Dad Would Always Say

Christian comedian The Napsta uses music, ventriloquism and alter egos to address issues around the absence of fathers in South African society.

Live Series: Laugh at First Sight

These comics will be the funniest speed date you’ve ever had, as they open up about their love life, and love for making people laugh.

Live Series: National Comics Party

A election themed stand-up comedy special featuring Jason Goliath, Schalk Bezuidenhout, Chester Missing and Skhumba Hlophe.

Marc Lottering: Hashtag Lottering

One of South Africa’s most beloved comedians, Marc Lottering, presents a stand-up comedy special covering topics ranging from how to successfully live in debt, to the dangers of a WhatsApp family group.

The Live Series: Joey Rasdien

He could be the voice of a new generation of SA comedy … or he could be the voice of absurdity. Either way, Joey Rasdien will have you in stitches.

And the laughs keep on coming…

Other top 10ers on Showmax include 2018 Comics Choice Comedy G Award-winner David Kau in his Live At Parker’s set, with guests Skhumba and Dave Levinsohn; Comedy Central Presents: Sex Live at The Lyric, with Celeste Ntuli, Trevor Gumbi, Anele Mdoda, Nik Rabinowitz and irrepressible host John Vlismas; and The Last Boss, East Coast Radio presenter Neil Green’s comedy special. 

Still struggling to pick one? Try the compilations Funny People Africa or get to know your favourite comedians better in the Showmax Original Trippin with Skhumba.