Woke jokes: 6 stand-out stand-up shows to stream

With the release of George Carlin’s American Dream this September, Showmax is raising the roof with some of the most inspired, challenging and thought provoking takes on modern life. Here are just six of the comedians here to rip off the blindfold and kick reality in the butt…

1. George Carlin’s American Dream

Two episodes. Two-hundred-and-eight minutes of George Carlin sounding off about everything from politics to the human rights. It’s genius. It’s brilliant. It’s eye-wateringly honest and to the point.

Everything in the world is made up. Like Pinocchio and the Three Little Pigs. It’s not real. It’s a social construct. And it’s what we’ve been conditioned to call “life”. Don’t watch this if you’re offended by F-bombs, new concepts, challenging traditional concepts and ideologies, thinking out of the box, viewing the bigger picture… even if you’re pretty woke, you may be offended by how woke this 2022 doccie by Judd Apatow is (given that George died in 2008 and all of the content is archive footage).

2. Marc Lottering: Hashtag Lottering

Marc is the man when you want no-holds barred local opskommel comedy. He’ll tell you how it is, the way that it is, and why your mother isn’t going to say a word about things. Wild hair? Marc don’t care. Nor does he bat an eyelid at making jokes about former US First Lady Melania and her outrageous hubby Donald Trump.

The local vibe is spiced up with piano (played by Marc), characters like his Aunty Merle alter-ego, and Marc just basically laying into anyone who needs a woke klap upside the kop.

3. Barry Hilton Grey Matters

The Cousin is large and in charge. He’s talking smack about anyone and everyone who gets in his way, taking on topics like having six kids, crime, being a beluga whale (if he was a whale) and crime.

Throw in pot shots at vegetarians (he’s got a T-shirt brand called Nou Gaan Ons Braai) and it’s time for a lekker kuier with your favourite unPC Uncle Barry.

4. Schalk Bezuidenhout: Lewendig

If you think that his moustache is woke, wait until you hear Schalk’s jokes. And the more Afrikaans they are, the better. Because no one tells a woke joke with a straighter face in Die Taal than this stand-up comedian.

And he doesn’t care about subject matter – if it’s there in the open, it’s fair game. Even the process of putting a stand-up show together gets put under the microscope in this laugh-a-minute special. Search carefully and you’ll find more of Schalk’s stand-up comedy specials on Showmax, including Volksbesit and Second Language, plus he’s got a hilarious role in Showmax Original Tali’s Baby Diary.

5. HBO’s The Vagina Monologues

Eve Ensler’s award-winning play gets a doccie-style makeover with loads of archive footage from her stage performance. It’s almost 30 years old and the level of sexual woke-oscity on display is scary.

Eve is like George Carlin – a visionary before their time, laying out content and discussions about topics most people are either shy about, turn a blind eye to, or flat-out plead ignorance to. Everything’s on display here, from Eve talking about shaving pubic hair, to genital mutilation, to menstruation and more.

6. Jason Goliath: Manstruation – Surviving A Wife

Welcome on screen the Manstruation Philosopher! That’s Jason’s name and don’t forget it! He’s loud and proud and doesn’t care whose mama is in the house – Jason is going to say what he wants, how he wants.

He’s got lots to say and he’s tackling topics like marriage, moving to the ’burbs, and why politicians in SA write their own jokes. Even dads bringing their sons to the show get a shoutout as SA’s woke whisperer gets warmed up.

More stand-out comedy