In partnership with Savanna Premium Cider, Chatz Connect, Kaya FM 95.9, IOL
and 1Magic DStv Channel 103

What do you get if you split 24 newcomer comedians into teams coached by six previous winners of the annual Savanna Newcomer Award? One damn funny show!

This year the build-up to the Savanna Newcomer Showcase took a different spin; the format was refreshed to give the newcomers a somewhat richer experience. Four weeks ago, the comedians were split into six teams, were added to one of six WhatsApp groups and were mentored by none other than Deep Fried Man, Schalk Bezuidenhout,Dillan Oliphant, Thabiso Mhlongo, Ebenhaezer Dibakwane and Yaaseen Barnes.

With the aim of getting their crop of budding comics to peak performance on time for this year’s Savanna Newcomer Showcase, each ‘coach’ was on hand to help their set of newcomers with their delivery and to share a sense of comradery at yesterday’s event
itself.

Fast Forward to Sunday 20 May and the buzz at the Soweto Theatre was fantastic, with the industry, celebs and comedy-loving fans coming out to support. Keeping in-line with the sporting theme, the pre-party was a hit with cheerleaders, whistles and
ball game activations while Kaya FM’s DJ Khenzero mixed classic sporting movie theme tunes into his killer set.

Just before 5pm the comedy kicked off and it was great to see so many female comedians in the mix this year. KZN’s Nonto Rubushe’s set was hilarious, hitting the stage dressed in yellow in the hope that dressing in Savanna’s iconic colour may increase her chances! But the real show stealer was Jo’burg’s Cobus van Rensburg, with Black Twitter and land reclaim jokes, he got a standing ovation for his topical one-liners.

The aim of the event is to give emerging comedians five minutes on stage so that they can show the industry, media and potential booking agents what they’re made of. MC’d by last year’s winner of the Savanna Comic of the Year Award, Skhumba Hlophe high-fived the comics who killed it but had no qualms about throwing shade on those who didn’t. Totally hilarious, he set the bar and showed the newcomers exactly how it’s done.

Every year we see a set of newcomers come out onto stage, yet every year the effect is different. From vernac to Afrikaans, to race, religion and weight, some of the material was well below-the-belt but most of it was a shining example of how far our industry has come. A special reflection on the content was recognising how so many of the newcomers wove Savanna into their sets, knowing that none of this would have been possible without the Savanna brand’s long-term support of grass-root comedy.

The five nominees will be announced on 11 July and only one will walk away with the Waldo at this year’s Savanna Comics’ Choice Awards which takes place on 8 September 2018 at The Lyric Theatre at Gold Reef City. There are limited tickets available to
the public so get yours now: https://online.computicket.com/web/event/savanna_comics_choice_awards/1217308891/0/87054991

The Savanna Newcomer Showcase. In partnership with Savanna Premium Cider, Chatz Connect, Kaya FM 95. 9, IOL and 1Magic DStv Channel 103

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