Walking on to the stage, Irish comedian Dylan Moran dutifully read off a small piece of paper in his hand, trying out some of the local languages.
The irony of him trying out a Xhosa greeting on the overwhelmingly white crowd was not lost on the 43-year-old actor, whose three performances were a sold-out success on the National Arts Festival main bill.
Comedy at the festival is still treated as a fringe genre – Moran’s details on the programme were put in the main theatre section rather than with the local comedians further back in the book – but the success of his show will hopefully change the way organisers treat stand-up.
He showed that an international comedian with a dedicated following has fans who will travel very far indeed to see a show.
It didn’t matter what he said – from the moment Moran walked out to rapturous applause he had the Guy Butler Theatre audience hanging on his every word.
Billing himself as a fat, middle-aged white male, he proceeded to poke fun at himself through a fast monologue with a mix of improvisation, astute observations and lots of personal comment, as he tried out his latest show, Off the Hook, on a new crowd.
The next night, down the road at the Victoria Theatre, Loyiso Gola packed them in as well. His audience was more diverse, and his hall was just as packed.
When Gola threw out a line in another language, he got a response.
Gola did not disappoint, inviting the audience to tempt him with topics, flitting from one to the next, mercilessly poking fun at his perceived craziness of white people’s behaviour and just telling jokes.
Even when his cutting comments called into question the audience’s judgement and sanity, he always got the laughs with his State of the Nation show.
Emmy-nominated for his Late Nite News show, which returns to e.tv on August 6, Gola will also present a talk tomorrow at the Think!Fest, called The Thin Line.