In a trailblazing move, DStv’s BoxOffice is following in the footsteps of Netflix by introducing The Comedy Special. It starts with funnyman Barry Hilton’s The Live Series.
BARRY Hilton is everyone’s “cousin”. That’s the reputation he has culti-vated over the past three decades after ingratiating himself into the lives of South Africans – as well as fans abroad.
I use the word “legendary” to describe him because that is what he truly is.
He started out in an era when the market wasn’t saturated by its current young blood comedians (Trevor Noah, Donovan Goliath, David Kau and so on). And while he is a riot on the stage, the tone of his shows is always wholesome, but never dated.
His humour is kept fresh by his observations of life’s idiosyncratic moments, which beautifully feeds into his creative process and talks to his versatility.
Let’s face it – he has a face for comedy. And he puts it to good use.
On the transformation of the comedy landscape, he responds: “I’m not a gardener. Do I look like Keith Kirsten to you? Seriously though, comedy in South Africa has changed only in content and style. The basic formula is the same: man tells joke, if funny, audience laughs. It’s just the ingredients have changed.”
Has it influenced his style of comedy?
“I would like to think that my style has evolved. When I started, I had hours and hours of one-liner jokes. Then, I won two UK competitions, which led to me opening for comedy superstar Billy Connelly in a huge Jersey theatre. I did four nights with him and looked at him and thought ‘I don’t need to tell just jokes anymore; I can do what he does!’ I came back and started with my observational style of comedy which became my trademark. So a big shout out to Billy Connelly, even though he’ll never know how grateful I am to him or how much I admire him.”
When asked to describe his comedic sensibilities, he responds: “I’m not sensible at all. Just ask my wife. I take my lead from other great speakers in the world. They always give advice to ‘keep it simple, stupid’. And so I do. I talk about things everyone can understand and relate to. For example, everyone knows milk goes sour if left out of the fridge, but how many people actually know which is the second largest moon of Jupiter?
“Early in my career, I also got some brilliant advice from another comedian: ‘Keep it clean and you’ll always be in the scene’. It’s worked for me. With a clean show, there is a much larger audience – I’ve had up to four generations of families come to my shows.”
On making history again – he was the first South African to perform at London’s Comedy Store (2001) and at the Sydney Comedy Store (several years later) – Hilton is the first comedian to debut on DStv’s BoxOffice.
“I was honoured… until I found out all the other comedians’ diaries were full. But really, I’m completely blown away that Mannequin Pictures had such strong faith in my abilities. They obviously did their homework.”
So what can viewers expect?
“It’s the world through my eyes,” he offers.
“I talk about a lot of different stuff. One example is about how technology has changed and nowadays a selfie is different from when I was a youngster. Back then, you made sure the bathroom door was locked when doing a selfie.
“There is something for everyone in my show – even non-South Africans. Working all over the world to people of every nation has helped me fine-tune my shows to be inter-nationally understood and enjoyed.”
Oh, and if you though that Savannah commercial was a hoot – he has a Roman’s Pizza ad in the pipeline, a slew of shows and a considerable yearning to do more movies.
• Barry Hilton’s The Live Series is now available on DStv’s movie rental site, BoxOffice.
More BoxOffice coming
With Hilton’s debut on BoxOffice, we can expect more comedians and local content to follow suit.
Maiyo Simapungula, the PR and communications manager, revealed: “BoxOffice is about giving our viewers the latest and greatest blockbuster movies regardless of whether they are local or international productions. We are excited about The Live Series: Barry Hilton as his style of comedy resonates with diverse audiences.”
She said they will be acquiring much more local content from suppliers.