John Vlismas gives us one last chuckle before he hangs up his mic.
The 2019 installment of "The Big 5 Comedy Show" sees Vlismas gearing up for one of his final shows before he embarks on the next chapter of his life.
Vlismas will share the stage with fellow industry heavyweights Stuart Taylor, Schalk Bezuidenhout, Tats Nkonzo and Kurt Schoonraad.
“It feels as if the Big 5 Comedy brand has come of age and we are excited about how we can take the audiences’ experience to new levels in 2019. The hallmark of Big 5 Comedy has always been this: uncompromising quality with regards to not only the acts on the bill, but also the overall experience for the comedy lover in the audience,” says comedian and show founder Stuart Taylor.
On what to expect from the show, Vlismas says: “My set’s going to be my most concentrated material yet. I’m going to put in things that the people who like me really want to hear and the people who hate me really don’t want to hear from me and I don’t care.”
The 46-year-old lost his father to a heart attack last year. And it seems the loss inspired him to realign his priorities and take a new direction in his life.
“I ended a long-term relationship, the business I was in, where I worked with other comedians, I got out of that. I revisited old friendships that needed my attention, most importantly my daughter, who was starting to become last in the various compartments of my life.”
Though he is still sharing jokes on a different platform, Vlismas says he is enjoying teaching at Henley Business school, where he is also completing his MBA.
“I’ve really enjoyed doing comedy, but I’ve had enough of this. It makes me lazy, my ability to go out and earn money by talking s**t is too easy.
“I talk about change. I teach disruption at Henley. If you look at my life, I have certainly disrupted myself but the big disruption would be ‘okay that’s it. I’m not doing this anymore’.
“And if you want to see what I do, you need to come to my classroom because we need to learn, don’t laugh, learn, you can do both, I don’t mind.”
Listen to the full podcast interview below:
Warning: The podcast contains strong language
The Big 5 Comedy Show takes place on July 26 and 27 at the Teatro in Montecasino.
Tickets are available at Computicket and range from R180 to R350
Doors open at 7.30pm and the show starts at 8pm.
The show is rated PG 16.
The podcast was produced and edited by Masabata Mkwananzi.
** "Big Little Secrets" is Independent Media Lifestyle's latest podcast where we speak to the movers and shakers of the local entertainment industry. A new episode is uploaded every week.