South African comedian Chris Forrest is expected to star in Judy Naidoo’s latest film "Kings of Mulberry Street", which is expected to hit cinemas on June 28.
The film tells the story of two nine-year-old boys feisty Ticky (Aaqil Hoosen) and his sidekick the more timid Baboo (Shaan Nathoo), who set out to rid their community of local bully and crime boss, Raja.
The film is set in the 80s, in the fictional town of Sugarhill District in KwaZulu-Natal.
Forrest plays the role of Mr White, the born and bred Durban beach bum who is a colourful local and a hustler and knows all the players in the crime underworld.
“Mr White acts as the go-between for the unscrupulous Raja and a major drug syndicate,” said Naidoo.
“He plays a big part in Raja’s scheme, and his ability to tolerate abuse from him is both painful and funny to observers. Chris was perfect for this role because of his unique sense of humour and he is one of the country’s most popular comedians.”
Forrest started out at the “Funny Farm” at what was then called the Randburg Waterfront, and has since gone on to perform at every major comedy club, showcase or festival in South Africa.
He appeared in the 46664 “It’s No Joke” comedy show as one of South Africa’s top 10 comics, and is also a regular on the “Heavyweight Comedy Jam”, “The Blacks Only Show” and the “Kingsize Comedy Show”.
He has performed at several international festivals including the Edinburgh Festival, The Lyric Theatre in London, and major festivals in Dubai, Ghana, Botswana and Swaziland.
In 2013, Forrest hosted the prestigious Comics Choice Awards, and also hosted his own episode of “Comedy Central Presents Live at Parker’s” and performed four successful one-man shows namely “Chris Forrest, He’s a really nice guy” which was broadcast on Comedy Central, “The Flipside”, “The Guy from TV” and most recently “Who’s Your Daddy?”
“Chris ha such a unique quirkiness about him, that he was an obvious choice for the role. He has these really expressive, crazy eyes, you simply cannot help but laugh. He is also just such a lovely human being and has added enormous comedy value to Kings of Mulberry Street”, Naidoo said.
“Kings of Mulberry Street” will be distributed in South Africa by Indigenous film Distribution, in partnership with Nickelodeon and Comedy Central.