There’s a Gupta on My Stoep. With a title like that and the inimitable Trevor Noah at the helm, curiosity is immediately piqued.
Those that secured tickets to the comedy shows so far are still singing his praises.
Of course, the comedian-cum-talk show host of Comedy Central’s The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, is in his element finding the funny in politics.
And he couldn’t have chosen a more fortuitous period to stage a live show with President Jacob Zuma surviving the secret ballot motion of no confidence this week.
He is not the only ruler who has proven to be a trove for lampooning. US President Donald Trump would probably suffer serious withdrawal symptoms if Noah ever got bored of magnifying his incessant power trips and decision making faux pas.
Local comedic acts - Schalk Bezuidenhout, Khanyisa Bunu and Robbie Collins - along with hip hop artist AKA, kept the fans, who filled The Dome, entertained until Noah and those seriously gorgeous dimples arrived on stage.
Trevor Noah dressed for success as the host of The Daily Show.
Why do we sing Noah’s praises?
There’s a few reasons. He does his homework, firstly. Then there’s his flawless execution, whether he is flitting between characters or accents.
He’s damn impressive and unparalleled!
And what does he do as soon as he gets on stage - the one that AKA exited a few minutes earlier? He delivers an hilariously spell-binding observation of the social media culture where the public were more outraged over Queen B’s error-riddled autobiography than the allegations of the Deputy Minister of Education assaulting two women.
It’s been two years since Noah made the Big Apple his home. Of course, the move mandated a a few cultural adjustments. And he shared a few of those comedic interactions, especially when he compared SA’s cops with the trigger-happy ones in the US.
Noah also imbued his success - not in an arrogant light - into his material.
Having amassed so many skits/jibes at Trump, his administration, detractors and allies - some of the hilarious insights were rewarded with a reverberation of unadulterated laughter.
Although he deviated into those relationship “timebomb” issues and offered advice on how to decipher the signals - our political bigwigs like Julius Malema who, in losing weight, looks like “the land” wasn't the only thing taken.
He poked fun at white people protesting with the three grannies "Zuma Must Go" song lacking gravitas. His impromptu toy-toying on stage earned him serious props.
And then he did what can only be called a nothing-short-of-genius spoofing of how the Guptas, in being in Zuma’s ear, contributed to his mathematical blunder, which grabbed global headlines.
Looks like Noah was listening carefully, too.
He also looked at the “positives” of crime in SA in an hilarious skit penned around a frustrated terrorist, corruptible cop and disillusioned drunk Caucasian.
I have high-praise for Noah who, in leaving the audience in stitches, plants barefaced truths in his comedy. Talk about a vote of complete confidence. Hats off to you, Noah! And he has a 13-part comedy series for M-Net in the kitty.