Top international comics Dwayne Perkins, Ruben Paul and UK based Daliso Chaponda from Malawi will be joining David Kau’s Blacks Only comedy celebration.
Now in its 15th year, "Blacks Only: Joke Appropriation Without Compensation" will feature the country’s best comic talent.
Brooklyn’s Dwayne Perkins one-hour comedy special "Dwayne Perkins: Take Note" debuted on Netflix to rave reviews. Perkins has earned a spot in today’s elite class of stand-up comics with several appearances on various shows.
Californian Ruben Paul is a unique and versatile comedian and has performed at The Just for Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal. Paul's stand up appearances can be seen on shows like Comedy Central, "The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson," "Lopez Tonight," Showtime’s special "Russell Peters Presents," BET’s "Comic View," "Comics Unleashed" and HBO’s "Def Comedy Jam" — to name a few.
The son of a Malawian politician, Daliso Chaponda came third in "Britain's Got Talent" in 2017. He began his comedy career in Canada in 2001, later moving to South Africa and then to the UK, where he established himself on club-circuit and appeared at the Edinburgh Fringe.
GET YOUR TICKETS! This show will be Epic!! #blacksonlycomedyshow
A post shared by Daliso Chaponda(@dalisochaponda) on Aug 9, 2018 at 1:45am PDT
Chaponda chatted to IOL about his love for the country:
How much do you know about SA?
I know lots about SA. I went to school for seven years in Swaziland and often went on school trips to SA. I have also performed in SA about 20 or so times over the years. Besides that, I tell jokes about SA everywhere in the world. What can I say? Your politicians are the funniest in Africa!
Understanding that you have been to SA before, how do you plan to connect with the SA crowd?
There are universal themes. Family, love, worrying about money… etc. I do the same kind of jokes when I am in UK, Malawi or Singapore. The delight I have doing an African crowd though is when I talk about some subjects like traditional medicine, corruption or polygamy, it resonates more. In the UK I have to first explain African culture before I can joke about it, while in SA I can just jump in.
What do you love most about the crowd and the country?
My girlfriend is South African, so I have to say her or she’ll smack me. So her at the top, then close behind, the music and the food.
How do you think the SA crowd will react to your material?
I expect whoops and cheers and screams. The SA crowd is wonderfully vocal. If they love your jokes you know it! If you are terrible though, you know that too.
What makes you stand out from other comedians?
I think I am a bit of a jack of all trades. There are comedians who do one-liners, some who tell stories, some who are political, some who talk about love. I dip into everything. So I’ll tell a story about my father, then a surreal joke about love, then a few puns. You never know what I’ll do next.
"Blacks Only" takes place on Saturday at TicketPro Dome and will feature the three international acts alongside David Kau as MC, Kagiso KG Mogadi; Lihle Msimang, Mpho Popps; Riaad Moosa, Schalk Bezuidenhout, Sifiso Nene, Siya Seya, Skhumba, Somizi and Tumi Morake.
Tickets start at R250.