The Soweto Comedy Festival Online Edition featuring SA Top Comics & hosted by Kedibone Mulaudzi

One major event that took place in 2008 in South Africa was the launch of Soweto Comedy Festival, Jo’burg’s premium comedy festival. The fest is the brainchild of one of SA’s top comedians Kedibone Mulaudzi and it came about because there was no comedy in Soweto and residents were demanding comedy. If you stayed in Soweto and wanted to watch comedy you had to drive to New Town in Jo’burg on a Wednesday night at a venue called Horror Café where the first-ever comedy nights in Jo’burg were held. The nights were produced by Kedibone Mulaudzi.

The festival made the big comedy names that are in the industry today. It was also a space where comedy workshops were run under Nubreed School of Comedy which is now called The SA Comedy Academy. The first Soweto Comedy Festival which took place in Pimville, Soweto, and had a killer lineup which was made of comedians from the Horror Café era: Trevor Noah, Eugene Khoza, Loyiso Gola, Kedibone Mulaudzi, Kagiso Lediga and Roni Modimola. And Sowetans were elated that comedy had come to the township, and it was the first ever comedy event to be held in Soweto and it has given birth to countless comedy nights that are currently running in Soweto.

Fast forward to 13 Years later the brand Soweto Comedy Festival is a big brand and it’s celebrating its 13^th year anniversary in a big way on July 31^st 2020 and comedians on lineup is a mixture of comedians from the original line-up: Kedibone Mulaudzi, the comedians the Festival produced over the years Jay Boogie, Lwando Mahlakatha and Thoby Khanyile. Joining the comedians is our guest and hilarious comedian and token white guy Dave Levinsohn. This is done in the midst of a pandemic, in a way everyone can still laugh but in a safe environment of their home. The shows will also remind people of what they need to do to continue protecting themselves against Covid 19 as we are in this together, even comedians are involved in the fight, I know it’s hard to believe that comedians can be serious.

To watch the show all comedy fans have to do is, get their data ready, logon to the Facebook page of Soweto Theatre and press play. The show will be simulcast on the Facebook pages of Joburg Theatre and Roodepoort Theatre. In short this is the one comedy event not to be missed as you will witness a time lapse of the last 13 years of the Soweto Comedy Festival through a mix of comedians from the first show, headliners in the country and also comedians developed by the festival. The festival has come full circle, The event producer, Kedibone Mulaudzi, said “All comedy fans that have supported the brand over the last 13 years must log in the Facebook pages in numbers via inviting friends and family members to do the same and watch the show at the comfort of their own home over snacks, juice or cold drink since booze has been banned.”