ACERBIC COMEDIAN TO PRESENT HOT NEW COMEDY FORMAT
To learn more about the Roast Battle concept, please click here
Johannesburg, 11 May 2016: Outspoken comic, comedy producer and “Roast” veteran
John Vlismas is warming up for his new gig as the host of Comedy Central’s Roast Battle
– the hot new comedy format in which comics battle to the death in a series of quick-fire
comedic combats.
Vlismas, who famously ruffled Steve Hofmeyr’s feathers at the 2013 “Comedy Central
Roast of Steve Hofmeyr”, and brought a gun to the 2014 “Comedy Central Roast of Kenny
Kunene”, will be keeping his cool as he presides over the new series of live shows. The first
episode of the new series will be taped in front of a live audience at Parker’s, Montecasino,
Johannesburg on Thursday 26 May, before airing across the continent on Comedy Central
from June 2016.
Joining Vlismas at the first outing of Roast Battle are comedians Dusty Rich, Nina Hastie,
Dillan Oliphant and Nqoba Ngcobo. They join previously announced contestants Chris
Forrest and Mo Mothebe, and guest judge Kenny Kunene, himself a former Roastee.
Pioneered at the Comedy Central International Comedy Festival in December 2015, the
Roast Battle finds Vlismas keeping the peace between the six local stand-ups as they aim
to “burn” and out-do their opponents armed only with an arsenal of 5 jokes in the form of
original one-liners. The Roast Battle host and guest judges then decide who will proceed
through to the next round. Six monthly heats will be followed by a grand final event at the
end of the year at which Comedy Central will crown the Roast Battle champion.
Commented John Vlismas, “Nothing shows love in the comedy world like one performer
tearing another performer’s heart out through their back passage, and beating it to death like
a baby seal on a Namibian beach. And then we’ll get the comics to hug it out and score
them, so one is not only mortally wounded but officially a loser as well.”
Commented Evert van der Veer, Vice President, Comedy Central, Africa, “The Roast
Battle concepts disrupts and subverts the established notion of what a stand-up
performance should be, and adds an exciting, speed-based competitive element that is
engaging and entertaining for comedians and audiences alike. The first episode of Comedy Central Roast Battle will be recorded in front of a live audience at Parker’s Comedy & Jive, Montecasino on 26 May.
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