South African Comedy Festivals

Matthew Ribnick in the comedy show, The Chilli Boy.

© Joburg Civic Theatre

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Comedy festivals in South Africa normally occur annually, are often sponsored by big organisations and pull large crowds because there is a huge demand for comedy in the country.

Comedy clubs performing weekly in and around South Africa's night-time venues - restaurants, bars, hotels and night-clubs - always draw crowds, but it's the annual festivals, such as the Cape Town International Comedy Festival, the SA Comedy Festival, the Heavyweight Comedy Jam, the Blacks Only Comedy Festival and Comedy Encounters, that represent the full spectrum of vibrant, multi-cultural comedy in South Africa.

South Africa's comedy festivals not only feature the country's top comedic acts but often showcase well-known international comedians, as well as functioning as platforms for up-and-coming comics hoping to break onto the scene.

Anything goes too. At these laugh-out-loud events the range of comedy acts is diverse and will give audiences a large dose of authentic S outh African humour, at the same time providing visitors with a candid, up-to-date perspective of South Africa, its social and political issues, its day-to-day dramas and its people.

And don't expect it to be tame because many of the country's comedians don't hold back, using  South Africa's comedy festivals as a platform to 'rant and rave' about current issues, in a way that will have audiences howling with laughter and rolling in the isles.

The big South African comedy festivals are widely advertised. The smaller ones often tag onto the large music and arts & culture festivals that take place in South Africa, such as the Grahamstown National Arts Festival, KKNK and OppiKoppi, to name a few.

Hook up with Computicket, theatres, events' guides and comedy blogs online to find out when the next big comedy festival will take place.