Hilton College: 13 to 15 September
There is a powerfully funny line up of comedy at this year’s Hilton Festival now in its 27th year taking place from 13 to 15 September.
Dry White ….having recovered from his early-onset midlife crisis just in time for Cape Town to almost become the world’s first city to run out of water, retired Jewish Olympics leg-spinner and stand-up comedian Nik Rabinowitz decided to explore Cape Town’s water crisis for his show Dry White” mostly because everyone thought the drought was going to last forever, which in case you missed it, it didn’t #SpoilerAlert. After mother nature rained on his parade, Nik was forced to discuss other stuff too, like love, marriage, infidelity, transphobia, and staying work post forty, which is like staying awake post forty, but more challenging.
Reviewers have said: “Screamingly funny” – Weekend Argus; “Ek het myself nat gelag” – Minister Patricia de Lille.
And if you fancy Dry White, you’d better see Fortyfied as well! South Africa’s finest Xhosa-speaking Jewish stand-up comedian, Nik Rabinowitz, recently turned forty, and was on the verge of a midlife crisis. Except that apparently forty is the new thirty, so he wasn’t sure when to have the crisis, which was a crisis in itself. Also, his wife had just had their third baby – so really, he couldn’t have a midlife crisis – there was just no time. In the meantime, whilst figuring all of this out, he decided that instead of buying a Ferrari and abandoning his family, he would create a new one man show – Fortyfied. “If forty is the new thirty, there is no finer confirmation than the exuberance and boundless energy of Rabinowitz” – Weekend Special.
Catch the world’s funniest conservationist, Benny Bushwacker – conservationist, environmental campaigner, and the only man to have walked the length of Africa barefoot in his new one man show, Human Nature. He is touring the country to reveal what it takes to survive the African bush… and for the African bush to survive.
“Whether it’s my opinion on changing the Springbok emblem, how to spot a bull shitter in Kruger, or the relative chances of my estranged wife, Brenda, replacing the buffalo in the Big 5, I hope to keep you laughing with my ‘wild’ sense of humour and classic bush logic. My stories are brought from bush to page by unofficial biographer, John van de Ruit of Spud fame and from page to stage by South Africa’s lioness of theatre, Janice Honeyman. Don’t miss my hilarious look at life on the wild side,” he said.
Benny had a great season at the National Arts Festival this year and opens at the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre in Durban on 29 July running until 11 August, before heading to Hilton, as part of a national tour.
Or indulge in the sharp political satire of Quantitative Teasing ….get it?! Written by Mike van Graan, this is a collection of (mostly) satirical sketches about contemporary South Africa from the sequels to Pay Back the Curry, performed by the multiple-award winning Daniel Mpilo Richards with sketches from State Fracture and Land Act. Quantitative Teasing pokes fun, provokes and thoroughly entertains about a range of themes that tend to cause South Africans anxiety or irritation.
Rob van Vuuren is here Again! He is a household name in South Africa: he is Twakkie from the Most Amazing Show, the guy who shucksed Shuster in Shucks Tshabalala, the record breaking winner of Strictly Come Dancing, the voice of Takeshi’s Castle Thailand on Comedy Central Africa, Van from Netflix SA’s trending film Van Der Merwe. He is a multi-award-winning comedian and his career has taken him to stages all over the world. Again! is Rob’s brand-new one-man comedy show created specifically to celebrate 2019 as Rob’s 25th year as a professional performer Why does he keep doing it again and again and again? It is a delightful cyclone of hilarity moving from peacocks and pop-lyrics to public transport.
The Hilton Arts Festival, now in its 27th year takes place from 13 to 15 September. The full programme will appear in KZN copies of The Sunday Times on Sunday 11 August. Booking opens on 12 August, and the programme will be live on the festival website from the morning of 12 August. For more info visit www.hiltonfestival.co.za or contact the Festival Office on admin@hiltonfestival.co.za or 033 383 0127.
The Hilton Arts Festival is presented by Hilton College and tiso blackstar group, in association with Grindrod Bank; Black Coffee; Extreme Events; DWR; Bidvest Car Rental; Stella Artois; BASA; the KZN Department of Arts and Culture; Tsogo Sun; Redlands Hotel; FNB; the Caxton Group; Maritzburg Sun; Loud Crowd, The SA Artist and Sappi.
Release written by Sue Clarence
On behalf of the Hilton Arts Festival