SA comedians invade ‘Windhoek Comedy Showdown’ tomorrow

Tomorrow the Franco-Namibian Cultural Centre will be filled with various South African comedians alongside Namibian-born Waylene Beukes.

Beukes, although currently based in Johannesburg, still has a deep connection to her roots in the capital city and decided to bring the ‘Windhoek Comedy Showdown’ to the local comedy scene. “Most of the comics have never performed in Namibia. I stay true to Namibia and I wanted to show my two worlds to each other,” she said.

Seeing as this is a South African invasion, the three main acts to perform on the night consists of Dillan Oliphant, Ebenhaezer Dibakwane and Thabiso Mhlongo – all three boasting a Savanna Comics’ Choice Award for best newcomer.

Oliphant has also won Comedy Central’s Roast Battle and Dibakwane is a recognisable face from ‘Dancing with the Stars SA’ and Netflix’s ‘Catching Feelings’.

“Hopefully it will encourage more regular people to support local as well as international African comedy. Our comics are funny and the rest of the world takes notice, it’s time we take notice too,” Beukes said regarding the impact this show might have on the local comedy scene.

Alongside the three main acts, host Prins VR, Bongani Dube and Tsitsi Chiumya are also on the line-up and will appear on Trevor Noah’s ‘NationWild’ later this year on DStv.

While South Africa’s finest will be the main acts, Beukes will not be the only one representing Namibia. She mentioned that there’s still a spot open for one local comedian to shine, the selection just hasn’t been made yet.

“This is the first show, with the next one I’ll try to incorporate more balance between Namibians and foreign acts,” she said, adding that ‘Free Your Mind’ is having shows this month, thus Namibian comics are tied up at the moment.

Beukes herself is new to stand-up comedy and October will mark one year since she joined the industry. “I was blessed to start in Joburg. I get to work with my comedy heroes all the time and learn and grow from them. I’m still a baby, but knowledge of business and running events and the big support comedians give each other makes it possible for shows like this to not just be dreams,” Beukes said.

Mbombela-born, Johannesburg-based Mhlongo said he’s excited to be performing in Namibia. “It’s our first time visiting and we are very excited to be performing in Namibia. We’re expecting a lot of love from our sister country and the audience can expect to laugh harder than they have ever laughed before,” he said.

The show takes place at the FNCC tomorrow, 13 July, at 19h00.

Tickets are available at Events Today, by calling 081 314 5031 and will be sold at the door.