The biggest international Comedy Festival in Africa just got bigger. For many years, hundreds of comedians from all over the world have brought the biggest laughs to hundreds of thousands of fans, at the Annual Nando’s Comedy Festivals that runs in Jozi, Durban and Cape Town.
This year Kaya FM and Oude Meester have teamed up with Nando’s to introduce the “Nando’s Comedy Festival at the Walter Sisulu Square”.
Featuring the best international stand-up Soweto has ever seen, the first ever Nando’s Comedy Festival in Soweto will be hosted by local heavy-weight David Kau who will be joined on stage by five international headliners, including funny man Orlando Jones, Michael Winslow, Lil’Rel, Loni Love and guitar man, Brian Haner and introducing new-comer Loyiso Madinga.
Orlando Jones began his Hollywood career as a writer on NBCs “A Different World”, Fox’s “Martin” starring Martin Lawrence and writing/producing Fox’s “Roc Live” starring Charles Dutton. Orlando later combined his writing and acting talents on Fox’s “Mad TV”. Oscar winning director Barry Levinson cast Orlando in his first feature film “Liberty Heights”.
Orlando has continued working with visionary film directors like Ivan Reitman (Evolution), Mike Judge (Office Space), Harold Ramis (Bedazzled) and Oscar Paul Thomas Anderson (Magnolia). Orlando was nominated for an Ovation Award by the LA Stage Alliance for his performance in August Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize winning play “Fences”.
From his portrayal of Clifford Franklin in the classic football film “The Replacement”s to the hugely successful Drumline to singing and dancing in the Broadway revival of The Wiz, Orlando Jones continues to thrill and entertain audiences.
Michael Winslow is a master of vocal gymnastics, can imitate over 1000 sound effects using his voice alone. Famous for his roles in the “Police Academy” movies, “Spaceballs” and several voice-overs for Disney and Universal Studios such as “Gremlins”, “Back to the Future”, “Terminator” and the TV hit “Robo Chicken and Family Guy” he entertains all ages with his hilarious impressions.
Chicago native Milton “LilRel” Howery recently was casted for the return of “In Living Color” to FOX television. Howery who excels at character comedy has gained a high amount of recognition over the past couple of years as he has appeared on numerous television shows highlighted by performances on NBC’s “Last Comic Standing”, Comedy Central’s “Russell Simmons Presents” and Starz Martin Lawrence “1st Amendment”.
In 2011 he also participated in the New Faces Show at the prestigious Montreal Just For Laughs Festival. Howery has also developed a comedy album currently available on iTunes titled, “I Know You Hear Me, But Are You Listening” along with other independently produced titles such as “The Lil Rel Show Volume 1”and “Lil Rel: A True West Side Story” both available on Amazon.com.
Comedian and actress Loni Love is not only one of the most hilarious and lovable comics performing stand-up on the comedy club and college circuits but also a busy TV host, guest and actress who has also appeared in films and dramatic plays.
Love starred in her own half-hour special for Comedy Central in 2007 and has also been seen on the channel’s “Premium Blend,” “Weekends at the DL” and “Chocolate News”. Her many television appearances include “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” “The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn,” and “Comics Unleashed” among numerous others.
Love has recently appeared in the pilot episode of NBC’s hit show “Whitney” and has enjoyed a recurring role on the Nickelodeon show “Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide” as well as a recurring role on Disney XD’s “Kickin’ It.” She’s had guest starring roles on UPN’s “Girlfriends” and the CBS sitcom “Worst Week.” She was host of the “E! Wildest TV Show Moments” and guest host on “GSN Live”. Currently Loni is a regular panelist on E!s hit show “Chelsea Lately” and TruTV’s Presents: The World’s Dumbest”. Loni taped her first one hour special for Comedy Central: “America’s Sister” which premiered in 2010. Loni’s first love is performing for live audiences. She puts it quite simply “I love to make people laugh!”
Best known as Guitar Guy from The Jeff Dunham Show, Brian Haner is that perfect combination of skilled guitar player and stand-up comedian. While many guitar comics simply play chords while they do their comedy act, Brian is a whole different kind of musician.
Brian spent twenty-five years as a guitarist, recording and touring with musicians ranging from Avenged Sevenfold to Frank Zappa. For the last four years he has opened for The Jeff Dunham Tour on more than 500 shows, in just about every city in America, as well as South Africa, Australia, and a tour across Europe. Brian is now headlining clubs across the country in his own rock ‘n’ roll comedy show.
With over 4.2 million views on his YouTube page, Brian has created a rabid fanbase for his live shows.
One of the most sought-after comedians in South Africa, David Kau’s name is synonymous with many firsts. He stormed onto the scene with a performance at the first Nando’s Comedy Festival in 1998 (then called the Smirnoff Comedy Festival), becoming the first black stand-up comedian on this coveted comedy stage. He wrote and performed “The Rainbow Nation Tour”, his first one-man show in 1998, and never looked back. He continued with politically-savvy comedy with his next play, “Introducing The Peoples Comic”– he left Cape Town for Johannesburg where he performed in “Heavyweight Comedy Jams” from 2000 and “Comedy Black Out” in 2002 until 2004.
Loyiso Madinga, the winner of the popular stand-up competition “Graça Comedy Showdown” created a stir with his performance during the Nando’s Jozi Comedy Festival. With only a handful of performances under his belt, he has already secured a big following of fans and is set to become the next big name in SA comedy.
NANDO’S COMEDY FESTIVAL AT THE WALTER SISULU SQUARE:
August: 30, 31and 1 September 2012
Cast: David Kau
Orlando Jones
Lil Rel
Loni Love
Brian Haner
Michael Winslow
Loyiso Madinga (winner of the Graça Comedy Showdown – JHB)
Tickets: From R150 – R220 at Computicket
