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Funnies on the Fringe

The 2009 comedy line-up for the National Arts Festival Fringe (2 – 11 July, Grahamstown) sparkles with energy, mystery, magic and mayhem. Lay off the tummy crunches for a while – the Fringe comedians are standing in line to give your abs a full-blown workout.

There’s a host of comedians you just can’t afford to miss – David Newton – who’s bringing the acclaimed shows, Laugh and Politically Incorrect, Stuart Taylor (teaching men to be men in Learner Husband), Ava Vidal (a UK comedienne, former prison guard for HM services, who took Edinburgh by storm last year – Remember, Remember the 4th of November), Brent Palmer (with Credit Crunch – an hysterical reminder that although our economic times are tough – “like Bloemfontein Biltong” – we need not despair), Gaetan Schmidt, who holds a “master class in split-second timing” in Rumpsteak, and Conrad Koch, the uproariously funny ventriloquist with a handful of deranged dummies as co-stars in Koch Up! 

Annie Robinson and Paul Spence take a meander from KZN to the Eastern Cape to weave their dinner theatre web around Grahamstown audiences. Having sold out for three years at the Witness Hilton Arts Festival, the intrepid whodunit duo brave the chill of Grahamstown’s winter to tell of ‘Murder Most Foul’ in the Randlord’s mansion. Warm up with an excellent 3-course meal interspersed with theatrical clues (and a few deliberate myths) and see if you can help Detective Buchan unravel The Strange Case of Hester Cilliers. Was it Lady Eve in the bathroom with the candelabra or Sir Henry in the garden with the pitchfork? It’s all up to you!

Also conjuring mysteries with the audience’s help are Slick ′n Sleeve. After sell-out performances at the 2008 Festival with Butlers & Brandy, their sequel production, Butlers & Botox, is hell-bent on wrangling tears of laughter. Inviting the audience to decide on the sequence of events means this murder-mystery comedy may never be solved!

In Mysterious Ways Ran’D Shine combines quick thinking with even quicker action. His eye-popping, mind-boggling magic is interspersed with rapier sharp comic interludes. In Sleight of Mind Stuart Lightbody and Bryan Miles combine magic, misdirection and psychological illusion in a slick, cutting edge production that will completely astound you.

Theatresports also asks for audience interplay – quick thinking, quick acting, quick laughter! Give them a story – absurd, outrageous or everyday – and they’ll make it come to life – on the spot!

Mark Sampson’s over-sized inflatable dice and giant Snake & Ladders game will have you playing along as you dance through the helter-skelter kaleidoscope of this funny man’s life. Mark Sampson’s Feeling Funny is off-the-cuff, interactive fun from beginning to end – sold out in 2008, this is ‘Round Number Two’.

Rob van Vuuren is Rob van Wurin probably says it all. This comic genius and winner of the 2008 National Arts Festival/Nando’s award for Best Comic Performance by an Actor, strayed into stand-up by chance – looking at his reviews, let’s hope he stays there! “Hilarious… improvisational genius… hysterically funny” is how the Natal Witness described him.

They’re back – Geraldine Naidoo’s new production Monkey Nuts starring the indomitable Matthew Ribnick (of Hoot and Chilli Boy fame), is bound to pack in the crowds; as is Mike van Graan’s Bafana Republic 3: Penalty Shootout, with Lungi Pinda winning the much-sought after lead role. Nicholas and Luke Ellenbogen keep you up to speed in the 20th Raiders volume – A Midsummer Night’s Raiders, and Jacobus van Heerden and Liam Magner of the Neon Anthems bring a sequel to the high-grossing Tokoloshe comedy with Tokoloshe Come Again.

Mamba Production’s Beauty and the BEE (starring Ben Voss and directed by Janice Honeyman) takes a nicely veiled swipe at government policies and Afrika: Mama Yo!, from the pen of Wesley Masilo, is a hilarious production that looks into over-zealous pitches for World Cup 2010 entertainment.

Girl talk reigns supreme with a plethora of productions discussing thorny issues around sex, relationships and the complexities of modern living. Right 2 Speak’s Hot Seat Confessions, mentored by acclaimed director, Lara Foot Newton, is an honest, humourous exposé of the ups and downs of four sassy, sexy and ‘oh, so single’ women.  A Pineapple in my Panties, a titillating funny one-woman musical comedy, features Carly Barnes as a heartbroken woman on a mission to find love.
 

Ash Searle and Vanessa Harris pas de deux their way through the typical faux pas of the ‘perfect couple’ in Relationsh*t; Canned Ice Productions find out just what can go wrong on the eve of the perfect wedding in the uproarious A Girl’s Best Friend; and 3Fates’ YES! delves into the core of that terribly tricky topic – sex – ‘are you safe and sorted?’  The Yes! Team have been talking and researching sex and relationships for months and will bring you a change to the way you look at your partner and will definitely change the way they look at you ...

This is just the tip of the iceberg – there are 57 comedy features and a whole lot more on the 2009 Fringe programme. The jam packed full schedule is available on the Festival’s website www.nationalartsfestival.co.za and you can pick up a Booking Kit at selected Standard Bank branches, Computicket outlets and Exclusive Books branches.

The “10 days of amazing!” at the National Arts Festival, Grahamstown will run from 2 – 11 July 2009.

The National Arts Festival is sponsored by Standard Bank, The Eastern Cape Government, The National Arts Council, The National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund, The Sunday Independent and M Net.

Ends

Note to editors

About the National Arts Festival: The National Arts Festival now in its 35th year has proved its sustainability and has grown to be one of the leading arts festivals in southern Africa. Its objectives are to deliver excellence; encourage innovation and development in the arts by providing a platform for both established and emerging South African artists; create opportunities for collaboration with international artists; and build new audiences.

ISSUED BY             :                       THE FAMOUS IDEA TRADING CC

ON BEHALF OF          :                       NATIONAL ARTS FESTIVAL

CONTACT               :                       GILLY HEMPHILL

TEL                   :                       021 886 4900

CELL                  :                       082 820 8584

EMAIL                 :                       gilly@thefamousidea.co.za