UCT Comedians shine at the Wildcard Showcase
- Details
- Published on Tuesday, 27 September 2011 07:55
- Written by Ingrid van der Walt
The Wildcard comedy show is a tequila-driven improvised comedy treat held annually at the Purple Turtle in Long Street. First introduced by UCT Drama student Dean Kriel in 2010, the show introduced Cape Town to a group of pretty diverse guys, ensuring a very colourful and dynamic event.
On the evening of Tuesday 20 September the Purple Turtle was already buzzing with excitement and the five comedians were hanging around in anticipation. Initially the show existed only of stand-up comedy but the comedians decided to include some improv to incorporate the audience in the show and be more interactive. In this way, they also hoped that the show would grow and set off some more interest.
The comedians who appeared in Tuesday’s show are all students at UCT, including Oliver Booth (third year Theatre and Drama), Shaun Fickling (Masters in Bio-chemical engineering), Schalk Bezuidenhout (first year BA.Drama), Dalin Oliver (Honours in Historical Studies), Nick Jude Klein (second year BA).
Their influences include comedians like Casper de Vries, Micheal McIntyre and Hannes Brummer (Proesstraat). They mostly feed off everyday activities for their jokes and stories. Bezuidenhout noted that he is very Afrikaans so he loves mocking the Afrikaans people and celebs in his show.
They have been doing comedy together for just over a year now and have featured in stand-up comedy shows all over the country. They recently performed at Glendower Residence, College House and the Baxter Theatre, and will be performing at Rochester House’s formal soon.
The comedians have several accolades under their belts. Bezuidenhout also made it into the finals of the Graça Comedy Showdown in Johannesburg, and Booth made it into the finals of the Grặca Cape Town Comedy Showdown hosted in July this year. Oliver (aka The Chameleon) was a shared winner in the “next comic” competition hosted by Good Hope FM(94.9FM).
Kicking off at 9pm sharp, the show was MC’d by Shaun Fickling. He introduced the comedians as they each got their chance to take the stage for the stand-up section of the show. Each one of them has their own unique accents, jokes and enough confidence to man up and try a new joke even when no-one ended up laughing.
The comedians even mocked each other off-stage and it was easy to tell they know and influence each other’s work. They succeeded in some universal laughs especially when touching in South African politicians, race issues and culture gags. During interval the comedians sparked up some conversations with the audience and had a drink at the bar. Soon they were back on stage for the improv show and some more laughs.
The improv show included all the comedians and two UCT students. It had a Who’s Line Is Anyway? feel to it and the audience participated by shouting movie-names and other themes the comedians then get to joke about. Themes like “Titanic” and the “world’s worst stripper” had the audience howling with laughter.
The turnout was pretty good, with a majority of the crowd comprising UCT students. The Purple Turtle is a vibey spot for some comedy and the show was definitely worth R40. The party after the show was quite happening and it looked like everyone was having a pretty lekker jol for a school night.
It was a great night of hilarious comedy and hopefully the crowd was indicative of growing appreciation of the comedians. UCT students were the life of the party, and this event promises to attract greater audiences in the future. Just another example of the diverse talent UCT brings to the table.